I had a brief meeting yesterday with the principal of our current homeschool provider. I sent her an SOS text message the other day because Coby and I had couldn’t figure out the solution to his Math problem. She obliged by spending a few minutes of her time with me. After her quick explanation, I only understood part of it haha! Because when I tried to solve it again at home that afternoon, I was back to square one (sound of forest creatures in the background). How did she do that again?
But I believe more than the Math tutorial, the Lord allowed us to speak to each other. I believe that was a God-appointed time so that the He could correct me. During my conversation with Teacher A, she shared simple or should I say, why-didn’t-I-thought-of-that truths that made me rethink the way I teach Coby. She told me that she has the same struggles with me with regards to teaching Math to her students. “Kids are like that. One day you teach them a new concept, the next day they completely forgot what the lesson was,” she said. “You need to practice and practice to be good at Math. These are skills that needed to be mastered in order to move on the higher levels of Math,” she added. I knew it in my mind but still it was an eye opener to me because I thought it was only my son who was like that. I already concluded he might have a learning problem. There was a big disconnect with what I know intellectually and my expectations of him.
I confided that there were times when I asked Coby a question about what he just read and he responds with a blank stare. Quickly, Teacher A figured that Coby probably needs more help with his comprehension. This was another aha moment for me. So, that’s why we’re having problems when it’s question and answer time.
He belongs to those groups of kids whose learning style is auditory. He can easily comprehend instructions or stories when he hears them but not when reading them. He can read well but he has to read it again or read it aloud so he can better comprehend. Verbal instructions works well for him.
To think that I have been doing this (homeschooling) for five years and yet I still have a lot to learn about my kids. I have to remove my wrong thinking about Coby. He just learns differently than other kids. Probably, I have not fully accepted that he is not like the majority. He is uniquely Coby. He does things differently and process things differently too. I know I have shared too many times that there are different ways to learn but after having a breakthrough yesterday I know I have to accept that reality the soonest possible time. I think right there, I found the key to understanding my child and that is ACCEPTANCE. To say that he has a learning disability is not for me to determine but what I can do for now is to teach him the way his mind was wired to learn.
I was not able to solve our Math problem but I surely got the answers to my Coby questions.
