Entry 5 (chapter 4)

Since we did not have class this past week, I thought I would discuss in this blog entry the importance of being able to identify children with learning disabilities in a classroom setting.

One of the important topics in chapther 4 was the discrepancy model. One major problem I have with the model is one that is touched on in the chapter; "discrepancies between IQ and achievement/performance may exist for any number of reasons; thus, this approach is really just helping us find children with 'unexplained underachievement' that may, or may not be due to a learning disability"(pg. 112)
What this quote is saying is something I agree with 100%. Even though it is very important to be able to identify an exceptional student early on, (as we learned in chapter 3) being young can also be a disadvantage. Students could have enviromental influences that cause them to not be motivated in school, not care to do well, and just flat out not care about school at all, therefore causing the teacher to believe the student is struggling with material and believe it could be a learning disability, when in reality it is just the mind set of the student not wanting to learn. This goes into what was discussed later in the chapter: "Not all children with academic problems have learning disabilities" (pg. 124) Which further supports my point that even though the model, and detecting disabilities at a young age is critical to providing the best education and support system for the child, sometimes it can be misleading.

I was told that for this post, I had to include a Podcast...which involves a webcam..which I do not have. I was told if I do not have a webcam, to include a powerpoint slide show..which I also do not have. = [
INSTEAD!! I figured I would show that I know how to include a movie by adding a sample video that came with my computer...yes, I know what you're thinking..."A sample video?" but hey!! at least I am "Tech Savay!!" YAY!! = ]

PS!!! My answer to "What is service learning?"
"Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities."
Yes...I googled the answer. = ] CLICK ME
why is service learning important to me?
I believe that service learning is much like what Niagara does with education majors: Learn and Serve. Because the integrates education majors into the classroom to observe, and take in the enviroment of the classroom and really see if this is the career that they want for the rest of their lives!! In a way teachers do influence their students with civic responsibility and to stregthen communities just be teaching children within the community.