The Dyslexic Teachers
The Dyslexic Teachers
Dyslexia is a learning disorder, which is characterised by difficulty in reading. Dyslexic people face difficulties in verbal memory, verbal processing speed and phonological awareness. It is well known to us that there are children in schools who are affected by it but, we are unaware of the fact that there are various teachers affected by it too. It is extremely necessary for us to understand this and support them through their efforts to teach.
The dyslexic teachers face various challenges, a few of them include:
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These teachers face problems in correcting answer papers and grading them as it involves a lot of reading, numbers and calculating.
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They tend to take a longer time to prepare for their classes due to difficulties with reading and understanding the data they confront.
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It also takes a lot of time and effort from the teacher’s side to make reports and write student feedback notes.
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They deal with various hurdles like spelling, reading and writing on the boards while taking classes.
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They face great barriers in remembering student names and their spellings, which sometimes annoys the students.
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They find it difficult to organise their work, like session plans, faculty reports, student feedback reports, etc.
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Proofreading is an obstruction for them in time organisation and handling deadlines provided by the institutions.
Here are a few possible strategies the dyslexic teachers can use to fight their spelling hurdles:
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Ask the students
for the spellings -
Ask the students to act as scribes
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Use electronic spell checkers
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Have a words list required for the session written on the corner of the board
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Make PowerPoint presentations for the classes.
Some strategies to overcome the report writing difficulties are:
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Check for report assistance online.
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Start writing the reports early.
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Ask a willing colleague to proofread, then make the required corrections.
Some strategies to overcome the reading difficulties the dyslexic teachers confront are:
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Preparing in advance.
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Breaking up text into chunks, paragraphs and bullet points.
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Using colour pens, fonts and papers to highlight vital information.
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Taking pauses while reading out lengthy texts loud.
There are many strategies to handle the class planning difficulties, a few of them are:
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Making session plans as per the teacher’s convenience
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Identifying one key idea to stay focused.
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Using mind mapping software if required.
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Keeping lesson plans as concise as possible and filling the sessions with practical learning whenever possible.
Considering all the difficulties these dyslexic teachers face, cooperation is one of the many things that will help. Institutions can also provide them with some extra time to prepare reports, make student feedback reports and examine and value the answer scripts. The department heads can provide them with templates for reports and session plans. This would make the work easier for them.
