Diverse Brains

In our pre-conference yesterday, the students and I got into a conversation about different types of learning. I guess it started by something I often say...that just as we are all different on the outside and recognizable by our various appearances, we are also different on the inside. That includes the way our brains work. One of the students said she has dyslexia and can't spell well, and though she can work math problems, she often comes up with the wrong answer. One thinks in pictures and gets frustrated by writing, feeling that she cannot say everything she sees. Another is an auditory learner. As a child she couldn't do homework, and now at thirty-two does not take notes but makes high grades on tests. These differences are considered a "handicap" even though all of them went through much testing that ultimately determined that they are intelligent and actually "gifted." But they had difficult years within rigid school systems until they figured out for themselves how they can learn best. It is a mystery to me why a civilized America cannot implement more diverse and creative ways of educating children. In a perfect world . . .