http://www.rayzell.com/rayzell.html

Some members of this forum may have gathered from reading some of my posts :D that I have a suspicion bordering on disapproval of how quick we are to label kids these days. Okay, so I'm all for finding out what scenario or environment best aids a child through a learning process, or identifying that not every child is the same or can be pummelled into a convenient box, so I just thought I'd share the above link with you

Yes, I know not many people would aspire to their kid being a Professional Rock Fan as Ray Zell describes himself, but I thought you might like to see what was possible when a kid identified his own strengths and played to them :thumbsup:

Interesting article strix!!

But im not entirely sure what you mean about labelling??

I suppose it depends on weather or not you see a lable as a negative thing?

I know that it may appear that professionals are all to quick to diagnose a child with a condition but i can assure that it really aint as simple as that (most parent go through hell first).

It would be fantastic if our education system would let each child learn at there own pace and not place so many social expectation on our children, but unfortunatley it just isnt like that!, the standard education system only caters for the kids the fit into XYZ boxes and for the small percentage of children that dont !!..........well they still get the lable!! Naughty! disruptive! challenging! ect ect.

Also most of the SEN services within this city (and others) can only be accessed by schools if a medical diagnosis has been given! Madness I KNOW !! there are 100's of kids out there that dont tick all the boxes for a diagnosis (and there are literally dozens of boxes need ticking for most conditions), so again they a labelled as naughty and disruptive!!

For us the decision to label our daughter (as you put it LOL) was the most heart rendering time ever!!! realising that your child just aint the same as other kids is as im sure you can imagine heart breaking, but 18mths on i can tell you we definatly made the right decision.

Some children (and adults) need to be treated differantly as XYZ doesnt make sense to them!! to try and treat/teach them to be like XYZ is abit like try to put a square peg in around hole LOL.

Our way of thinking is by having our daughters differances diagnosed this will enable her to reach her full potentional as she has the people around her to help work with them.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising parents for searching for answers and help, I'm moaning about a system which is obsessed with perfectly square holes ('square' being an appropriate word :suspect: ) when all of the pegs have their own unique shape

I'm a victim of both sides of this

I moved secondary schools twice (that's three schools) as a result of relocation, meaning picking up and dropping subjects which had not been standardised by the National Curriculum yet. Kids like me NEEDED the National Curriculum

The problem with such standardisation though is that it makes square holes :shakes:

Do we also make kids far more aware that they're gaining a label these days? Ray Zell seems to have not noticed he was being taken out of main stream until somebody pointed it out years after he'd left school

We had a rash of teachers in the eighties who objected to any form of competition, which has led to a whole heap of kids who can't be 'good' at something. Why can't we celebrate our fortes - no matter what shape peg we are?

I can see both sides. A lable can stifle a childs chances sometimes but other times it can free a child from being shouted at for not being able to achieve the impossible. I am reminded of a teenager I knew with Downes syndrome who was an athlete, and wrote poetry but people just saw someone with learning difficulties based on her appearance. Despite the fact she could obviously cope with main stream and protests from her family she was put into a special school where she was miserable because the work was so boring and pitched to the ones with lowest ability. On the other hand I have a daughter with dyspraxia who would have benefitted from an early recognition of her problems. If only every child was purely assessed on their abilities and needs and did not have to jump through hoops to get the help they need. Every child has special needs after all.

that's exactly what I'm on about duckweed

why the label? a label comes with a heap of preconceptions which aren't necessarily true, which not only creates bias where it didn't exist, but affects how a child perceives themselves

the worst part is that we're not teaching kids to just get along with people and accept that we all have differences

In no other time have we been so obsessed with 'normal' - but that's another label ;)

that's exactly what I'm on about duckweed

why the label? a label comes with a heap of preconceptions which aren't necessarily true, which not only creates bias where it didn't exist, but affects how a child perceives themselves

the worst part is that we're not teaching kids to just get along with people and accept that we all have differences

In no other time have we been so obsessed with 'normal' - but that's another label ;)
The term we use now is a neurological difference:thumbsup:

:hihi: so it has a new label now? :hihi:

thanks for the update espadrille :)