Diana Smith

August 18, 2006

F.A.T. City Video Reflection
Chris Murphy

What struck you the most when watching this video?

Before watching the video, I was not aware how much of their social incompetence was
due to their LD’s. It reminded me of a student I had when I first started working with the
LD population. Justin was an incredibly smart, yet non-performing student. He had
trouble taking notes; he was very disorganized; his writing was illegible, and he had
problems with transitions and test taking. He was also extremely socially inept. He was
unable to look other students (or teachers) in the eyes; he was argumentative, and he
hated authority. While, gratefully, he was in a school with accepting students, the
tolerance did not always transfer to the teachers. Many just felt he was just a rebellious,
angry, and defiant student by choice. He worked harder than any student did in his class,
but he was often in trouble, and he never made citizenship (a type of behavior recognition
system). It is clear to see he was reluctant to answer questions or lead a discussion
because of his fear of embarrassing himself. His learning problems caused him to isolate
himself, and while his peers tolerated him, he did not have friends. If his teachers (and his
parents) had been more aware of how his LD’s influenced his behavior, I think many
things would have been different for him. He eventually left the school, another failure in
his mind.

I was made aware of how physical disabilities are quickly recognized and allowances are
made for these, but a “normal” looking person with learning disabilities is greeted with
skepticism and suspicion. People are generally very helpful to someone if they can
visually see the disability. This gracious approach is not so apparent when the disability
is hidden.

Anything that you have questions about after listening?

I do question some of the blanket statements or assumptions made about kids with LD’s.
I understand the author is trying to reach a broad audience, but for example, he stated that
a child labeled “using attention-seeking behavior” should be given attention; I feel that
was a major simplification of a complex challenge. I do not feel as a group of educators
working with an LD population that simply giving the child attention will solve the
problem. We also do not want to complicate things by adding a new challenge to the
situation. If a child receives attention every time he exhibits perhaps inappropriate
behavior, are we not teaching that child to continue acting inappropriately? It seems we
need to dig a little deeper and apply a set of strategies.
Anything resonate in terms of socio-emotional issues for these students?

I would like to view the actual workshop he used so I could see how adults responded to
the way LD kids might feel. I think this type of eye-opening experience might be a great
teaching tool for all teachers. I remember in a training session I attended for EL students.
The instructor, who was from Czechoslovakia, gave us the lesson in Czech. Of course,
we could not understand a word she said, but she also included a lot of visual clues and
examples. While we were unable to complete the lesson until she gave it to us in
English, her point was to get us to see what it felt like to be an international student in an
English speaking class. She also wanted to give us some strategies to help these students.