How Teachers Can Persuade the School to Support Their Students
Educators are often torn between meeting the needs of their students and being loyal, responsible, and responsive school employees. Rick Lavoie wrote Fighting the Good Fight: How to Advocate for Your Students Without Losing Your Job for general and special education teachers, reading specialists, and other staff who work in a particular school.
Lavoie tells you how to gain the trust of your principal — an indispensable ally — and your colleagues who also have critical roles to play. Here are some of Lavoie's suggestions on how to "win the game" in the hallways, teachers' lounge, and administration suite:
- If you are a new teacher, find a respected, successful teacher in your building and become his or her protégé.
- Build partnerships with colleagues in all departments and at all levels. You will need all the teachers, secretaries, custodians, and ancillary staff to assist your advocacy.
- Promote the concept of universal design, which asserts that special education strategies are effective with all students.
- Be positive and upbeat about your special education students. If you talk about how difficult, complex, and challenging these kids can be, your colleagues will be less willing to work with them. Give these kids a good reputation… and staff will be more likely to want to work with them.
- Deal with conflict effectively. Try to listen and be open to other people's perspectives; there may be something you can learn from them.
- When you bring your principal a problem, also bring several possible solutions.
Fighting the Good Fight includes the ten most common objections you'll confront while advocating for special needs students. It also provides the five steps of persuasion, which will help you learn how to overcome these objections.
read more >>
A Student's Perspective on Writing
"It's almost impossible to concentrate on how to spell words when I'm busy trying to think about the story. It's so hard to remember what I am writing about…" says Eli, a boy with dysgraphia, who is featured in A Student's Perspective on Writing. His mother, Regina G. Richards, proposes strategies to help. She suggests students use the keyword POWER:
P — prepare, list all of your ideas
O — organize, assemble the ideas
W — write the draft
E — edit, look for and correct errors
R — revise, write the final draft
Inspire Your Child to Overcome Their Dyslexia
Show them the story of Ben, a boy with dyslexia who received tutoring and "special classes" to learn to read. From the success of that extra help, he went on to write a book, "My Year with Harry Potter."
read more >>
Volunteer with LD OnLine
Do you want to help thousands of people get the right information about children with learning disabilities? You can help parents and teachers by joining our "virtual volunteer team." We are looking for writers, researchers, and people who can help with administrative tasks. We also need people who are willing to spread the word about LD OnLine into the LD community.
read more >>
A Must-Have Resource from LearningStore:The LD Teacher's Idea Companion (K-5)  Help your students succeed with this must-have resource for every K-5 teacher who teaches students with learning disabilities. |
Featured Articles
For All of Our Readers
- Henry Winkler: The World's Greatest Underachiever
Henry Winker studied his spelling words in his apartment. Somehow, during the time it took him to walk down the block from his apartment to his school, the words vanished. Just like that. He tells his story in Henry Winkler: The World's Greatest Underachiever. Winkler played the Fonz in "Happy Days" and wrote the Hank Zipzer series of books for children, which feature a main character with learning disabilities.
read more >>
For Teachers
- Assisting Students with Foreign Language Learning Difficulties in School
Research shows that students with learning disabilities can learn foreign languages through multisensory structured language. Some ways to Assist Students with Foreign Language Learning Difficulties in School include a) having students hear, see, and say the word simultaneously; b) teaching only one or two sounds and symbols at a time; and c) using visual aids when you can.
read more >>
For Parents
- How Do You Know If Your Child Might Have a Learning Disability?
Dr. Larry Silver answers the question, "How do you know if your child might have a learning disability?" He then offers suggestions for what you might do about it.
read more >>
For LD Adults
- Meeting the Challenge of Conformity
What do you do when your disability makes it difficult to fit in with your office colleagues? Read the story of Jane, and learn how she faced the challenge of conformity.
read more >>
In the News
- Advocates Celebrate Funding for Dyslexia Screenings
- 'Get Ready to Read!' Program Offers Screening
- Poet Who Struggled with Dyslexia Wins Pulitzer Prize
View more headlines in LD News >>
New in Our Yellow Pages
Schools
- All Can Read LLC
- Center for Psychological & Educational Assessment
- Chartwell School
- Empower Me, A Multisensory Learning Academy Dedicated to Empowering Children with Learning Differences
- Pride Learning Center
- SOAR Adventure Programs in California
- SOAR's Eagle View Ranch
- SOAR's North Carolina Adventure Programs
- The Summit School
Professionals
- Creative Learning Solutions, LLC
- Encompass Learning Solutions
- Specialized and Individualized Help for New Jersey Dyslexic and Dysgraphic Learners
Products
Professional Resources
Advertise in the LD OnLine Yellow Pages
Reach more than 200,000 parents and professionals each month. Since 1996, LD OnLine has been the number one source of trusted information for parents and professionals.
read more >>
All the Best from LD OnLine!
- Noel Gunther, Executive Director
- Shalini Anand, Technical Web Manager
- Dale S. Brown, Senior Manager
- Katie Chase, Associate Editor
- Kelly Deckert, Web Producer
- Laurie Fry, Publicist
- Sun Kim, Web Coordinator
- Christian Lindstrom, Director, Learning Media
- Alan Lundy–Ponce, Director, Learning Media Websites
- Joanne Meier, Ph.D., Research Consultant
- Laura Schreiber, Project Associate
- Cressida Shogren, Web Intern
- Rachael Walker, Outreach Consultant
Newsletter Editor: Dale S. Brown
