SOD children can learn

SOD-Septo-optic dysplasia- visual and metobolic issues-children ranging is all areas of skills and cognitive levels.
I have my HS students going to see the elementary students to mentor and socialize. This week I had a senior working with a 5th grader. He was a very poor speller and has had very inconsistent instruction in his school career so has not been able to show his potential. Now that he has a full time TVI, this is changing. The same strategy I use with my HS kids, I use with younger students. I had the senior give him the sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." He helped him spell each word and he typed it until he spelled it easily, which only took a few minutes for each word. Within this simple 30 minute lesson the boy started typing the whole sentence, typing at 20 wpm. Everyone was shocked and elated. The boy was beyond himself in his success.
This child had also been very unsuccessful in learning math. I thought since he did so well with typing the sentence that I would show him how to use the calculator, but first I taught him the num pad use so he could do calculations quickly. Once again within 15 minutes this boy was doing calculations. I know since he has found joy in this that he will practice typing math problems over and over and just by the fact of listening to the problems he will learn math, as I have seen this over and over. By adding manipulative's to what he is doing, it will cement in the process.

It is just raising the bar to the top and teaching to that level. Over and over again, students show me they can do it with the right instruction. It was a great week....as always

Watch Learning GROW

The start of the school year has begun and along with that assessing the students to see where they are and where they need and want to go, we make goals. If their want is small, giving them the vision of where they could go is essential. Grouping students together is crucial in this endeavor and each watch the other achieve goals they never thought possible thus increasing their own vision of what they can do.

Within 2 weeks of school beginning, my high school students are already seeing huge leaps in their learning. I have 3 older students who were typing around 60-65wpm and they all set their goal of typing for the end of the year to be around 100 wpm.

The brain grows as does wisdom, through repetition of doing a skill correctly. Within 2 weeks of applying this strategy, 2 have reached around 95 and one reached 111 wpm. Everyday, they immediately come in, send homework that is due to al their teachers, then begin practicing their typing techniques. They now have to set a new goal for typing.

This same principal works in Braille reading. At the end of last spring, two were reading around 65 wpm and one around 212 wpm. They all practiced their reading over summer and by employing similar strategies at the start of the school year, now 2 are reading at 137 wpm and one at 315 wpm. They now are really starting to stretch in their confidence about themselves so 2 are reaching for 200 wpm and the other for 400 wpm by the end of the year.

I also have 3 beginners and all three have increased their reading by 7 wpm in 2 weeks and their typing by 8 wpm. How they feel about themselves has grown and where they did not even try to hand in work, now are doing so. Not a lot yet, but it increases each week as they see their skills grow, which in turn increases their confidence in who they are and what they can do. They are gaining a vision of their potential.

We are all teachers. Teach a skill and watch learning grow.