SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

If the Student Hasn’t Learned, the Teacher Hasn’t Taught!

Dear Aunt Malkin,
Yesterday I had a lively discussion with a retired teacher who is now involved in an adult literacy program. This teacher placed the blame for the huge number of functionally-illiterate adult Canadians squarely on learning disabilities, diagnosed or not. What do you think of this theory? Lynn, Toronto

Dear Lynn,
In a nutshell, I think the concept of learning disabilities is a way for school staff to absolve themselves of blame for their students' failure to learn to read. A belief in learning disabilities makes it possible for teachers to sleep at night, since the alternative - that they didn't teach the students well enough - is too upsetting.
Of course some students find it harder to learn to read, just as some students find it harder to learn carpentry or chess. Yet, given good teaching, patience, and hard work, almost everyone can achive an adequate or better level of performance in almost any field - from reading to ballet to physics to drawing. Our newsletter archives contain a number of articles on so-called learning disabilities (scroll down). 

 Regards, Aunt Malkin