General Education
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It is vital that you choose a school, program or teacher that best matches your child’s learning needs. To do so, you need to educate yourself about your child’s needs and the choices available.
Keep in mind that there is no perfect educational solution. After all your hard work, you may find a choice that is close but not perfect. Adjustments may be necessary.
And remember, as children grow and change, their needs will change. Today’s choice may not be the best one tomorrow.
Learning Styles
How we learn is just as important to the learning process as what we learn. Just having the awareness of how your child interacts with his world is powerful. Did you know that your daughter can’t effectively memorize her spelling words unless she spells each out loud first? Did you know that your son’s incessant pencil tapping actually helps him stay on task? Do their teachers know these things? Share what you learn with your child’s teachers so they can better teach him or her.
“Learning styles refers to the highly individualized ways we take in, process, and organize information. Our preferred learning style is the natural channel we use to learn most quickly, easily, and effectively” (from Discover Academy at ministry.com).
There are four basic learning styles:
- Kinesthetic: Child works best when able to move and do things with large muscles.
- Tactual: Child works best when able to feel using small motor muscles and through personal relationships.
- Visual: Child works best when able to see, watch, read and view.
- Auditory: Child works best when able to hear, speak, discuss and think out loud.
When you find out how your child learns best, you can use that information to make an informed decision about his current or future educational placement.