The Hurry up Button - Communicating About Learning Styles
My middle daughter, Ella, doesn鈥檛 have a 鈥淗urry Up Button鈥�.
When I think about how early in her life this little quirk emerged, I am all the way back to her infancy. She was in no hurry to eat, no hurry to roll over, no hurry to start walking or talking.
For a while we worried about her and wondered if she had a delay that we needed to address. While her sisters just seemed to pick up learning new skills like riding a bike, swimming, reading, and math concepts; we have discovered something really neat about Ella. She learns these things, mostly on her own, but entirely at her own pace.
There was no rushing her to get on that bike with mom running behind holding the seat. But then one day out of the blue she announced, 鈥淚 think I鈥檒l learn to ride my bike today.鈥� And she did.
I think of her as an 鈥渁bsorber of information鈥� versus a 鈥渓earner of information.鈥� She figures things out on her own, in her own time, which we call 鈥淓lla Time鈥�. When her teachers understand this quirk about Ella, her learning experiences are a beautiful thing. If her pace is a little slower with some things, and her depth of knowledge is great, then a good educator can continue to help Ella flourish. When she is expected to 鈥渉urry up鈥濃�� things don鈥檛 go as well鈥� for her teachers, or for her.
Now, at age 8 鈥� she is still on Ella Time. I have to say, I have come to understand and appreciate Ella Time, and how her needs and approaches can be unique. I am keeping my fingers crossed that her next teacher will feel the same!
Three helpful ways to communicate with the teacher about your child鈥檚 learning style:
- 听Write a short note to the teacher that describes how your child learns.听Include a few examples to make your points clear such as 鈥淢y child learns best when she is鈥︹�� 鈥淢y child does not learn well when she is鈥︹�� 鈥淢y child learns best by {seeing, hearing, doing}.鈥� You might mention that you are open to suggestions and would like to keep in touch about your child鈥檚 strengths and areas for growth.
- 听Schedule a time to meet with the teacher near the beginning of school.听Come prepared with examples that help the teacher understand how your child learns, such as 鈥淥nce, she was trying to learn [insert skill] and this was how she did it鈥︹��
- 听Check in regularly when your child has difficulty learning a concept.听You can ask,鈥淚s there another, perhaps more hands-on, way I can help my child learn this at home?鈥�
Do you have a child without a Hurry Up Button? How do you communicate to the teacher about your child鈥檚 learning style at the beginning of the school year?