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[almuze]

Here is a question - I have a girl in my first grade class that I think has some type of learning disablity. It is really really difficult for her to follow directions, even when her friends repeat them in turkish, she has no real attention span, and she writes almost everything in mirror image - like, all of her letters are exactly backwards .

I asked the class teacher and she said, no nothing is wrong, I asked the turkish esl teacher and she said, well, the girls mother died, and now she has a step mother, so of course she will be a little slow... the parents are just happy to have her out of the house,

so, I think I will end up leaving this little girl to her fate, unless any one else has any other suggestions.

any suggestions?

[mrauc941]

Unfortunately I have no suggestions for you. However on this topic...What has the experience of other teachers been RE learning disabilities in Turkey? I have come to understand that I have at least 3 students with serious learning disabilities. One seems to be dyslexic the others Im not sure about at all. I was quite shocked when I first discovered the other teachers reactions...of one student 'He has a body but no brain.' These students are generally not included in the class. Instead they are expected to just sit and be quiet...at least in English lessons. As far as I can tell there is absolutlely no special help given to these students at any time.

How much does this scenario apply to your experiences?

[queenfrog]

I have and have had some students with problems. One was a girl 15 or 16 but she was only in the 6th grade. No one informed me at first but I figured it out later when I asked questions. (She is really small so she didn't look older). I put her in the front row and made sure she was always looking at me. When I gave a listening or speaking quiz I made sure she was following alon by holding up my finger for each number. It took a while but she did start to understand what I was doing and was not the weakest student. But don't get excited she was still low.

Currently I have a boy that everyone says 'Has no brain'. He used to write weird letters in his book. The first time I saw this I told him his homework wasn't correct and he needed to correct what he had written (I wrote the answers on the board). I also erased the strange letters he had written and visually pointed out the words. He also sits near me and I also check to make sure that he is copying correctly. He hasn't written those weird letters for me since then. Also I had the class do paired reading. One student reads the book aloud and then they switch when finished. I paired him with a patient girl and she helped him read the whole book! He read every sentence-I know it doesn't mean he understood all of it but it was more than just sitting and doing nothing.

Those two stories should make you feel good and let you know that you are not alone. Don't let them do nothing if it is possible. If not, don't beat yourself up because you already know what the other teachers at your school are doing for this child (or not doing).

[corall]

quite sad really.

there are kids in my 15 milyar a year school where the parents pay to keep their obviously learning disabled kid in class. although they believe that there is nothing wrong with them???

as far as i know kids with learing disabiliies or worse really have no special class or special teachers. although the slowest kindies in my school do have their own class - there are three of them. the rest of the kids in the older grades are mixed among the other students and no one can tell the parents any different. what's worse is i think people just stop caring too...

[ghost]

Special Education, as we know it in Canada and the U.S. is not a big priority in Turkey, and for that reason many students who are not up to scratch will simply be thought of as dull or stupid or both. Testing for things like dyslexia is unknown in most of Turkey, and ritalin is not used for those students who are hyperactive, although ghost, yaramaz and springbok lament that fact....during the time they taught unruly kids in their respective colleges.

The kinds of institutions foreigners teach in are money making operations, and concerns about "special needs" are not on the cards for those directing.....simply not a priority. The result is a lot of kids are thrown onto the scrapheap (educational) through no fault of their own. Sad, but reality.

[yaramaz]

Actually it wasnt so much that I wanted to give the kids daily doses of Ritalin, but rather that they stop eating mountains of sweets and drinking endless soft drinks during the breaks. I can't help but think that mountain of sugar and chemicals didnt help their attention spans.

[monkel]

yaramaz, i complained to the owner of the school about the menu: too much bad stuff, not enough fruit, and of all the suggestions i gave to him about how to get things running more smoothly, this was the only one he took seriously. much more fruit on the menu: at the very least it looks to the parents as if the school is caring about nutrition and it reduces the chances of getting freaked out kids in your class. maybe you could try this??

[ghost]

[yaramaz]

Where I live, on the Asian side of Istanbul, I always see hordes of joggers and walkers at all hours out on the waterfront pathway that leads from near Kadikoy to Pendik (a long way). There are always people out walking on the street, and Bagdat Caddesi is full of strolling people, day and night. When I was in Kayseri people didnt jog but everyone went out for evening strolls.

Most of my turkish friends don't smoke and are respectful of the fact that I dont.


They arent that bad, ghost. Really. I think you just stumbled into a bad time, a bad place, a bad lot. I cant think of why else everything was so bad for you. Mine has been more of a mixed bag of experiences, both good and bad and odd and intriguing.

[ghost]

[yaramaz]

Dearest ghost,

I am currently sitting in a gorgeous flat overlooking the Bosphorus and having a wild and crazy glass of wine with my chain-smoking PhD friend from Britain, who is completely disregarding any concerns for my health and safety. Our party animal afternoon has consisted of discussing books and travel and, er, caves (I miss caves). Her cruel and barbaric Turkish husband has been very rude to us by NOT SMOKING all day! How cruel!


Love ya to bits, ghostie,

Yar

[ImanH]

Guilty as charged I'm afraid.
In fact I have to admit I have corrupted our Yaramaz too. She is currently on her second pack of Maltepe cigarrettes (of the afternoon). I should add too that she is currently rolling around on the floor, rollickingly drunk, demanding something that sounds like springbacks (or is it sprungbooks?) with an occasional reference to caves? I can't quite make it out.
Yours

[yaramaz]

Dear ghost,

*hic*

love

Yar