Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j27Lq2C27232; Mon, 7 Mar 2005 16:52:02 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 16:52:02 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <20050307214940.21736.qmail@web52904.mail.yahoo.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Anita Landoll <amlandoll@yahoo.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-LD:4595] Re: Dyslexia Research X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Status: O Content-Length: 3551 Lines: 109 I agree. Many students simply learn differently. The system turns the learning difference into disorder. When the students are taught concretely and multi-sensorily, then they learn. Many of these learners are visual-spatial learners. Many, many teachers are audio-verbal-sequential learners, and need to learn how to teach visual-spatial learners. Anita learntoreadnow.com --- Varshna Narumanchi-Jackson <varshna@grandecom.net> wrote: > I can't tell you how many parents I have encountered > in the first four years > of my oldest child's education who have been told > their child has ADD, ADHD, > dyslexia, emotional disturbance, etc because they > don't fit the model > student stereotype. It's heart-wrenching to see > these young children cope > with the depression and angst the educational system > creates in them. It's > even harder to tell their parents to fight the good > fight and challenge > educators to do better than throw out labels for > behaviors that are poorly > understood and thus lack credibility. > > I hope that current research allows us all a moment > of epiphany that > 'normal' human behavior is much more broadly defined > than we currently > allow. In evolutionary time, written language and > 'classroom' behavior are > new pressures on the brain to adapt or create > responses that allow the > individual to succeed in a competitive environment. > What I think we are > witnessing is not science's newfound ability to > locate 'disorders' through > gene mapping, but a shift in the kinds of factors > that influence evolution > that are no longer directly tied to survival. Our > institutions of > education, however, are slow to recognize that human > behavior (and the > underlying genes that catalogue those behaviors) is > as diverse as the human > experience on this planet. Why else, for example, do > we need 6000 languages > in order to talk to each other? > > Finally, academic potential and achievement are so > narrowly defined, it is > no surprise that our institutions are failing to > 'educate' the majority of > learners who fall outside of those norms. Many > peoples have based their > transmission of history and culture on oral language > (e.g., through epic > poetry, song, story-telling). I wonder, are we just > assigning a diagnosis > of dyslexia to learners (among other dis-abilities) > that are well-adapted to > oral language as the medium for learning, but not to > written language, in > order to further a societal preference? > > Varshna Narumanchi-Jackson > Austin, TX > > on 3/6/05 11:05 PM, Woods at woods@ncia.net wrote: > > > I can see where one day we might know more about > how the genes express > > themselves. Knowing that would be infinitely more > useful than just knowing > > the name of a gene involved in dyslexia or some > other condition. Such > > knowledge might give us insight on targeting > specific kinds of remediation > > and not waste time on ineffective approaches. For > instance, if Mary has the > > 'sees things upside down' gene, we might then know > to not to give her books > > right side up, and we wouldn't make her spend her > life working on word > > attack and using color overlays. > > > > Tom Woods > > > >> The writer asks an interesting question. What > implications could this > >> have > >> for our work with adults that have dyslexia? > > > > > > > __________________________________ Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday! Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web http://birthday.yahoo.com/netrospective/
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