Author: A M Scott Parents of children, who are presenting differently to their peers or siblings, are often caught in an overwhelming place wherein they are willing to ‘try anything’. Their vulnerability is their instinctive desire to do ‘whatever it takes’ to remedy ‘the problem’ or resolve the difference. They seek school placements; various extramural…
Category: A Beautiful View
Dyslexia awareness and training- spot the difference and does it matter?
Author: A M Scott Advocacy is everything for a learner who experiences Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty ‘hidden’ from sight. This makes the task of getting the help needed in school, university or the work place a perpetual challenge for a student. Teachers and trainers cannot see the disability and might comment on…
On holding hedgehogs, honey badgers and hands
Author: A M Scott Academics aside, what does it mean to be a school, how does a school fit in a community, and how should we approach all the children in our care? “It takes a village to raise a child”. In a village, children are born, given to the inhabitants to protect, nurture, guide…
Help! The kid is dyslexic… what can I do?
Author: A M Scott One of the most frequent conversations held around dyslexia is the expression of concern and panic by teachers who feel under informed or under qualified to deal with a learner who has dyslexia. Training is good and intervention essential, but every teacher can support these learners and make a difference, without…
Sorry, we don’t fix kids.
Sorry, we don’t fix kids is likely to be the strongest message any school, even a remedial school should send out. You see kids aren’t ‘broken’ so they don’t need fixing. Restoration, perhaps, is an entirely different matter. All too often a parent’s journey to placement at a remedial school has included someone very well…
Academic rehabilitation and recalibration – that’s what it’s all about – a Bellavista experience
Author: A M Scott I enter my ninth year at Bellavista as the school enters its fiftieth and reflection is a dominant emergent theme. This past fortnight, the reflection has been on the successes of past pupils. I have just collated the results of the class of 2011 and of the twenty seven pupils, four…
Beat them or join them? You don’t really have an option when it comes to technology and the young generation.
Author: A M Scott Recently, Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. hosted an evening talk to look at the cyber world and its impact on relationships, with some emphasis on cyber bullying. The generational distinction in the room was marked. After one hour of solid, research based input on the reality that technology has propelled young people into a…