Final Thoughts on Learning Challenges: Learning Challenges (Part 15)
I have probably said all I wanted to say about special needs or the learning challenged, yet I thought that this topic was so important it deserved to be summed up in a dedicated conclusion.
First, I think that it is important to acknowledge that learning challenges are real. God’s creation encompasses a wide range of physical and mental abilities, all of which are important to Him and therefore should be important to us.
I do not, in any way, want to disparage or minimize the fact that there are people (children) who have been born with characteristics making them different from the “norm.” However, I do want to point out that what is normal is not really a measurable standard, but more of a sliding scale based on subjective expectations.
Continue reading “Final Thoughts on Learning Challenges: Learning Challenges (Part 15)”
On Being “Learning Challenged”: Learning Challenges (Part 2)
What is it like to have a “learning challenge”? That should be an easy question to answer. In fact, it is easy because there is no such thing as a standard learner, any more than there is a standard person.
When we consider that it is highly unlikely that anyone can learn everything and in every way, it is fair to say that everyone is challenged when it comes to learning in some way.
As discussed already, the main reason that there are any “learning challenges” is because the school system cannot comprehend that there are folks who cannot learn within its confines. Whenever someone does not fit, he/she is declared a misfit, given a label and medicated if required.
Continue reading “On Being “Learning Challenged”: Learning Challenges (Part 2)”
Learning Challenges (Part 1)
What do Attention Deficit Disorder, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia and Dyspraxia have in common? Besides the fact that they are complicated words that all start with the letter “D,” they are examples of the many learning disabilities listed in web sites specializing on this subject.
As a bona fide dyslexic who has been involved for over forty years in the education “industry,” I can say that I have had a lot of experience with this topic. I can also honestly state that I have great reservations about how we see and how we manage “learning disabilities.”
Let’s start by looking at how the dictionary defines learning disabilities:
Continue reading “Learning Challenges (Part 1)”