At what point does helping a children with any kind of barrier make it worse than not helping at all? A 10 year old I know has dyslexia.  Verbally, he’s near the top of the class, but as soon as he picks up a pen it all falls to pieces.  His reading isn’t too bad, but writing and spelling are a horrendous task that even with an enormous amount of effort, bring very little success when compared with his peers.

Soon the whole school is taking part in a sponsored spell to raise money for a local charity. The thought of having to spell unknown words, and his presumed low score bringing in less money than his peers caused sleepless nights and tears.

His parents were in a dilemma. Should they ask school to excuse him from the task? This would stop the worry over the spellings, but it would make him different to his peers and would he be able to raise any money?

Should he be given an alternative list of words? Again, this would make him different and may reinforce his perception of his barriers to learning.

His parents chose a third way – getting him to participate in the sponsored spell with the same words as his peers.  All sponsors would be a fixed amount rather than per word, so the pressure to have to do well to raise money was lifted.  They also spoke to him about how many he thought he would spell right.  He said about a ¼. They gave him a target of spelling ½ correctly and the other half phonetically, more if he could but whatever he managed they would be proud of him for giving it a go and facing his fears.

Did they do the right thing? Is it right for schools to have sponsored spells and other tests that may highlight differences, but may also give students the chance to succeed and shine?

Barriers to learning can make students feel different.  Do we need to stop them feeling different, or to make them embrace the unique, amazing person they are? Should we be celebrating the differences rather than making them feel they have to conform to reaching level 4, for example, at age 11 (and yes, I know the new primary curriculum has got rid of the levels!!)?

Please leave any comments or questions and I will do my best to answer and respond.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the education system (NOT teachers, lecturers or TAs, we all do the very best we can with what we have). The majority of AP kids that I teach have ADHD, dyslexia and other barriers to learning. They have been completely let down by the system, and by the time we get them at 14 or 15 they see themselves as failures and unable to learn. Many of them then go down a route of self destruction (drugs, thieving, drinking) and they can’t see the way back.

Hi!

I have worked in further education (as a qualified teacher) for the last 14 years. I also have 2 boys who have SENs (Special Educational Needs) and although are both above average intelligence, with the Ed Psych report to prove it, they both find formal education very hard, mentally, physically (they can’t sit still for very long) and emotionally.

I have come to the conclusion that the education system only caters for the round pegs to fit in their round holes.  This is not a dig at teachers, TAs or any of the wonderful people who work in education.  We all do what we can with the time and resources we have.

I believe that the educational reforms just make it harder and harder for the square pegs to fit.  For the past two years, I have taught alternative provision 14-16 year olds. These are the kids who have been permanently excluded for many different reasons.  They may have SENs, troubled home lives, anger management issues, or may just be ‘difficult’. Each one I have spoken to me told a different variation of the same story.  They hated school. They hated the way school made them feel. They felt like outsiders or failures. By the time we got them at Y9, 10 or 11 they were disillusioned and fed up with the whole system.  They felt they were on the scrap heap of life, they were failures.  We did have some successes, some that we managed to switch the light bulb back on, but others slipped through our fingers.

Skware Peg Rownd Hole is not just for children with SENs, not just for their parents, but is for anyone who feels a bit different, like they’re not quite the person society expects them to be.

We are all unique.  We are all amazing.  We all have the ability to sparkle and shine.

I hope these blogs will make you think, make you smile, make you realise there is no such thing as normal.

I hope you will comment, make suggestions, give me ideas for new posts.

If you have read a good book or article, please share it with me – I have plenty of books on my bookshelves I am planning to review over the next few months, and am happy to add to the list.  If you would like to write a guest blog, please get in touch.

My idea for this is that we will build a supportive community where we can forget fitting into the round holes, and all embrace our individuality and who we are, and who we are truly meant to be.

Enjoy!!