Really, just what the title says. It’s an issue that comes up a lot, according to my Japanese colleagues. However, because we are private sector workers, there’s nothing we can do about it. One teacher in my school nearly lost her job because she delicately hinted to a student’s parents that their child should be professionally evaluated.
It’s like the glasses thing. Some parents won’t allow their daughters to wear them, even at the risk of severely impeding their academic progress.
Have you had to deal with this before?
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It’s unfortunate but it’s a large part of the culture to be accepted as the same. Being placed in a different class for a LD can be hard for a parent to accept when being different is seen so negatively.
It can be seen as a reflection of the parent (wrongfully) as though their child isn’t good enough. It’s the wrong approach to really help the child grow and become the best they can be.
The glasses problem I have never encountered but girls are usually the first to transition from glasses to contacts in my experience. Athletic boys also make the transition quickly.
>It’s like the glasses thing. Some parents won’t allow their daughters to wear them
What?!?!
Generally not much your can do but a lot of good teaching practices for LD students are also good teaching practices generally. There are some good resources online for good approaches. Also if you can ask any LD teachers for advice my general experience is they are the best resources. So ask a teacher with dyslexia or on the autism spectrum. Subreddits are pretty good place for this.
Wait, you’re at a private school? Yeah, the school ain’t gonna care. They’re spending money, all you can do is dance around the issue.
But you’ll find even public school teachers can do very little about that. It’s the horrible swing from physical abuse at school by teachers (moving away from abusing kids is good) all the way to parents being the most powerful beings (not so good) instead of just finding a middle (sane) ground.
They call them “gray zone” kids. If parents refuse their children to be classified with a learning disability, there really is not much to do, even in public schools.
I’m used to it as someone who worked in American schools. Some people really just don’t want their kids to be stigmatized, but I imagine it’s worse here.
That being said, I personally find this to be a mixed bag in the first place. Even if they get professionally diagnosed with something, my school throws all the kids into the same class, and the kids are at such different abilities, I believe it ends up defeating the purpose. It feels like there’s no grasp of why to do it. It’s as if the goal is ultimately to separate them, and nothing continues to get done. I have a student who I suspect has ADHD and they expect him to take his own ADHD meds. Same kid, however, acts out worse when he’s around this other kid with worse impulse control. Meanwhile, when he is in his regular class, he’s more attentive and well-behaved.
Maybe it’s better at some schools, but I wonder if the stigma is there because people continue to treat it as a stigma instead of understanding what changes need to be made.
Edit: grammar corrections
When I taught Jr. High I had an incredibly bright student who was also incredibly ADHD, she had extreme difficulty staying on task or even sitting down. But when she could focus or when it was something she was really interested in it was obvious how smart she was. Unfortunately not only is ADHD under diagnosed or treated in Japan I also found out her mother heavily favored her younger sister and was basically emotionally abusive to the girl. The teachers did about as much as they could but even they who had WAY more knowledge, power, and authority than me, couldn’t do much. It broke my heart, but I did what little I could when I had her in class or when she came to English club. Sometimes there isn’t much you can do but what little you do at least lets them know you care and that they matter. Maybe thats enough to get them through long enough until they can make their own decisions.
Welcome to Asia
I’ve had this happen a ridiculous amount of times. Best I can suggest is look up what symptoms they have and see if there’s a specific disorder that fits the description. From there, learn how kids with said disorder think and tailor the lesson to suit their needs. I’ve been able to teach countless kids using that method.