Enabling Dreams To Be Better

     A child's dream is filled with so much power and potential. Unfortunately, there are many setbacks for some children that suffer from disabilities and diseases. It is important as an educator to not make that child feel neglected or discouraged. They have the potential to be as a great as any child born healthy. It would be my responsibility to unlock those dreams to make them better.

     Do disabilities hit home for me? Fortunately, I do not have any close relative with a known disabilities. We all have grown up to be healthy enough to get our high school diploma and chase our dreams. I have been around people with disabilities when it comes to my schooling. I always had one classroom in every class with some sort of learning disabilities. This influenced me to understand and realise that disabilities are common among my life.

     Children with disabilities are everywhere. According to the World Report on Disability approximately one billion people in the world are living with a disability, with at least 1 in 10 being children and 80% living in developing countries (2015). That means that every classroom I will be teaching in will have a child with disabilities. That means that I would need to prepare and make strategies to accompany the children with the proper education to make them succeed.

     A child who suffers from learning disabilities have a hard time in the classroom. I need to educate myself on how to take those learning disabilities and turn them into advantages. The Great Schools Staff (2002) emphasises that teaching a child with learning disabilities requires patience and allowing them to make self goals. No matter how slow or fast they learn, it is progress made and should be appreciated. As a educator I will encourage to always move forward and learn something everyday in the classroom. If the child learns one thing in the day, it is a success to me.

     Another way to help the child is to reinforce what is learned. Whatever is taught that day should continue to be in their head after school is over. I've learned over the years that constant reminder of material will help me and that is the same with children with learning disabilities. As a teacher, I would assign homework everyday. It would not be strenuous or something that would make the child feel discouraged. The homework would be a fun activity to remind the child about what the class learned today.

REFERENCES

Great Schools Staff. 2012. Study and test-taking strategies for kids with learning difficulties. Great Kids. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/study-and-test-taking-strategies-for-kids-with-learning-difficulties/

Global Partnership For Education. 2015. Children with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.globalpartnership.org/focus-areas/children-with-disabilities