Academic attention

Jordan is getting a kind of academic attention that we have never experienced before. His teachers really see what he is doing, and interpret what they see with insight and compassion. They are encouraging, while holding him to high standards. They are alert to his specific strengths and needs, and are able to design educational situations that will benefit him as much as possible. It is a real pleasure. Here is an update we got today about his reading, from the learning specialist who will be working with him in an upcoming book group: 

Jordan seemed to do well with Island of the Blue Dolphins; however [his regular teacher] knows much more than I do about that his day-to-day interaction with that book. The solid skills Jordan has when reading for pleasure are helpful when reading assignments for class. Whenever I checked in with him, he was engaged and was able to talk thoughtfully about the part he was reading. 

From conversations with [his teacher], I know that she wants to make sure he has a deep level of comprehension with regard to assigned text, and since she has the majority of the class to think about, having me focus on one small group seemed like a good way to ensure the understanding that we’re aiming for. (The book group meetings will be run mostly by the students, I’ll just be an observer or one of the members.) Making sure Jordan is able to demonstrate his level of comprehension orally (through discussion and maybe dictation, if appropriate), as well as in writing, continues to be an important aspect of assessing his understanding of any text. His writing seems to be going more smoothly for him and he is very capable; however I want to make sure we don’t forget that getting his ideas down in writing may still be impacted by his dysgraphia. So when assessing his reading comprehension, there needs to be an oral aspect of how we check in with him, as well as the written component. 

They just started the book this week, and it has some challenging themes and vocabulary specific to the time period. I’m sure Jordan will do well with the book.

Wow. For comparison, here is the kind of feedback we were getting about his reading last year:

Ouch. It still stings to read those. This was after we had the extensive learning assessments and conversations with the school to establish learning accommodations appropriate to his needs. I wish it could have been better for us in public school; I wish whatever wasn't right could be rectified (whether that is the preparation of the teacher, the teaching load, the class size, the curricular expectations, or whatever else contributed to this unfortunate situation). But it wasn't right, and I am so thankful to be where we are now.