MaggieMae
Reality bits
- Apr 3, 2009
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The definition of dyslexia has changed to encompass ALL reading problems. They can be inherited or caused by environmental factors such as lack of language development in the early years. Obviously any child who attends school regularly should be at a minimum "functionally literate". If they are not - there is a serious disconnect in the brain - which can be remediated with specialized instruction. A child who is not reading at grade level or not passing an exit exam does not mean that student is illiterate Although that's often the stat that is used.
.I don't see how this is a racial issue, unless Maggie is suggesting that remediation is unavailable in many black schools. And she would probably be correct.
Nature/nurture
It's absolutely true that a lot of kids have the inherent capability to learn, but they aren't getting the proper instruction and tools to develop that capacity. Returning to the movie "Precious," she was far from mentally disabled (stupid), but she was also given a chance to develop her learning capability OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM by a volunteer program (which the author of the book "Push" had herself been involved in). "Precious" was an exception. She did NOT fit the mold, which I believe was the wake-up call the movie intended: In order to stop an abysmal trend of actually "nurturing" ignorance by "feeding the beast" and nothing else, it needs to be turned around from the bottom up so that ultimately this pushed-down class of people will become productive members of society.