an hour to go before it's Christmas. So wishing everyone a good christmas and happy new year.
Saturday 24 December 2011
Thursday 22 December 2011
Exams
A lot of the dyslexic students I work with often struggle to perform on exams. I was never too good at written tests or exams. It didin't matter how long or what I did to revise. And believe me I have tried a lot of revision techniques. I do manage to pass them in most cases but the difference between exam marks and course work marks were always very significant. For example for my degree my course work would be at 1st standard whils my exams at 2.2 standard. One of the main reasons for my inablilty to pass exams was the speed and ledgibility of my hand writing. Being given extra time and access to a computer were factors in improvememnt in exam scores. I got some good news from a couple of my students about exams. One got his first even A for an exam and another actually passed their first exam at university.
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Where is our compassion?
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2011/12/20/no-disability-living-allowance-for-me-nowhere-to-turn-for-many-more/
Sue is a true hero and fighter and her story is far from unique and is becoming the rule for disabled people rather than the exception. Disabled people's right to live in dignity is being eroded by our beloved condem government. Lets not kid ourselves the labour party have done little or nothing to fight or even hilight the injustice that is being metted out by the condems and their press cronies. Unless we form our own political party. One which has inclusion for all, disabled, vulnerable and other disenfranchised groups, as its battle cry disabled people will be legislated back to the victorian era. With disabled people being forced to live locked away in institutions because that will be the only place where they could afford to live. Government with out compassion is tyranny.
Sue is a true hero and fighter and her story is far from unique and is becoming the rule for disabled people rather than the exception. Disabled people's right to live in dignity is being eroded by our beloved condem government. Lets not kid ourselves the labour party have done little or nothing to fight or even hilight the injustice that is being metted out by the condems and their press cronies. Unless we form our own political party. One which has inclusion for all, disabled, vulnerable and other disenfranchised groups, as its battle cry disabled people will be legislated back to the victorian era. With disabled people being forced to live locked away in institutions because that will be the only place where they could afford to live. Government with out compassion is tyranny.
Saturday 10 December 2011
Lets get serious
Schools, politicians and society disable dyslexics. Lets see schools develop accessible learning curriculums and teachers given access to training in learning stratagies that enable all children in their classrooms to learn and not disable ...them from learning. Lets see concentration on learning of the whole child not just the part of the child that enables them to pass tests for league tables. Lets see a long term stratagy for learning developed. Not one that can be changed and altered or played with according to the political will of those in power. Lets see real money being pumped into education not money and budgets continually being cut. Lets see education taken out of party politics altogether.
Wednesday 7 December 2011
End of semester
Well for me its my last day of this semester. No more work until students come back after Christmas. All of the students I supported this semester have exams and I wish them all well with them.
It does not mean I am on holiday though. I have lots to do including:
Putting the final touches to a couple new project proposals
Working of the phone app
Looking at Crowd Funding opportunities.
However, I will have a little break for the rest of this week. I have a stinking cold anyway and so will take it easy for a few days.
It does not mean I am on holiday though. I have lots to do including:
Putting the final touches to a couple new project proposals
Working of the phone app
Looking at Crowd Funding opportunities.
However, I will have a little break for the rest of this week. I have a stinking cold anyway and so will take it easy for a few days.
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Monday 5 December 2011
Some student feedback
Here is some feedback I got from one very bright student I have been working with. Most of it was very positive apart from what he has written in the last paragraph:
Having left school with little or no qualifications and with a real
lack of confidence in terms of academic learning, sport provided me
with an avenue to realizes my potential, on the sporting field and
through employment and education.
Through rugby I was given an opportunity to gain coaching quilication
and in turn gain employment. This was my dream job which I never
thought possible, working as a rugby development officer within Dundee
I gain national recondition for development work I had carried out
within the city through the achievements the club had made in
volunteer and player development within the sport.
After seven years working through my personally perceived difficulties
with dyslexia my confidence had grown and I realized I can achieve
just as well as anyone else within the work place or other wise. I
left my job to do a HNC and HND in sports development which was done
in one year at collage and achieved A’s in all three graded units.
After this I gained direct entry on to BSc Sports development (Hons)
at university. Although at this time I have only received grades for
one assay which was an A18 I feel I’m achieving far high standards of
work I had previously thought possible. With the support and guidance
Steve has provided my this has allowed me to focus my attention on
strategies best suited to my personally strengths and weaknesses.
Although dyslexia should not be a block to achieving anything within
within the workplace or education I still feel there are many negative
preconceived prospection of individuals with dyslexia which can make
life difficult.
This student was so concerned about this he didn't want me to mention his name at all.
Having left school with little or no qualifications and with a real
lack of confidence in terms of academic learning, sport provided me
with an avenue to realizes my potential, on the sporting field and
through employment and education.
Through rugby I was given an opportunity to gain coaching quilication
and in turn gain employment. This was my dream job which I never
thought possible, working as a rugby development officer within Dundee
I gain national recondition for development work I had carried out
within the city through the achievements the club had made in
volunteer and player development within the sport.
After seven years working through my personally perceived difficulties
with dyslexia my confidence had grown and I realized I can achieve
just as well as anyone else within the work place or other wise. I
left my job to do a HNC and HND in sports development which was done
in one year at collage and achieved A’s in all three graded units.
After this I gained direct entry on to BSc Sports development (Hons)
at university. Although at this time I have only received grades for
one assay which was an A18 I feel I’m achieving far high standards of
work I had previously thought possible. With the support and guidance
Steve has provided my this has allowed me to focus my attention on
strategies best suited to my personally strengths and weaknesses.
Although dyslexia should not be a block to achieving anything within
within the workplace or education I still feel there are many negative
preconceived prospection of individuals with dyslexia which can make
life difficult.
This student was so concerned about this he didn't want me to mention his name at all.
Saturday 3 December 2011
Things stay the same:
Way way back in 2005 I did a little research on dyslexia and teachers and discovered that very few teachers told anyone about their own dyslexia. Many through concerns that being dyslexic would adversly affect career and job prospects.
Nearly 7 years later and things do not appear to have changed much.
I was talking with a degree student yesterday who I have been providing dyslexia support over the last semester. A very bright student as well. He was expressing an interest in becoming a teacher but felt that it was not possible for him to become a teacher because of his dyslexia. He was expressing his concerns about telling any prospective employers about his dyslexia. That if he did it would adversly affect his job and career prospects. He would be a great teacher as well in my opinion
There is far to much focus on dyslexia as a negative condition that adversly impacts on our abilities to succeed academically and in the work place. Lets face it what employer wants to take on a dyslexic who can't spell, has poor memory, a brain that does not work properly, who can't read well etc. This is what the average person in the street believes dyslexia to be. Very few mention any of the positives of dyslexia at all. So it is not suprising many dyslexics keep it a secret, including teachers.
For every positive single article on dyslexia there and 20 or more negative ones.If we are ever to change people's attitudes and perceptions about dyslexia we need dyslexic teachers in classroom who are positive about being dyslexic and can act as role models and mentors to dyslexic children.
Nearly 7 years later and things do not appear to have changed much.
I was talking with a degree student yesterday who I have been providing dyslexia support over the last semester. A very bright student as well. He was expressing an interest in becoming a teacher but felt that it was not possible for him to become a teacher because of his dyslexia. He was expressing his concerns about telling any prospective employers about his dyslexia. That if he did it would adversly affect his job and career prospects. He would be a great teacher as well in my opinion
There is far to much focus on dyslexia as a negative condition that adversly impacts on our abilities to succeed academically and in the work place. Lets face it what employer wants to take on a dyslexic who can't spell, has poor memory, a brain that does not work properly, who can't read well etc. This is what the average person in the street believes dyslexia to be. Very few mention any of the positives of dyslexia at all. So it is not suprising many dyslexics keep it a secret, including teachers.
For every positive single article on dyslexia there and 20 or more negative ones.If we are ever to change people's attitudes and perceptions about dyslexia we need dyslexic teachers in classroom who are positive about being dyslexic and can act as role models and mentors to dyslexic children.
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