Do students get the support they need to learn?

According to The Journal a new study finds that students with a learning difference are three times more likely to drop out of school than the average student. Students with learning differences would have to work harder to get on the average students playing field, and in middle school, support is given to a variety of students. How can we support these students and give them an equal chance at learning?

Mr.Brennan, a Learning Support Teacher at Zurich International School (ZIS), believes “we all need Learning Support.” He believes that we all need a certain amount of help. At ZIS, Learning Support is a class that supports those who need extra support. In Learning Support, many different learning difficulties are addressed and supported. These include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia (difficulties with reading), Dyscalculia (difficulties in math), and Dysgraphia (difficulties with writing). Other reasons to enter could be organizational skills or diagnosed depression, for example.

To maximize the effectiveness of Learning Support, a class generally consists of 4-5 students in a room where they can get help and support from their Learning Support teacher. There are many different seating arrangements and accommodations, such as fidget toys in learning support. The lessons throughout the week are structured to homework periods, group periods, and organizational periods. According to Charles(an interviewee) learning support making you less capable, as he states it allows students to thrive . Mr.Brennan has stated that learning support is a safe space where students can feel free to ask for help, where the atmosphere feels good and is a safe space for all. According to him, learning support's keyword is "safe." 

Mrs.Jacobson, an English and English as an Additional Language Teacher (EAL) teacher, also provided her input. EAL is another form of help that students can get. Mrs. Jacobson describes EAL as a place where students who already speak one or more languages may need a little push in English. As she explains, “EAL class is to help support them and give them that time to translate anything.” In this class, a wide range of learning possibilities are delivered , including learning strategies using the five senses.. This way, students can learn and remember things as fits them best. In EAL, they begin the year as a small group to learn all the language differences individually, and as the year progresses, more students join.

These two students share their experiences, their hardships, and how they overcome them. How do they get the support that they need?

Note: All student names have been changed TO PRESERVE THEIR anonymity 

Matt

Matt is a 6th-grade Learning Support student with a writing expression difficulty. In other words, he has difficulty putting his thoughts on paper. Matt has specific accommodations for this difficulty, such as speech-to-text transcribers and the allowed use of a keyboard in situations where others may have to handwrite. In addition to this, Matt has special testing accommodations. Even though Matt has not been diagnosed with a specific learning difference, he still needs the extra support that Learning Support provides him with to do everyday things, such as writing grammatically correct sentences, which many of us may take for granted. As he has stated, “support also needs to be given to people who think differently.” In Matt's experience, he gets help for his difficulty and can succeed in the best way possible. However, he has also stated that “I feel bad that I may get help, but other people who struggle may not.”

Arry

Arry is an 8th-grade student who struggles with High-Capacity and Clutter disorder. High Capacity is, as he explained, 'like having thirty antennas,' picking up all sorts of information at once. With his Clutter disorder, it can be difficult for him to remember things and express himself. Arry is also from a foreign place and struggles with his English. A tool Arry can use in classes is Google Translate to communicate in English as best as possible. Arry is in Learning Support and EAL, which both help him with his difficulties. Arry explains that he has lived with these things for his whole life, and it is expected that this is how his brain works, but he still has difficulty in certain areas. He explains that one of the reasons that Learning Support helps him so much is because it is equipped for his specific needs. Such as the fact that for his brain, he requires small breaks throughout lessons, something that many of his other classes do not let him do. He says that with his support, he has made tremendous progress academically. “At the end of last year, I had the highest ERB progress (in their Grade 7 English class).”

Charles

Charles is another 7th-grade student who may need more help than others, though he has yet to be a subject to that help. Charles has ADHD, Dyscalculia, and certain Mental Illnesses. Charles describes his experience as often difficult and a struggle with all of what is expected of him. He explains that certain classes are better equipped for his needs in learning, and others do not meet those needs. In his words, '‘everyone is smart, it's just that certain teachers have one way of teaching things, and if you don't understand, you fail.” Charles points out that no child will ever have the same school experience where they need the same things to learn in the same way. As well as giving an insight on learning support and EAL, he explains that 'my opinion is people in learning support, they are very smart. They can do so many different things that other people cannot. They just think about them differently.' Charles believes that if we force children into a box of one specific way of learning, we box out their needs and who they are.

“People in learning support, they are very smart. They can do so many different things that other people cannot. They just think about them differently.'

-Charles

Katrina

Katrina is a 7th-grade student who is currently in EAL. Katrina has shared her experience with learning difficult due to the fact that she comes from a Spanish speaking country, and as such she struggles with spelling and reading. She believes that if not for her EAL class, she would not be where she is today in terms of her English. Katrina says, ”without EAL; I might not have gotten better at English.” Katrina believes her place in EAL is important as she gets the extra help that allows her to be at the same level as other students. Katrina has also shared an experience of the past. “My parents told me that when I came here, I was always alone and crying in a corner because I didn't understand anything.” EAL is a necessary resource for Katrina to allow herself to express herself in the best way possible. Moreover, it gives her the best chance at success, in her words.

Students with learning disabilities report that they face barriers that many cannot understand, that many won't understand. Supporting these students can give birth to even more new, great minds, which many inventors have already proven. Albert Einstein had Asperger's Syndrome, a social disorder, and Leonardo Da Vinci had Dyslexia. Neurodiversity is just another step on the staircase of success, as many students have already shown. In the words of Segun Rasaki, 'success comes in many different ways, forms, shapes, and colors.'