Books finished today

Right-brained Children in a Left-brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child Jeffrey Freed.

Borrowed this one from Kirsty following ponderings on Small, who most definitely doesn’t fit into standard assessments of learning styles or behaviours. I don’t know whether he’s right brained though, as he cheated on the test I gave him to find out. And Big probably isn’t even though she did very well on the test as she told me she was reciting the names of the colours rather than visualising them. Hm. Guess it’s entirely possible that both my kids are very bright *and* very awkward, can’t think where they could get that from 😉

Anyway, it’s an interesting read, though it does rather glare out how long ago it was published – he could do with releasing an updated version if he’s still doing this sort of thing. Was quite amused by his assessment of Montessori teaching

While Montessori schools are light-years ahead of traditional classrooms, and I support them as a refreshing alternative to repetitious, rote-oriented learning, they’re not perfect. Unfortunately, tuition can be sky high, and Montessori proponents haven’t done a very good job of making clear how their approach differs from that of open schools…. I have also noticed that many unenlightened Montessori schools continue to use the sounding out of words as the preferred approach to reading and spelling for all children. This clashes with the right-brained child’s learning style. If Montessori could effectively use sight words and visualization techniques to teach children to read, it would be an ideal classroom setting for most right-brained children. Unfortunately, Montessori schools, like many other schools, tend to attract teachers who are sequential and left-brained.

This amuses me on quite a few different levels. First of all, surely the fact that tuition is high in a capitalist society can barely be blamed on the educational style on offer. Also think that schools being poor at marketing themselves can scarcely be a failure merely of Montessori schools, and again, doesn’t actually relate all that closely to the philosophy encompassed. Then to go on to say that you should switch one approach that doesn’t work for all children to a different approach that ooh, doesn’t work for all children just makes me want to roll around either laughing or crying. Surely it would be more reasonable to say that different techniques should be applied for different children, dependent on their interests and needs?

That is what we do. Yes, we start by offering a phonic approach based on learning letters using touch and sound, and for many children, that works absolutely great. And if it doesn’t, we offer something different, and we’re not waiting for third grade to switch it out either. I suppose this may just mean that we are an enlightened Montessori school 😉

Criticism of Montessori aside, I did find this an interesting book, even if I would have been happier if there had been more visual aides to his suggested approach for teaching these right brained children. The information on his program is dotted about, and nowhere does it lay out any kind of plan of it, nor is it particularly well structured in suggesting how you might start educating a right brained child if you identify them as such early on. It’s all focussed on remedial work and recovery, which isn’t much help if your son is only just 5 and not failing yet. Hohum.

Visited the library, and was thrilled to find a new Deric Longden book, Paws in the Proceedings. Finished it off while resting this afternoon – am having particularly heavy time of month (blogging partly for my own records there as I keep forgetting when they’ve occurred!) and needed to lie down for a while. Was quite saddened to find out that Deric hasn’t been very well over the last few years and that’s why there’s been such a gap since the last book. I had been harbouring a sneaky hope that we might even get a mention in the next book as I met him in Sainsbury’s in Huddersfield a few years back, but obviously being recognised by an adoring fan is too commonplace an activity for him to mention 😉 (Previously mentioned here, so I won’t relate again.) As always, the book was an enjoyable read, though not quite as poignant as some of his previous books.

Oh, and as an aside, took Big with me to the library today. She confessed to having lost her team read card, and was supplied with another one when I explained that it wasn’t about to be found as we know precisely where it is, behind the fireplace 🙁 The librarian supplied her with a bookbug (and me with a safety notice about the bookbug!), some stickers and so on, all without so much as asking her a word about the books, and it wasn’t because they were busy. This is the second area we’ve done these reading clubs in, and the last one didn’t ask anything or provide anything other than stickers either, and I’m quite envious of all these ppl describing fantastic involvement of their libraries. Not that Big actually requires any encouragement to read, or to learn for that matter – she brought home a book of first poetry, something or other fictionwise, and a textbook on Victorian children’s lives, which she then devoured on the sofa before even putting her bag away. These schooled children, they just don’t know when to stop 😉