Can't be bothered

Once, I had a child with the "Can't be bothered to learn" attitude. I began to ask him what his parents did to provide him with his needs. Both of them worked outside the home and he seemed to have the best of many things.
He knew the places they worked, but could not tell me what the jobs consisted of nor what they needed to do the job.
In school, he refused to use any of the teaching tools that were offered. He refused to turn in work, etc.

A conference with parents was a total disaster. They could not understand, or would not, that he was being taught skills at home that would not benefit his future. They had few expectations for his actions, so he gave them very little effort.
Very shortly afterward, he was transferred to another school. Do you think he changed much in the future? Or was he taught another undesirable lesson, by the parents.
Everytime someone expects something of you, it is easier to move on and slide through life, never accomplishing anything because you have no goals.
Teaching your child that life is not hard work is teaching them how not to have a life.
Setting goals are a life skill. You have to be taught that goals are necessary for yourself and for future employers.

He had also not made any friends in our class. Not because the students did not try to make a new friend, but even their demands toward friendships were rebuffed.
The lack of desire for goal setting even kept him from a social life.

Family History is a learning tool

Do you listen to old stories about your family history? What has happened in your family and is now a fascinating lore? These stories are educational. How did your ancestors cope with difficult times?
Take notes of these stories and pass them on to your child. They will learn how to better handle life and the story has been given to the next generation.
A great example of how history can be lost and recovered is found in this book.
Stepping Stones to Navajo History

Teaching Work Skills

Does your child know what skills you have? How do you earn your income?

Some children do not have this vital information.
You go to work and bring in a check to purchase their housing, food, toys, clothes, and fun. All your child needs to say is "I want" and it comes to them. No effort is needed.

It may be important for you to teach your child what you have to go through to provide their needs. What do your employers require of you to provide that toy, or snack? Homes can be valuable in teaching: use of time, accurate learning, budgeting of time and money and responsibility.

Special Education Tips & Ideas

Boring!

"Boring"
Do you get that response from your student about homework, "Boring!"
Do they understand that sometimes repeating is necessary to master a skill. Tests show that some of us need to repeat a skill at least 10 times to really make it stick in our brains and master it.
A few are lucky and can do it in one try, but not all of us.

Does your student understand how some day, they may have to repeat skills to keep a paying job in their adult years? Students with the "Boring" attitude often do not want to put in the "repeat" time to do anything that is not needed their "now" life. They do not consider their future life.

It is a "get out of work" technique.
As a parent, you are contributing to a "get out of work" attitude toward your child's later work career, if you give in. You have to maintain patience and keep the repetition going. Your child will benefit in the end.
Special Education tips & ideas

Stepping Stones to Navajo History was written for use in Navajo school's fourth grade classes.

Until the publishing of this book, the Navajo children did not have access to any material about their own Navajo History. It uses biographies of prominent Navajo leaders to tell the tribes history from early 1600's to the present.
A great introduction to Navajo History for any classroom or home school environment.

This book may be purchased in ebook format at: http://navajohistory.ecrater.com/

Visiting the Classroom

While visiting the classroom, pay attention to the way the teacher gives instructions.
Are the instructions given one at a time?
Are several instructions given rapidly?
Not all of us understand instructions in the same way. Our brains may only process one item at a time. A little time may be needed between instructions.
Experiment at home. See what works best for your child.
Does the teacher talk to softly?
Does the teacher talk too rapidly?
Is there another child creating a disturbance and interfering with your child's learning?

Keep in mind that your child's problems may not always be his/her fault. Investigate and inform and train to improve the results.

Special Education tips & ideas

Lack of Confidence

Hyperactive behavior and a stubborn behavior can also be caused by lack of confidence in classroom skills. A parent may need to see the teacher about classroom behavior.
As a teacher, I long ago learned to visit a classroom and observe the entire class for a short time. It does not take long to see which child will quickly get to work after an assignment. Concentrate heavily, work is completed steadily. Questions are asked if needed.

If this is not the actions of your child, you need to intervene. Move to sit beside your child. Ask if they need some help. Determine what the problem is and what is not understood. The problem may be simple, or it may be complicated, but you get a clue. Ask to take the lesson home with you and send it back the next day. By taking the lesson home, you can determine what the problem is without being hurried. You also have the added advantage of your child not worrying about what their classmates think of you helping them.

A few more school visits may be needed in the future. A teacher with a large number of students, do not always spot problems when needed. Another suggestion is to have the teacher appoint a partner to help your child, when needed. A properly trained partner will help, not do the work for your child which encourages the independence you wish to foster.

Special Education tips & ideas

Do you have a hyperactive child?

Do you have a hyperactive child?
Have you mentioned the problem to your friendly medical professional? What was the result? Was it "to forget it as the child will grow out of the stage"? Or, was it "to prescribe a tranquilizer" which dulls the child's mind and reactions.
Investigate Medical personal trained in diagnosing educational disabilities. With out the proper tools and tests, no medical personal can accurately diagnose these difficulties. Because medications react differently for each person, more knowledge is needed then the average doctor has.

It is often difficult to find this information around many smaller communities and you will probably have to find a larger community for the service. They will sometimes work with the rural doctor, if requested.
Should your child be in Special Education classes, discuss the problem with the staff. Sometimes, they will help you carry some of the expenses as will insurance.

Education is a Jigsaw puzzle

Education is a jigsaw puzzle . As we grow, our brains are expected to absorb many unrelated facts and instructions. The process usually works well. But, some times, it does not work smoothly.

Then we have the child or adult with the label of educationally handicapped. Over nearly 30 years in the regular classrooms and Special Education classrooms, children have been my best teachers.

There are fond memories of 5 children from grade 1 to grade 3 for their part in my education. These children worked hard attempting to learn letters, numbers, phonics skills and reading skills for 6 months. They were not successful, just frustrated. The teacher bought some 24 piece puzzles to help the children fill some class time and improve skills. These puzzles proved to be an excellent teaching tool, unexpectedly. The same children that could not learn the education skills proved not to be able to put these easy puzzles together. Attempts would be made to put the edge pieces in the middle, etc.

For some of the students, it took some days for them to get the concept of looking for shapes and colors. We decided to leave a portion of the class time to solve these puzzles. Finally, by the end of the school year, every student learned to put a puzzle together with in a 25 minute time limit. By that time, we found they were also remembering their letters and numbers. Wow!

Words and problems solving was beginning to make sense to them. The following school year, most of these 5 students reached their grade level, or close to it, by the end of the next school year.

Nutrition and Education

Some years ago, I began to research nutrition in connection with a health problem. While reading the new book, I found a section on supplements and learning techniques.
Not long after, a young mother visited with me. She was frustrated with the recent behavior of a young daughter. She had been reliable and helpful, in the past. Now, mother and dad were receiving complaints from her classroom teacher for the same traits. Mother borrowed my book.

About two months later, she reported back, very pleased with her discovery. She researched the problem and invested in the suggested vitamins. In about three weeks, they began to notice a difference in her behavior. At four weeks, her teacher was commenting on the differences in school behavior. Life was returning to normal in their household.

Special Education Tips & Ideas