I've been a classroom teacher for 20+ years, and I've weathered the changes that come and go. Very early on in my career, I realized that not everyone was learning. I fell into the trap of justification. Maybe you have heard these:
"S/he's not ready for learning". "Give him time he'll get there". "She just needs to focus and listen more", and my particular favourite
"He gives 100% in everything h
e does", suggesting he is incapable of learning more. Have you noticed how the lack of learning is placed on the child? Well, I wasn't happy with that for long. Our children deserve better. That began a journey of discovery and education, where I had to look at what I was, or wasn't doing as a classroom teacher. So I spent holidays studying the Feurestein method of unlocking the brain. It took four years to complete a PostGraduate Dip in Literacy Learning Difficulties from Massey University. I trained in elements of Reading Recovery. I attended many, many courses on how to teach children with dyslexia and processing problems. And you know, even with using these methods in the classroom, there were always some who struggled with learning and didn't make the progress I expected. And here comes the kicker - schools are not designed for the individual needs of students. I liken it to putting a square peg in a round hole. It doesn't work. Despite having the best teacher, in the best school, education in New Zealand remains the same institutions of when we were children. The demands placed on teachers can be overwhelming and a look into the near future doesn't see that changing anytime soon. Many modern learning environments are full of bells and whistles and they look great, but how does that account for individualism that many students need? Unfortunately, Ministry of Education resources are limited to the few lucky students, there simply isn't enough spaces in intervention to go around. This is how the Rolleston Learning Hub came to be. We have tutors available to individualise learning plans, to progress at a rate set by your child. We genuinely care about helping your child be successful in learning within the classroom.
