Small Blessings in a Time of Pandemic. Maybe You’re a Microschooler…
By Rachel Moore, MD, Certified Dyslexia Practitioner
Starting with the obvious…there is nothing good about the COVID-19 pandemic. NOT ONE THING. It’s a terrible tragedy for all of us and I know we’re all feeling lots of things – sadness, frustration, short-tempered, angry, cooped up and generally disagreeable. But I’ve noticed, and perhaps you have too, that even in the worst of times, there are still many things for which to be grateful, little slivers of good things or maybe even great big chunks of things from time to time. I’d like to write about one good thing I’ve noticed here…
School, especially school in large groups can be very challenging for our kids with dyslexia. The pace might be too fast or a teacher may give a lot of verbal instructions in a row leading to overload, confusion, even tears. Many dyslexic kids have trouble reading when there is surrounding noise. There is almost always surrounding noise. Of course, there are the accommodations that we ask for and schools promise. Everyone means for these to happen…but sometimes they just can’t, or won’t or don’t. It’s just every day life and it’s not perfect. I’m not blaming, I’m just saying it’s pretty tough out there sometimes always being the kid who is lost on the page or “not getting it” in class, or needs help but doesn’t want to have to ask yet AGAIN for the class to wait for her to catch up. Growing up is hard enough without always standing out just when you wish you could blend in.
So, when school in big, LOUD groups became “quiet” school, at-home school, online school, work-at-your-own-pace school… I like to imagine a lot of dyslexic kids breathing a sigh of relief. Of course, they’re going to miss their friends and their activities, but that one thing, that BIG thing, that “school thing” has been taken off of their plate. Suddenly, they can take lavish amounts of time to look up answers, to explore and ask questions, to ask parents and siblings for help without fear of embarrassment or blow back. No one is watching and no one cares except for the people who love you. What a nice change! What a chance to try something new. For the first weeks before school “came back”, my dyslexic daughter made her own school and she decided what to learn. The kid voluntarily made a schedule and then took lessons in South African culture, AP Chemistry, German, online business, literature, art and Algebra (she’s in 7th grade). It was impressive and she learned SO much. Imagine if school was like that all the time, allowing students to pursue their interests within a curriculum in more depth instead of skimming the surface. That is exactly what the microschooling trend is all about. Kids should love learning! And they will if they have a say in what they learn and how they learn. Microschools shrink the time spent in classroom settings and increase the time spent actively learning and pursuing individual interests.
If you have a learner at your house who has benefitted from a break with traditional schooling, maybe you are a microschooler too. Perhaps you have also found a small blessing in this very difficult time.
Want more info on microschooling? Lancaster Reading Solutions, LLC has its own microschool in Lancaster for kids K to 6.
