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Learning Center: What's it Like to be Rob?
Nov 26, 2012 1:06 PM
By Jean Bonnyman - FF/S
Editor's Note: The Teaching and Learning Centers works with teachers, students and parents to support the academic endeavors of all students. Many people wonder what type of students are served and what types of services are offered. The following blog series represents an amalgamation of students served through the Teaching and Learning Center, the goal being to explain services through examples. Remember that these are fictional characters and do not represent any one individual. If you have any questions about the Teaching and Learning Center, please contact one of Darlington's learning specialists.
Rob is a freshman who came to our Middle School in sixth grade. His parents never realized he had dyslexia – they just though he was a kid who loved math and couldn’t spell. He wasn’t much of a reader, but he was getting decent grades in school (even though his handwriting was messy). Rob’s happy, enthusiastic personality had charmed all his teachers in the past, but it didn’t take long for his sixth-grade teachers to notice he had some learning challenges that would cause him problems before long. Through the Middle School Learning Center, Rob received instruction and support.
By the time Rob got to ninth grade, he had received tutoring for his dyslexia, but the reading and writing level of the ninth grade still would be a challenge. He was much better at figuring out words (decoding) and his fluency was better (how fast he could read and understand what he was reading), but reading still took him extra time. For this reason, Rob gets extra time on tests.
Fortunately, Rob can type well thanks to Middle School training, so he uses his laptop in class and for homework. He can type all his tests in the Learning Center as well. Instead of counting off for spelling, Rob’s teachers circle any words spell-check missed so he can learn them. Rob and I also work on reading and writing, mostly through his homework assignments.
The summer before his sophomore and junior year, Rob will work with a reading specialist in Atlanta for his dyslexia. And by the summer before his senior year, he will be well equipped to handle college-level reading and writing as long as he has enough time to do it.
Even though Rob decides to become a math major in college, he appreciates not feeling “disabled” at reading and writing, and he knows how to get help if he needs it.
Stay tuned for Jane’s story next week!
Rob is a freshman who came to our Middle School in sixth grade. His parents never realized he had dyslexia – they just though he was a kid who loved math and couldn’t spell. He wasn’t much of a reader, but he was getting decent grades in school (even though his handwriting was messy). Rob’s happy, enthusiastic personality had charmed all his teachers in the past, but it didn’t take long for his sixth-grade teachers to notice he had some learning challenges that would cause him problems before long. Through the Middle School Learning Center, Rob received instruction and support.
By the time Rob got to ninth grade, he had received tutoring for his dyslexia, but the reading and writing level of the ninth grade still would be a challenge. He was much better at figuring out words (decoding) and his fluency was better (how fast he could read and understand what he was reading), but reading still took him extra time. For this reason, Rob gets extra time on tests.
Fortunately, Rob can type well thanks to Middle School training, so he uses his laptop in class and for homework. He can type all his tests in the Learning Center as well. Instead of counting off for spelling, Rob’s teachers circle any words spell-check missed so he can learn them. Rob and I also work on reading and writing, mostly through his homework assignments.
The summer before his sophomore and junior year, Rob will work with a reading specialist in Atlanta for his dyslexia. And by the summer before his senior year, he will be well equipped to handle college-level reading and writing as long as he has enough time to do it.
Even though Rob decides to become a math major in college, he appreciates not feeling “disabled” at reading and writing, and he knows how to get help if he needs it.
Stay tuned for Jane’s story next week!
