Learning disabilities and coding

     I found the discussion of coding in schools rather interesting last class mainly because I had just had a similar conversation in my practicum about learning disabilities with my mentor teachers.  I would like to say first, however, that I did mention this same instance in my EDFX 203 blog tonight.  Yesterday morning, in one of the classes I was observing, I noticed a boy trying to flip a finger skateboard over the rings of his binder.  I pointed this out to the E. A. working with the class, thinking that she would laugh about it, or ask him to focus, or something similar, however, she simply told me to look back over, and I saw that the boy had briefly put down his skateboard to take a few notes on what Mrs. W. was saying.  She then told me that many of the kids in this class have diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disabilities, and that it can be especially hard for ADD students to focus if they aren't moving simply because their brain does not receive enough stimulus for them to process the information.  Thus, she told me that as a teacher, it is especially important to really look at if the child really is paying attention before you correct any seemingly distracted behaviour because these apparent behavioural corrections can actually impair a child's learning.  This caused me to think about my own experience as a student.  I have a somewhat pronounced tendency to doodle or hum when I am focusing, as immature as that may sound.  I've found that I often felt very uncomfortable in classrooms where I was told that the noise I made was disruptive, and conversely, most accepted in the classrooms where teachers treasured my idiosyncracies and allowed me to learn in my own way.  While I do know that at times I likely was disruptive to my fellow students, I am grateful that I was often allowed to work in my own fashion.
    Later, I talked with my mentor teacher, and she told me that she does indeed suspect the student in question of having a learning disability, however, she really does not want to get him tested at this point, because she feels that a great deal of his difficulty arises from simply not putting effort into his classes. She did, however say that should he place more effort into his work and still experience these problems, she would love to get him tested and better helped.  She simply believes that because he currently is not putting enough effort into his courses, the testing may not provide as accurate results as it should, and she really does not want her student to wrongfully have to live with the stigma of a learning disability.  Personally, I thought that this was quite an admirable and compassionate perspective of the situation as she considered the needs of the student above the schools needs for funding.  From personal experience, I do know that schools, particularly those that operate outside of the public schooling system sometimes attempt to diagnose children with more disabilities than they may actually possess in order to receive more funding to provide for the needs of their school, and somtimes not even the needs of the student at all.  Although I do not yet know what the system is changing to, I am quite content that the coding system is becoming obsolete because it is far too easy for schools that are suffering financially to expolit the system at the expense of the students concerned.
-Rachel

These images were foumd with google images.
 I thought they were a funny perspective on the situation.