The Importance of Reading and Spelling
Teaching a child to read and write successfully is the single most important job of early education. It is difficult to overestimate its importance to a child’s intellectual growth and emotional well-being. Falling behind in this key area, destines a child to fall behind in school. Reading, spelling, and writing are the tools required for future success in all subjects.
Teaching a child to read and write successfully is the single most important job of early education. It is difficult to overestimate its importance to a child’s intellectual growth and emotional well-being. Falling behind in this key area, destines a child to fall behind in school. Reading, spelling, and writing are the tools required for future success in all subjects.
Dyslexia
One small area of difficulty in a sea of strengths.
It is stressful for a parent to be told that their child is not making the progress expected at school. It is anxiety-inducing for a student to feel that they are lagging behind in class while their peers are bounding ahead with reading. Often a child begins to have avoidance issues around books. This student is not an intuitive language learner and she may have a language- based learning disability. It likely falls within the dyslexic spectrum.
Dyslexia is not due to a lack of intelligence, nor is it due to a lack of motivation to learn. A form of dyslexia is prevalent in 15-20% of the student population. It is a neurologically-based disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Although the exact causes of dyslexia are not completely clear, brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions.
We are all born with the ability to speak. However, we explicitly need to learn how to read; it is not a given. When we read, our brains need to do many tasks simultaneously and apparently seamlessly. The proficient reader connects a letter (symbol) with a sound. He correctly orders the sounds to make a word. He connects the word with a visual image. He then orders these words into sentences and paragraphs and lifts the meaning from these tightly clustered groupings of words to read proficiently.
A dyslexic person’s brain takes longer to make these reading connections and the entire process takes more steps.
One small area of difficulty in a sea of strengths.
It is stressful for a parent to be told that their child is not making the progress expected at school. It is anxiety-inducing for a student to feel that they are lagging behind in class while their peers are bounding ahead with reading. Often a child begins to have avoidance issues around books. This student is not an intuitive language learner and she may have a language- based learning disability. It likely falls within the dyslexic spectrum.
Dyslexia is not due to a lack of intelligence, nor is it due to a lack of motivation to learn. A form of dyslexia is prevalent in 15-20% of the student population. It is a neurologically-based disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Although the exact causes of dyslexia are not completely clear, brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions.
We are all born with the ability to speak. However, we explicitly need to learn how to read; it is not a given. When we read, our brains need to do many tasks simultaneously and apparently seamlessly. The proficient reader connects a letter (symbol) with a sound. He correctly orders the sounds to make a word. He connects the word with a visual image. He then orders these words into sentences and paragraphs and lifts the meaning from these tightly clustered groupings of words to read proficiently.
A dyslexic person’s brain takes longer to make these reading connections and the entire process takes more steps.
What Your Student Needs
Having dyslexia is frustrating and this can make your child sad. However, it is clinically proven that the brain functions as a muscle (this is called neuroplasticity). The brain is not static and areas of weakness – when specifically targeted – can be strengthened. A systematic, cumulative, phonics-based program clearly helps.
You need to find a program that is:
Having dyslexia is frustrating and this can make your child sad. However, it is clinically proven that the brain functions as a muscle (this is called neuroplasticity). The brain is not static and areas of weakness – when specifically targeted – can be strengthened. A systematic, cumulative, phonics-based program clearly helps.
You need to find a program that is:
- explicit
- multi-sensory
- cumulative
- structured
- results oriented
- with an element of fun
You need a specialist who is:
It is Important not only to have the Right Tools to Learn, but also the Right Mindset
It is crucial to have a specialist who can teach your student how to read, spell and write successfully. Nonetheless it is equally important to find a coach who can teach your student how to learn. There is much current interest in “motivation” and the idea of a “Growth Mindset” as opposed to a “Fixed Mindset”. (Carol Dweck, Stanford University).
A Fixed Mindset believes intelligence is static; a students’ intelligence is confined to what comes easily and is learned without effort. The goal of these students becomes to look smart at all time. They are afraid of asking questions, and are threatened by the success of others, because they believe that they can never “afford to look dumb.”
Students with a Fixed Mindset achieve less than their full potential as they have a deterministic view of the world.
- Diagnostic
- Experienced
- Committed
- Purposeful and Direct
- An Honest Partner
It is Important not only to have the Right Tools to Learn, but also the Right Mindset
It is crucial to have a specialist who can teach your student how to read, spell and write successfully. Nonetheless it is equally important to find a coach who can teach your student how to learn. There is much current interest in “motivation” and the idea of a “Growth Mindset” as opposed to a “Fixed Mindset”. (Carol Dweck, Stanford University).
A Fixed Mindset believes intelligence is static; a students’ intelligence is confined to what comes easily and is learned without effort. The goal of these students becomes to look smart at all time. They are afraid of asking questions, and are threatened by the success of others, because they believe that they can never “afford to look dumb.”
Students with a Fixed Mindset achieve less than their full potential as they have a deterministic view of the world.
