Tara Chapman - QIT; Peggy Brooks - QI; Pam Bazis - QI; Deb Scott - QIT; Kara Janasak - QIT
at McKinney Christian Academy - Multisensory Teacher Training
Imagine, as a teacher - perhaps even a reading specialist, realizing that what you know about the alphabet, phonemes, graphemes, and how they combine to make words to read and spell, is but a drop in a very large bucket. Helping teachers start filling their reading teacher bucket by making them squirm, stress and strive to gain new skills - that's how I began my summer break.
Immediately after school ended, it was a whirlwind of all hands on deck to get ready for 24 teachers enrolled to take the Intro course and another 20 moving up to the Advanced course toward becoming dyslexia therapists at McKinney Christian Academy - Multisensory Teacher Training. AND, for the first time, with ME as the instructor for the Intro course! No pressure! With barely a week to get a training manual completed, materials ordered and organized, rooms set up, and technology checked out - there was no time to waste. It was exhausting and the first day of the course had not even arrived.
Immediately after school ended, it was a whirlwind of all hands on deck to get ready for 24 teachers enrolled to take the Intro course and another 20 moving up to the Advanced course toward becoming dyslexia therapists at McKinney Christian Academy - Multisensory Teacher Training. AND, for the first time, with ME as the instructor for the Intro course! No pressure! With barely a week to get a training manual completed, materials ordered and organized, rooms set up, and technology checked out - there was no time to waste. It was exhausting and the first day of the course had not even arrived.
Of course, I did not do it alone. We have an amazing team of instructors (I'm a Qualified Instructor in Training - which means that I'm an instructor under supervision) that pulls together to make it all happen. I also snagged some time from my own sweet girl to help unpack boxes of materials and get them organized and ready for distributing to trainees.
All the work and preparation was worth it. It was so rewarding to see 24 women begin their journey into dyslexia therapy and see them devote themselves to the struggle of learning something so different and push themselves outside their comfort zone. For some that expected typical summer teacher training, it was an awakening to a whole new experience. Others that had investigated and understood the commitment they were making were also wondering what they had gotten themselves into. With the opportunity to earn graduate credit from Midwestern State University, it became very clear that this was no ordinary teacher PD.
All the work and preparation was worth it. It was so rewarding to see 24 women begin their journey into dyslexia therapy and see them devote themselves to the struggle of learning something so different and push themselves outside their comfort zone. For some that expected typical summer teacher training, it was an awakening to a whole new experience. Others that had investigated and understood the commitment they were making were also wondering what they had gotten themselves into. With the opportunity to earn graduate credit from Midwestern State University, it became very clear that this was no ordinary teacher PD.
It's almost a necessary struggle for them to understand the plight of the students they will serve. Dyslexia is not an easy obstacle to overcome and while people with dyslexia are very bright - the struggle is real and often unappreciated by parents, teachers, and society. Teachers that had achieved status as reading specialists were suddenly learning how to correctly pronounce a /p/ and /b/ and discovering their similarities and differences.
Each day brought many new revelations, struggles, and the opportunity to dig deep to find the tenacity and perseverance necessary to learn.
Each day brought many new revelations, struggles, and the opportunity to dig deep to find the tenacity and perseverance necessary to learn.
To help them, I brought in experts - several of my own students that have been in dyslexia therapy for more than a school year. They were powerful teachers as they helped the trainees work through procedures of the lessons, even gently correcting them on how to make the proper sounds of the phonemes and write cursive letters with proper spacing.
These intensive two weeks in June are just the beginning. We will have five follow up workshops throughout the school year and they will all be working with volunteer students to gain experience. Then - next summer, they will move on to the advanced course for another two weeks of training and five more workshops. All told - they will finish the equivalent of 15 hours of graduate level work including 700 hours of practicum working with students to teach the dyslexia therapy curriculum.
What I hope they learn along the way is that this is the MOST rewarding teaching opportunity they will ever experience. The blessing of helping a student unlock the hidden code of reading and spelling while giving them the tools to navigate through school, achieving the success they are capable of reaching, is such a priceless gift to a dyslexia therapist. I've had that honor and privilege with students in my own dyslexia journey so to share that with these new therapists-in-training is an even greater joy.
If you have ever considered learning more about dyslexia and dyslexia therapy - send me an email. I'm happy to share more information with you and perhaps, you will catch the spark that ignited my own passion for the field of dyslexia.
These intensive two weeks in June are just the beginning. We will have five follow up workshops throughout the school year and they will all be working with volunteer students to gain experience. Then - next summer, they will move on to the advanced course for another two weeks of training and five more workshops. All told - they will finish the equivalent of 15 hours of graduate level work including 700 hours of practicum working with students to teach the dyslexia therapy curriculum.
What I hope they learn along the way is that this is the MOST rewarding teaching opportunity they will ever experience. The blessing of helping a student unlock the hidden code of reading and spelling while giving them the tools to navigate through school, achieving the success they are capable of reaching, is such a priceless gift to a dyslexia therapist. I've had that honor and privilege with students in my own dyslexia journey so to share that with these new therapists-in-training is an even greater joy.
If you have ever considered learning more about dyslexia and dyslexia therapy - send me an email. I'm happy to share more information with you and perhaps, you will catch the spark that ignited my own passion for the field of dyslexia.
RSS Feed