Learning bisadilities in the age of bisruption
Most likely you managed to make sense of the title above, with a short corrective hesitation. Give yourself a pat on the back. But for young learners with dyslexia, the confusing mirroring of some letters such as b and d, poses a constant struggle to find meaning, to read fluently, and can often trigger a cascade of behavioral misunderstandings.
As we recognize Learning Disabilities Awareness Month this October, let us work to ensure that those with learning disabilities receive the appropriate support they need to reach their potential and thrive. The field’s leading authority, the US-based National Center for Learning Disabilities, finds that one in five students across the United States have some forms of Learning Disabilities (LD). Dyslexia exists among a set of other recognized conditions — mild to severe — that impact language and math processing, executive functioning, motor coordination and attention regulation (such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder). Many live easily enough with mild challenges in some areas, but severe LD can profoundly impact learning and socialization. Sadly, persistent unawareness of LD often leads to unfair conclusions that such individuals are lazy, stupid, have discipline problems, etc. They risk slipping beneath the radar for targeted intervention.
Today, we face an unprecedented level of disruption in all fields of life. Constant advances in technology, including artificial intelligence, tend to emphasize the need for hard skills and knowledge for success. However, research from the Sutton Trust suggests that confidence, curiosity, social and emotional skills — the ‘soft skills’ — are equally or more valuable than conventional academic qualifications, even as labor markets shift towards automation. Similarly, David Deming found that strong social and cognitive skills together are in greater demand than academic skills alone. As the world is headed toward more automation, ironically, being more closely in touch with being human becomes an asset.
These emerging realities embracing life skills education seem well suited to students with LD. But how can we also best provide the appropriate specialized support services for them? Inclusive education environments, where students with and without disabilities learn together, offer promising solutions. Students with LD taught in inclusive environments achieve far better academic and social outcomes than they would have through separated models.
As for students without disabilities, what better way for them to nurture the ‘non-cognitive’ skills mentioned earlier? Interacting in learning spaces with LD peers, they develop curiosity, empathy and creativity. They come to appreciate diversity as part of a whole community. With such wide learning outcomes, more schools need to get on board the inclusion and equity narrative.
Fortunately, government education policy-makers need not look further than the UNESCO’s guide to ensuring inclusion and equity in education. It is intended “to create system-wide change for overcoming barriers to quality educational access, participation, learning processes and outcomes, and to ensure that all learners are valued and engaged equally.” Best of all, it is applicable to all countries and educational systems.
Looking back on the theme of the WISE 2017 in Doha (14 — 16 November), Co-Exist, Co-Create: Learning to live and work together, it was not merely about finding our role to play. It was also about lending our hands to others in need. In the award-winning Indian film Taare Zameen Paar, eight-year-old Ishaan struggles in school and falls into depression when he is sent away to boarding school in an attempt to discipline him and improve his grades. Ram, a new art teacher, notices Ishaan’s melancholia and discovers he’s dyslexic. Ram comes to break all conventions to rekindle Ishaan’s interest in language and mathematics, and hone his exceptional artistic talents.
I am always reminded of this moving film in discussions around LD. Like many people with LD, the Learning Disabilities Awareness Month often passes with little attention. Hence, I encourage you to become an advocate for inclusive education, to raise awareness of LD in your community so that all our young people can find ways to thrive and achieve their dreams. Who knows, your small contribution could make a world of difference to an eight-year-old boy like Ishaan.
Original version of this revised piece was published on WISE Ed.review on October 2017.
