Protecting their confidence
December 16, 2023
Dyslexia means the way that a student’s brain processes information is different. They may experience difficulties with reading, vocabulary and comprehension tasks. This is a processing difficulty, (the same as some people need glasses) not a lack of intelligence. Lesser known is that because their beautiful brains think differently, they often also have very distinctive talents.
As a tutor, I recently experienced how my student with Dyslexia got lost in the system. As a teacher, I am able to appreciate that some class assessments set are not by the teacher or the school, but by the curriculum. Whilst a timed task is designed to challenge students, I believe that the same task also puts some of our students at risk.
I am not talking about the risk of failing one assessment, or even the subject. I am speaking about the fact that we need to protect and preserve their confidence. A student who doesn’t believe in themselves grows into an adult who doesn’t believe in themselves. With an unnecessary lack of confidence, they will avoid the risks in life that are important for them to take if they are to become happy, self-individuated, successful adults.
I am not the first to think this, and that is why schools have IEPs (Individual Education Plans) sometimes known as ILP’s (Individual Learning Plans). These plans are about access and equity in education. I had wrongly assumed that my student had an IEP in place because I knew that he got extra time to complete his in-class tasks. He, however, had a CAP (Curriculum adjusted Program) in place, which I believe was not the right environment for him to flourish.
If you have a child with a beautiful brain, please join me in championing them and ensuring that they have the environments in which they can thrive.
Written by Jodi Sutherland (B.Ed.)
For further information on Individual Learning plans see http://allmeansall.org.au/iep-guide/
Do you recognise the distinctive talents of these people with Dyslexia?
John Irving (Bestselling author)
Walt Disney (Animator, voice actor and Film producer)
Steven Spielberg (Screen writer and Director)
Jack Horner (Palaeontologist)
Albert Einstein (Physicist)
Pablo Picasso (Artist & sculptor)
Keira Knightley (English actress)
Jim Carey (American actor)
John Lennon (The Beatles)
Jamie Oliver (English chef)
Guy Ritchie (Screen writer and Director)
Whoopi Goldberg (American actress)
Leonardo da Vinci (Inventor)
Richard Branson (Entrepreneur)
John Irving (American novelist)
Jules Vern (French author)
By adopting some of the strategies of clever students, one can also improve reading comprehension marks.
Choosing the right tutor for your child can be challenging due to the industry's lack of regulation. This blog post provides essential tips for parents, emphasizing the importance of selecting tutors from reputable tutoring centres. It highlights key factors to consider, such as a tutor's qualifications, accreditation from the Australian Tutoring Association (ATA), and industry experience. The post also addresses budget concerns and offers practical advice for ensuring your child receives effective tutoring support.
Preparing for high school and scholarship tests can feel like navigating a maze of stress and expectations, especially for students stepping into the high-stakes arena for the first time. I vividly recall the pressure of those moments from my journey as a student, sandwiched between my parents' lofty ambitions and my aspirations. The to-do list seemed endless: study diligently, seize every opportunity, broaden your reading horizons.
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GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Entrance or officially known as the Western Australian Selective Schools Entrance Test (WASET). Testing for Gifted and Talented Programs occurs in March each year. All applicants for Gifted and Talented Programs need to sit the Academic Selective Entrance Test and may also need to complete combined workshops; auditions; and interviews, depending on the programs they are applying for. Students sit a four part exam consisting of Reading Comprehension, Writing, Quantitative and Abstract Reasoning which can be the pathway for your child gaining a place in selective high school programmes. Obtaining a place in a selective school will give your child many opportunities for their future academic success. Your child will study with other like-minded students and be engaged in a specially designed curriculum. Additionally, they will enjoy a rich learning environment that is challenging and stimulating. Children can gain entry into either academic programmes, arts programmes or language programs. At Intuition Educational Support our team of expert tutors have designed programs that engage students and give them the tools necessary for achieving optimal results for the test. These tests differ greatly from regular school work. Questions that appear in the tests are more advanced than what students are currently learning at school and require clear professional guidance to prepare otherwise they may be at a disadvantage. Learning concepts and being familiar with the different types of questions that are likely to come up, as well as practising good test taking techniques will put your child in a much better position to gain entrance into their preferred school. By exposing students to the types of questions asked, as well as their structure we give our students the best possible chance of achieving high scores needed to gain a place in any of the selective schools. We offer programs leading up to the test that will focus on a specific part of the test as well as running weekly small group programs that also have a selective school entrance focus. We strongly recommend starting now, so that students are ready for the exam. More than 50% of students who attended our programs received high marks and were offered places in Selective Schools across Perth. In the January holidays we run several GATE Test preparation workshops which cover all four areas of the test as well as give students strategies on this type of test taking. We are also offering weekly small group preparation classes beginning in January. CONTACT US today to take advantage of our great programs.
