Rather than straight lecture, the workshop requires the participants to immerse themselves in a classroom simulation, taking on the role of a child with a learning disability. He says that if they don't want to role play or get invovled, that's too bad because learning disabled students don't get a choice whether they want to be in the classroom. He then went on to teach a lesson, shooting questions at a rapid-fire pace, questions that would be simple if given the time or a less hostile environment. The participants were all adults, including educators, counselors, parents, even an engineer. You would expect them to be able to respond, but within 6 minutes of the simulation, they began showing signs of shutting down.
I won't go into the rest of the video since nothing I say would be as powerful as seeing it, and I urge everyone to watch it. My husband was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. Even though they had a name for his disability, no one at his school knew how to deal with it. This was the age before the world wide web, and information wasn't so readily available and accessible. So he grew up thinking that he was stupid and couldn't do anything about it, knowing that it wasn't his fault. His self-esteem has taken such a beating, especially growing up with a sister who is academically gifted and doesn't have to try for straight A's. Watching this video made me realize what he might have gone through and how difficult it must have been.
So check your local library or nearest college for Rick Lavoie's "How Difficult Can This Be: The F.A.T. City Workshop."
