Richard Lavoie's Exercises Analysis
This is a great presentation by a very bright educator, Richard Lavoie. I would have given it 5 stars were it not for some production problems related to the original taping.
Lavoie takes a group of people with verious ages and careers and goes through a series of exercises designed to give "normal" people an idea of what it is like to have learning differences (LD). The exercises are remarkably effective and amazingly enlightening. He also dispels myths and discusses common errors teachers and parents make in teaching and communicating with children (and adults, for that matter).
The exercises take one through experiences dealing with processing problems, memory problems, perceptual differences, motor function problems, reading problems, …show more content…
and behavioral challenges.
While there are some obvious problems with the sound at times (probably malfunctioning wireless mics in the original recordings), the material is still extremely valuable and well worth the minor inconvenience of the sound issues.
While somewhat dated (notice the width of ties and lapels), it is an extremely important work, especially given the increase in such problems today. It is still very powerful and relevant today. This program has helped make me an advocate for LD people.
However, this is not just for educators or those who know LD people.
I think every business and organization should have their employees watch it, especially customer service folks, as it would be extremely helpful for them to understand the behavior and problems of many people. Since it has been shown that up to 80% of the people in prison have learning differences, it would be good for law enforcement and related people as well. In fact, I think it should be shown to everyone on a regular basis.
Learning differences are not the same as mental retardation, a common mistake many people not in Special Ed make. I like to use the example of color blindness to try and explain this to people - these are errors in processing perceptual and memory data that are simply not under the control of the person, just like being color blind. No amount of sarcasm, shouting, punishing, or "motivating" these people will change what they cannot physically process.
Given the massive amount of "moral" and related misjudgments society heaps on those who are different, I consider this material extremely important, and I heartily encourage everyone to watch it at least once. I owe Lavoie a tremendous debt of gratitude for what this information has done in my life, something I imagine he hears a
lot.
Lavoie takes a group of people with verious ages and careers and goes through a series of exercises designed to give "normal" people an idea of what it is like to have learning differences (LD). The exercises are remarkably effective and amazingly enlightening. He also dispels myths and discusses common errors teachers and parents make in teaching and communicating with children (and adults, for that matter).
The exercises take one through experiences dealing with processing problems, memory problems, perceptual differences, motor function problems, reading problems, …show more content…
and behavioral challenges.
While there are some obvious problems with the sound at times (probably malfunctioning wireless mics in the original recordings), the material is still extremely valuable and well worth the minor inconvenience of the sound issues.
While somewhat dated (notice the width of ties and lapels), it is an extremely important work, especially given the increase in such problems today. It is still very powerful and relevant today. This program has helped make me an advocate for LD people.
However, this is not just for educators or those who know LD people.
I think every business and organization should have their employees watch it, especially customer service folks, as it would be extremely helpful for them to understand the behavior and problems of many people. Since it has been shown that up to 80% of the people in prison have learning differences, it would be good for law enforcement and related people as well. In fact, I think it should be shown to everyone on a regular basis.
Learning differences are not the same as mental retardation, a common mistake many people not in Special Ed make. I like to use the example of color blindness to try and explain this to people - these are errors in processing perceptual and memory data that are simply not under the control of the person, just like being color blind. No amount of sarcasm, shouting, punishing, or "motivating" these people will change what they cannot physically process.
Given the massive amount of "moral" and related misjudgments society heaps on those who are different, I consider this material extremely important, and I heartily encourage everyone to watch it at least once. I owe Lavoie a tremendous debt of gratitude for what this information has done in my life, something I imagine he hears a
lot.