Story: Learning Disability in the Classroom

Story: Hailey's Experience with LD in the Classroom

Hailey didn’t want to be different, but as she got older, it became harder and harder to hide the fact that she wasn’t able to keep up in school. Her peers didn’t seem to have trouble concentrating on their schoolwork or paying attention in class. For some reason, Hailey always got distracted in class. On top of that, she had to work extra hard to learn. She would often cry herself to sleep because knowledge never seemed to stick or make sense in her head. Her parents call it learning disability, but the words didn’t seem to do the experience justice. That’s it? All her troubles were summed up into two words. Rather than reading or doing school work, Hailey liked to draw. She went out into the woods and sat in silence, tuning into the subtlety and beauty of nature. She would draw for hours, the trees, birds, rocks, etc. She noticed how the wind swept through the leaves and the moisture in the soil. Moments in nature helped Hailey feel grounded and like an equal. There was no pressure to do sentence diagramming or algebra, just pure bliss in the feeling of being present and alive. Hailey always tried making friends but they never seemed to stay. She noticed how they would treat her differently after learning that she has a learning disability. They never seemed to notice before Hailey brought it up, so why did it make such a difference? Hailey slowly started to withdraw into herself. She sat in the back of her special education class and sketched through her workbooks, recalling the grass, leaves, and flowers she became acquainted with in nature. Her lack of ability to pick up new topics in class only deterred her from trying. She liked challenges because they help her learn, but she also hated how difficult it was. Hailey would see some of her old classmates and feel isolated in her new special education class. “It’s for the best,” her parents told her. She always wanted to leave special education but LD seemed to stop her. If only there was a curriculum that focused on art and learning through nature, Hailey would fit right in and thrive. 

Artistic Statement:

This short story is inspired by Chanell: “Why Have I Got To Be Like This?” (Connor, 2008), where a girl named Chanell talks about her life with learning disability (LD). In the classroom, where she feels like she is frequently criticized by her classmates, Chanell would frequently have intrusive and negative thoughts. Chanell viewed special education as a prison and yearned to leave. Chanell believes that her LD makes up only 5% of who she is, but other people view it as the entirety of who she is. Chanell's self-confidence suffered as a result of having LD because of how aware she was of her impairment. 

In my short story, when people learned Hailey has a learning problem, they started treating her differently. Hailey said that she didn't want things to be simpler for her because she prefers to learn via challenges. She doesn't want LD to define who she is because it makes up only 5% of who she is. I have come to see how the educational system isn't set up for everyone to succeed and causes individuals like Hailey to feel inferior to their peers and left out after reading about her experiences in the educational system. More inclusion is required in the educational system.

I was also very much inspired by Gallas: “Arts as epistemology” (Gallas, 1997). I adore Gallas' approach to instruction. She pays special attention to her students' interests and needs and gives them the freedom to express themselves rather than forcing them to follow her teaching methods. If Hailey had Gallas as a teacher, she would probably feel more confident because she can use art as a medium of showcasing her learning. More teachers should adapt their teaching methods to the needs of their students like Gallas. Through the process of writing Hailey’s short story, I learned more about how the conventional education model is lacking in room for creative expression and how that hinders the learning of people with disabilities like Hailey. 

Citations:

Connor, D. J. (2008). Urban narratives: Portraits in progress, life at the intersections of learning disability, race, & social class. Peter Lang. 

Gallas, K. (1997). Chapter 9: Art as Epistemology: Enabling Children to Know What They Know. In

            Class acts: Teachers reflect on their own classroom practice. essay, Harvard Educational Review.