DISENGAGEMENT AND 'BEST-PRACTICE'

DISENGAGEMENT and 'BEST-PRACTICE'

When I ask adult dys-lexics about their schooling years, and specifically ask what it was that made the positive difference in that nightmare setting, typically the response I get is something along the lines of, “Miss Jones, She made the difference.”

And what the Miss Jones of the world did can be adequately summed up as ‘Gave time, consideration, and TLC’.

So there you go, as far as the dys-lexics of the world are concerned, what any teacher needs to do, in order to deal with the problems associated with this elusive, amorphous thing called ‘dys-lexia’ is give copious quantities of time, consideration and TenderLovingCare.

Great – but not great, as any teacher would just role their eyes and sigh, suggesting that this is what they have been doing their entire teaching career – and the situation still seems to be getting worse.

So, lets look at the scene from a different angle to see if we can find some better sense – or at least a way in.

If we were to focus on the negative classroom experience of both the student and the teacher, we could say that it is characterised by an overriding notion of DISENGAGEMENT – meaning that the child is to some extent removed from what is going on in the lesson.  This could include;

1. - Being bored and dreamy in class and not actively paying attention;

2. - Being physically present, but otherwise withdrawing their energy from the situation (except perhaps to entertain themselves);

3. -Being physically absent from class.  We currently have Secondary schools with up to 40% absenteeism per day.  (That is, 40% of the pupil number are actively absent from at least one class-session per day).

Although it could be argued that point 3. above is really only an issue at secondary level, its preliminary levels are well documented at primary level and are evident in most if not all schools.

If it is the case that active disengagement is at least one of the major factors in the educational career of the dys-lexic child, then it certainly behooves as to ask what measures we can possibly take to prevent this creeping disease.  In fact this is a commonly asked question and is being examined by researchers and skilled educators all over the world.

Unfortunately when we ask a question of this nature we typically lead ourselves into looking for gaps in our system, for things that we could do as-well, instead-of, differently, or better.  What we are less inclined to do is examine our current belief systems, our current understandings of ‘good practice’, or even ‘best practice’, and check to see if they really are worthy of such classification.

Working one-to-one for over 30 years with both children and adults who have experienced difficulty in our education system, I have enjoyed a privileged position and a privileged relationship, and via this have been given information that, sadly, has taken me a life-time to process and recognise.

Although I seldom have directly asked 10 year old lads what it is that teachers do that makes the classroom situation so intolerable for them, when I look back and sense their frustration, anxiety and anger, I recognise a common theme in the feedback they have been giving me.  For them it is not about what the teachers are not doing that creates their difficulties, but rather it is about what the teachers need to STOP DOING.

Their feedback strongly suggests that teachers as a body hold, value and are guided by  a whole range of beliefs and practices (truths) basic to accepted teaching philosophy and style that incrementally erodes the diesel student’s self-concept, their experience of success, their willingness to participate, and eventually their active engagement in the classroom.

Asking for feedback from the students themselves is risky, (some would even say it is unprofessional  and unethical) in that they may tell us something that we don't want to know. Irrespective of this potential debate, any seller of consumer products knows that customer feedback is essential to survival in the marketplace.  Our education system studiously disregards the opinion and the voice of the 'failed' student. To my ears the feedback from the children themselves is that their failure and withdrawal is a product of teacher belief and activity, and that teachers are unwittingly undermining the ability of some children in the classroom, and are inadvertently creating the very problem that they are working so hard to remove.

Although such a statement will predictably and understandably generate an indignant self-protective response from members of the teaching profession, there may be more value in it than some are initially willing to allow.

Yes it is the case that exhaustive and ongoing research has led us to our classroom philosophies, beliefs and style, and that the overwhelming evidence is that this has led to some remarkable and positive techniques and approaches in teaching – but we know that it is still the case that our system does not work for a significant proportion of the children.  Ironically but understandably these are the children who consume a disproportionate amount of any individual teacher’s energy and patience.

In my new book (DYS-LEXIA - THE BIGGER PICTURE), to be published early next year, I will spend some time looking at ‘teaching truths’ - beliefs that are so implicit to our teaching head-space that often we do not even recognise that we hold them, and operate within them.

These ‘teaching truths’ have evolved because they equate with effective teaching with most of the children in the classroom, and we naturally hold fast to methods that are seen to be effective.  But we know they are only effective for MOST of the children we teach.  What we fail to see is that for other children these very same principles, methods and strategies may be actively problematic, and creating a world-wide problem of 'disengagement'.

Laughton King

August 2012