We had a lovely cycle down to GAP to meet the home ed group today, via McD for breakfast. Thankfully the rain stayed off for us today! It's the last one til mid september so we brought snacks. there's a lot of vegans & such so I brought cherries.
There was a lovely spread so I spent the entire time in the kitchen I'm afraid! I had a chat with a lady about labels/diagnosis as a way to get help for children experiencing problems in school. I think it got a bit heated when two of them mentioned the label they'd settled on for their kids was "gifted". As far as I know this label will not help anyone with "other learning style" issues. Surely the label is going to have to include something negative about the child, if it is to be taken into account when the school is dealing with the child? Anyway I may have become too loud at this point, so I think i must make amends later!
My lovely son Fred is labelled as disabled and that helps us access the help we need. We don't sit around the house all day calling him disabled though, or listing the ways he is less able than others!
Anyway I've struggled putting this point across before, but I strongly find labels helpful.
!
Hi Cheerfulmum, it certainly sounds as though it was an interesting discussion! I think a 'label' can be helpful if it enable you to move to a greater understanding of a child (and they of themselves) and also to access any appropriate support that might be available (be that financial,emotional, spiritual etc.). They exist so that we can all be sure what we are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with some of the more politically correct ones. For example, it seems that 'learning difficulties' can mean anything from mild dyslexia through severe brain damage whereby a person needs full support with basic activities. So if somebody told me their child had 'learning difficulties' I would still need quite a lot of clarification as to what that actually meant for them. Others are much more helpful!
I would have loved to have heard your reactions to 'gifted' part.... Maybe you were just on different wavelengths during that discussion!
Keep up the good work as you invest in your children and seek to encourage others,
Love Kondwani