"A Mind of Your Own"

Last class, we watched a video entitled "A Mind of Your Own". Up until this point of the course, I had been feeling very overwhelmed about the responsibilities that teachers undertake when establishing an inclusive classroom. The film gave me hope and made me feel like I would be capable of this challenge in my future classroom. Each student that was featured in the film provided me with some insight into their perspective of what it is like to live with a learning disability.

In the film, one student equated his learning disability to a big rock that he had to climb over. He would stutter in class because he was nervous and the other students would always tease him. His grandmother started helping him read at a higher level and he played chess, which he was exceptional at. This gave him the confidence that he needed in order to decrease the size of the rock that he had to climb over.

Another student explained that her learning disability was like a chest full of drawers. Information would go in to the drawers and was organized; however, when it was time to retrieve the information, it would be rearranged differently and was confusing. To overcome her disability, this student also worked on the talent that she possessed - opera singing.

The last student that was featured in the film compared his learning disability with ten television sets that were all on at the same time; he wasn't able to filter out the noises and concentrate. He was diagnosed with having ADHD and the Ritalin that he was prescribed was somewhat effective in helping him concentrate. His woodworking and writing abilities also assisted him in overcoming his disability because he was able to focus on his strength and not be submerged in his failures.

There were two very important insights that I extracted from the film. First of all, each student sincerely does want to learn... maybe even more so than students who society would judge as not having a disability. Secondly, when teaching students with learning disabilities, it is imperative that we utilize their strengths to facilitate them in overcoming their disabilities.