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Pages: 146
“Throw the curriculum out the window and try something radically different this time!” That was the note handed me by the superintendent along with my new class of rebels, renegades, dyslexics and kids with ADHD. It seemed clear to all that if nothing changed, most of these kids would be dropouts in a few years.
They had already received the best their schools offered so little risk seemed attached to trying something radically different. Something like child centered learning experiences, and project based learning activities, in an experiential learning environment. And, all of it would be child directed learning.
Worktables replaced desks as old sofas and old refrigerators were scrounged up. Old carpets covered bare floors and the kids soon were immersed in building radios, raising white mice for sale, journaling, writing and producing plays and playing plenty of chess. In fact, any child directed learning activity was fair game. The idea was to build self-esteem and faith in themselves, which hopefully, would reduce their dropout rate.
These 4th through 6th graders learned at their own pace and set their
own goals focusing on their areas of interest. Discipline
problems disappeared and keeping them home when they were sick became the issue.In addition, this approach allowed those with dyslexia and ADHD, to begin discovering the gifts behind the label.
This experiment occurred in the 1970s led by a renegade
teacher, himself a “damaged” student who had struggled with his own
dyslexia before this condition was recognized. His ally was an optimistic
school superintendent who intrigued with the idea of teaching problem solving
and life skills, instead of facts, figures and formulas.
simple and its success doesn’t surprise them. They simply designed their
program after studying the way young children master their native language. And,
most brain scientists consider the most complex learning task ever undertaken
by a human is learning their first language.
Since 99.9 % of all kids
master this “foreign language”, without lesson plans or a teacher, in a
child directed mode, these two educators decided it was not a lack of
intelligence holding kids back. It is a lack of interest in the subject matter
and lack of motivation. They then knew the key to rekindling the innate love of
learning, was self guided learning in the child’s area of interest.
What they have discovered
after 40 years of monitoring these kids may amaze you.
- Experiential learning activities
- Child centered learning activities
- Teaching strategies for teaching ADHD students
- Project based learning ideas
- How to teach the ADJD advantages
- Ways to bring-out the Dyslexic Advantage in kids
