What is the law concerning teachers meeting the needs of my Kinesthetic learning 9 year old?

What is the law concerning teachers meeting the needs of my Kinesthetic learning 9 year old?

My daughter has had "disciplinary problems" all of her school and pre-school years.  I have met with teachers, counselors, and doctors.  Some of the teachers have tried to tell me that she has a.d.h.d.,  but the doctors say no.  Then I found out about kinesthetic learners, and I now know why she is the way she is.  This has given me insight on how to handle things with her better, but I fell like the school and I are constantly battling each other.  I would like to know what their responsibility is to my daughter in adjusting to her learning style.  She is above average most of the time, and until the settings in school became more "sit and listen" and less active learning, she was recommended several times for the gifted program.  The testing for that, sadly, is "sit and tell".  She failed it purposely according to her because she "wanted them to hang out with her".  So she pretended to know nothing!  I am frustrated that the teachers who are educating my children are not educated themselves on how to deal with different learning styles.  They want to categorize everyone in visual or audio.  If something is not done to correct this stigma that most teachers have, I am affraid that too many students will be left behind...... would that not violate the "No child left behind" law?  Or will the teachers see it as a problem to their standards to be met and shove all of these children off to the side in remedial classes, or worse reform schools.  It would seem to me that if there are special provisions for dyslexia (sp?) should there not be special provisions for all learning styles?  If anyone knows the law behind this please let me know.  It would be a tremendous help to me, my children, and if it goes far enough, all children who learn this way.  
Reply from: Michael Bartone Date: Feb 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm

Hi Jennifer,

This is a really sad situation. As a teacher I know your daughters teachers are not doing all they can. There is no law requiring them to teach your daughter to her best learning style, unless she has an IEP, but it is more of a moral issue. Teachers are always trying to adapt their lessons to meet the needs to every child, but it can become very hard. For instance, I have a certain way of teaching that does not work for some kids. I am very open and foster a democratic classroom. Some kids thrive in that environment and others do not do so well. We make accommodations as teachers and sometimes the children need to be moved into a class where the teacher is receptive to a child's learning style.

I have also had students tested for the gifted program, but fall short because they didn't apply themselves on certain areas of the test. Don't give up on your daughter or the educational system. Ask around and see if there are schools in your area that are built on the philosophy of teaching children based on their specific learning style. I believe all schools should be set-up this way. There might be other teachers in the school or district who have more open classrooms where kinesthetic learning is appreciated.

Finally, I want you to know that it is against the law for teachers to make any diagnosis of a child. Remind your daughter's teachers because this is illegal and ethically wrong.

I applaud you for being a great strong advocate for your daughter! Hope it works out, and I hope I provided some insight.

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