The story of Laurie’s literacy history was a very interesting account (frustrating at times). Throughout the passage, I could several of my own students through Laurie’s brief early biography. One of the initial aspects that stuck out in my mind was the mentioning of children’s “frustration levels.” Although the author made a point that she did not want to blame Laurie’s problems on the “institution,” I think that too often children are turned off from reading and writing because they are simply frustrated. Currently, I am taking a course in the reading department. One of the key things that is often mentioned is the importance of not frustrating our children—even if they are reading far below grade level, meet them where they are at. Honestly, I was always a “natural reader;” therefore, I never experienced as much frustration as Laurie probably did. However, while preparing to take the GRE (and during the test, itself), there were several instances where I was definitely “insecure” with my abilities. This, in turn, caused me to rush through certain areas of the test.
Another excerpt that really stood out to me (one that I see on a weekly basis with seventh graders) was Laurie’s experience with ADD. She said that she felt “powerful” before her diagnosis but not as much afterward. For some reason, students (and their parents) associate certain “conditions” with lower level intelligence and thinking. Not only do they believe this about ADD, but also the dreaded “EC” label. We probably have an IEP meeting weekly. Some of them are updates, but some of them are to discuss the possibility of a new child being considered for the EC program. I would say that 90 percent of the time, parents are twice as resistant to this as students. They do not see it as beneficial to their children, but rather a way for their children to stand out from all of the others (and not in a good way).
Children with ADD (and their parents) also struggle with medication issues. Should they or shouldn’t they? Honestly, I can’t say that I agree with one side or the other. Some children are successful with medication, but others (like Laurie in Kindergarten) struggle with the side effects of these medicines. I do not think that parents should be forced (or coerced) by a school to put their child on medication (yes, I know of a situation where this happened). Yes, these kids can sometimes be a nuisance in class, but I do not believe that they should be forced to take foreign substances.
Finally, an area of the story that I personally connected to was Laurie’s comment in second grade regarding her role as caretaker for her siblings—that she was “too old for her age.” Although I did not feel this way as young as Laurie, I completely understand what it is like to mature very quickly. My mother died at the age of 39 with inoperable brain cancer. I have two younger sisters who were only 12 and 14 when she passed. Not only did I have to help take care of my mother, but I also felt the added responsibility of helping with my younger sisters. I grew up very quickly. This affected my literacy history (even though I was 17 when she died). Therefore, I can only imagine how Laurie’s life was affected by her situation.
Heather Coe
Comments (6)
Thank you for bringing up the frustration level issue. I am in Dr. Robert Morris's Reading diagnosis class right now, and in class the other night, he emphasized the fact that NOTHING CAN BE GAINED FROM MAKING A CHILD FRUSTRATED!!! I even wrote this down and underlined it several times. As a high school teacher who teaches some honors classes, I sometimes confuse "challenging" for "frustrating." It's definitely not the same thing, and teachers cannot look at it like it is! No child will ever be helped if they are frustrated. In fact, that is when they become discipline issues because they act out against their frustrations. And quite frankly, I don't blame them! They aren't being heard!
Posted by Christy Rivers | April 13, 2009 4:49 PM
Posted on April 13, 2009 16:49
Your remarks regarding the EC label are definitely accurate. So often, parents, children, and even other teachers, view this as a way to make kids different rather than a solution to any problems. Then, with regards to medication, this is again a tough issue. At young elementary ages, parents watch the effects of medication. They do not know whether to help their children focus or allow them to have their personalities. As a teacher, you are sometimes left thinking "Do I want a child who has trouble focusing and concentrating or a zombie with no emotion or personality?" It is always a tough situation.
Posted by Brittany Guy | April 13, 2009 10:27 PM
Posted on April 13, 2009 22:27
Heather I appreciated your comments. I was particulary touched by your comments about having to help take care of your ailing mother and siblings. I think of what it must be like for some of my third grade students who are handling a greater responsiblity at home because of circumstances beyond their control. Do I take that into consideration? Do I help or hinder the situation? I know we need to be intuitive because students don't come and tell us everything that is going on at home. This is something that I need to work on in my own classroom.
SuSu Watson
Posted by SuSu Watson | April 14, 2009 4:10 PM
Posted on April 14, 2009 16:10
Heather,
I enjoyed your critique for several reasons: my undergraduate degree is special education and I always enjoy hearing others ideas on the IEP meetings and the issues that revolve around those meetings. But also becuase I am in a reading class this semester as well, it may be the same class, where we focus on frustration levels. My thoughts constantly wondered back to that idea. Did you feel that anywhere in the chapter there was an example of where the teacher placed Laurie on her instructional level? I didn't, I think Hicks explained situations where she was working with Laurie on an instructional level. I do feel that it is not just about placing the students with material at the appropriate level, I think it has to do with the idea that students need to experiences success. (which I do not feel Laurie was allowed to do).
Posted by Elizabeth Griffin | April 15, 2009 8:34 AM
Posted on April 15, 2009 08:34
Heather,
I think the thing with medicine is that everybody wants a quick fix and there are lots of profits to be made if lots of kids are on meds. I think that we have too many kids being diagnosed with stuff that they don't have. If we are honest we need to look at the curriculum and school expectations. It just seems that when I was going to school, it was more developmentally appropriate and students just didn't have all the problems that kids have today. As anyone ever considered that our crammed curriculum is the source of so many frustration levels?
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Posted on April 16, 2009 01:21
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Posted on February 26, 2010 17:13