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Most of my teaching has been on a one-to-one basis with both dyslexic and non-dyslexic students who suffer from low self-esteem and are demotivated, underachieving and simply not enjoying the school experience.
Dyslexic children are particularly at risk of developing low self-esteem because of the very nature of their difficulties in school. They are being daily tested on the very things they find most difficult: namely, reading, writing, spelling and sometimes numeracy. As if this wasn't enough to contend with, these students often have to deal with excessive pressure, unrealistic expectations, negative comments and put -downs as well as being frequently offered far fewer opportunities to demonstrate what they are competent at. Is it any wonder that they become frustrated, angry or apathetic?
Children who have had a negative experience in school, for whatever reasons, need to feel safe and valued for themselves first and foremost before any learning can take place. My approach is to create a solution-focused and positive learning atmosphere where a child feels safe and relaxed enough to ‘have a go’ and risk making mistakes knowing that that is the best way to learn anything. Research shows that the chemical effects of fear and stress shut down one’s ability to learn and remember so teaching a student how to relax and get into the optimum state for learning is fundamental. My aim is to always focus on what the child is doing well, on his resources, qualities and interests and then build on these. This approach is motivating because it removes any fear, shame or embarrassment a student might feel and encourages him by acknowledging all his positive attributes on which he can build.
Everyone thrives on praise and students with specific learning difficulties are often overlooked and their efforts unacknowledged in the classroom. However, it is not a question of just lavishing lots of indiscriminate praise on a student. For praise to be meaningful and motivating it needs to be specific as, for example," I liked the way you maintained the feeling of suspense throughout your story", and similarly feedback needs to be constructive such as, " Next time you could achieve an even better mark by using more direct quotes from the play to back up your character depiction”.
I think it is important to remember that no two children, whether dyslexic or not, have exactly the same needs or the same pattern of strengths and weaknesses and that every child needs to be responded to as a unique individual. It is a fact that all children behave best and learn best when they feel valued and understood and I passionately believe that all teachers, whatever their subject, should make building their students' self-esteem a top priority.
