Jasmine wants desperately to be homeschooled, but isn't able to at this time. While we are praying for God to open up that door of opportunity for Jasmine to come home for her education, we have doing our best to have a positive attitude and do the best we can with the public school. Jasmine works very hard, but does have some learning disabilities.
I kind of disagree with the labeling, but I use it to show that Jasmine struggles in public school. Not wanting her to be labeled or to feel less intelligent than the other students, I told her that she just learns differently. That, by the way, is true. Jasmine is a bright girl that has dealt with speech issues, hearing issues, and many other things that slowed down her ability to "catch on" as quickly as the other children did. She wants to do well academically, but it is difficult. When she is undergoing a stressful circumstance, she is easily distracted (ADD) from her studies.
Jasmine had a conversation with her guidance counselor one day at the school. She told her guidance counselor what I told her. "I just learn differently." The response given to Jasmine was upsetting. The guidance counselor responded, "That's the problem."
What? Learning differently than the way the school teaches is a problem? Well, yes, it is... for Jasmine. Schools aren't adaptable. They can't be when there is 30 kids in a class. They don't care if a child is more visual than auditory. They don't care if a child is bored by the textbooks, but loves stories. They don't adapt their programs so that child can receive the best education. It's not about the individual child, it is about the general education of all for the least amount of effort. To measure if they are successful, a student is then tested and tested and tested.
Jasmine came home that day once again feeling that something is wrong with her... instead of with the system. So many jobs in the real world aren't handled like schools. If a person gets a job, even with education, they receive hands on training. Most doctors don't just read a bunch of textbooks and then open a practice. They study anatomy with cadavers, they do training in hospitals with living patients under the care of more experienced doctors, they spend years of their lives doing hands on work on top of their studies. This is because, in order to really and truly learn, they have to learn with more than one or two methods.
I have seen Jasmine take off when I can incorporate other methods of learning into her schooling. The trouble is that my time is limited to do this. She is at school during the day. In the evening, time is more limited. I do the best I can to go over her assignments with her and help her where needed. That in itself is challenging since I have only limited access to her school materials. Yes, even in this day and age, there are books and things the children can't take out of the classroom.
Schools only teach to a small portion of the children... the ones that learn best by listening and reading textbooks. Most children don't learn that way. This explains the sad state of affairs with the American Education system. Expected to mold into a pattern that isn't for everyone, students are not performing competitively with other nations.
After a break for a couple of years, I had forgotten the attitudes of the teachers and administrators at the school. While I am sure there are many teachers that are innovative and understand the differences in children's learning, some just make things difficult for students that don't adapt themselves as well to the traditional teaching styles. Jasmine is one of those. We keep plugging away at her school, praying that God will open doors that only He can open in Jasmine's education.
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