All Children Learn Differently

“Put your son on medication, or we can’t help him”

A mother recently shared with me that her 10-year-old son’s teacher told her to either medicate him or accept that he would not be successful in school. Angry and frustrated, the parent felt her son was being “punished for not fitting into the mold.” Unfortunately, it has become a common and normalized conversation when things aren’t going well.

Having worked in public schools as a teacher and administrator, I can understand that this teacher was likely trying to be supportive. She’s not wrong. In a one-size-fits-all structure of schooling, it is difficult for everyone to be successful. All children learn differently.

Flexibility matters

In a traditional, standards-based school setting, time is fixed and learning varies. Once it is time to move on from a lesson or unit, the entire class or group must move on. Even if teachers try to “differentiate” as they are teaching, it is inevitable that some students will master the material and others will not. Not surprisingly, over time, if students don’t master aspects of a concept, the learning gap compounds.

Schedules also tend to be rigid. If students are excited and invested in learning a particular topic, it’s unlikely they can continue diving in past the end of a class period. There can be frequent transitions, periods of waiting, reminders to be compliant. There is often lots of sitting, listening, and passive learning and not enough time for outdoor play, movement, and unstructured learning time.

One of the most common reasons parents share for choosing an alternative education option is flexibility.

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