The Right Learning Environment Changes Everything: A Parent's Story

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Hi, I'm Olivia, and I'm Kristen.
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Through artwork at Learning Lab Witch Talk, we get our front road speed to innovation and personalized kindergarten through 12th grade learning.
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On this podcast, we share stories of how educators and parents are helping kids discover their passions.
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So you can do the same for a child you love.
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I'm gonna dive in.
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Let's get personal.
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Hi everyone and welcome to Let's Get Personal Real Talk about Reimagining Education.
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Today we are thrilled to have Sarah Collins, who is a woman who wears has worn many hats, maybe.
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But today she's in the studio.
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Maybe we were just kind of chatting before we got started, but I really feel like you have great perspective about what it means to personalize your kids' learning to the kid that's in front of you.
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So unbundling learning and then like what is the what do your kids need and how do we find it?
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Um so thanks for joining us today.
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Absolutely happy to be here.
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So, Sarah, you have two boys and I am really lucky because I knew them when they were much smaller.
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They're tiny.
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Kind of grown-ups now.
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Um but kind of grown-ups.
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They are hard.
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Um but I met them when I was working at Fundamental Learning Center, which is a dyslexia center here in Wichita, and they've grown up and they're both in different learning environments, but they went to Rolf Literacy Academy.
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So um why don't you just talk about?
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I I feel like you could talk for a long time, but what when when Austin was five, you figured out that a traditional learning environment maybe wasn't for him.
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That is putting it so nicely, actually, Kristen.
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Um no, it you're exactly correct.
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Um, I had uh Austin was in a public school, a wonderful public school.
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He had a great teacher.
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Um, he was so excited to go to kindergarten.
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I mean, this is a kid that like memorized fact books about the Titanic, and we're like, school is gonna be his jam.
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Like he's gonna love it.
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And within like a couple, maybe a month there, we started getting, you know, he's not, he's not paying attention, he's not following along, you know, just some little things.
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And we're like, well, maybe it's an adjustment.
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And I went to public school.
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I didn't know anything about learning differences other than they existed, maybe for other kids, not for my kid.
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You know, he's brilliant.
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Look at him.
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So misconception number one, right there.
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And as that year went on, we like Kristen said, we realized that wasn't a good environment for him.
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He got angry and sad and he hated school.
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And I mean, you can show me a picture of him from three different years, and I can pick out which one was kindergarten.
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His face is just, it's not my kid.
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Um, and we tried everything.
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We went to vision specialists, hearing specialists, you know, different types of therapists.
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We tried everything, you know, as the school was trying to help.
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They tried to help.
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They just didn't know what they didn't know.
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Yeah.
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And finally, uh, his afterschool art teacher uh told me, You need to go to fundamental learning center.
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And I was like, great, what is that?
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You know, I will go wherever you need me to go.
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And this was when they were over on Park Lane, like next to the Dollar General, and you know, we rolled up and you had a bunch of code to get in, and it was like, Where have you sent me?
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And that moment that he got that assessment changed everything for us.
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And I don't I don't say that lightly.
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Yeah.
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Um, it was the first time that anyone told me anything good about him.
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It had always been, here's a problem in school, here's here's the challenge, here's what he's not doing.
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And he got that assessment.
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And she said, Do you know what he is great at?
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He has phenomenal visual spatial skills.
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His word recall is this, and just all of these things that it was foreign to me.
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But as a mom, I was like, Yes, visual spatial skills.
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I mean, I latched on to that so hard because I was like, I needed something good.
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I mean, we all cried every day in kindergarten.
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It was terrible.
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And did he stay the whole year at that kindergarten?
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He did, and I regret it.
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Um, so if later on you asked me what I would tell people, I would say, when you know it's wrong, make a change.
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Make a change.
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Um So why did you not make a change?
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Because I thought he has to finish.
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He needs to finish this year.
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Like it it's important to finish.
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Sure.
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And in retrospect, uh damage is what it was.
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It was damage.
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And I I started to understand a little more about him after we got that assessment.
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But I it it just it opened up a whole world to me of wait a minute, uh this kid is brilliant and he is so bright.
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And uh this just isn't the environment for him.
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So I think that was really our first step into saying there's a lot of different ways to learn, there's a lot of different ways to do school.
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And I had to, as a parent, kind of back off of my assumptions of, well, I went to public school and that was easy.
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Why isn't it easy for him?
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Yeah.
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And that was a challenge for me.
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And I think that surrounding myself with people who could educate me as a parent about that made all the difference in the world.
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It was tremendous for our whole family to start to understand how he thinks, how does he learn?
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Uh, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, um, which I had heard of like one of those.
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And I thought, yeah, he's a little hyper, you know.
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Yeah, but I didn't know.
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Yeah.
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And so that's one of the beautiful things that I think Fundamental Learning Center does so well is they educate families, they educate the community.
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You know, what is ADHD?
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What is dyslexia?
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I mean, they have lectures every month about those that anybody can go to for free.
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And that helped me so much understand my kid.
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And that was just that beginning of that journey for us.
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Um, so that when the second one, it came time for him to go to school, he was born three months early.
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So he had some different uh, you know, developmental challenges, but our mindset was already hey, there's another way to do things.
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And so that just that one being so frustrated and so brokenhearted and having someone say to me, try one more place, that made all the difference in the world for our whole family.
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I feel like there are a couple of important like lessons, well, probably more than a couple, but but one of them, I like that you said he he had a great teacher.
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So I think sometimes when people pull their kids from cub public school or from a traditional setting, they're feeling guilty about, you know, almost like placing blame on someone.
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And the idea isn't that this is a bad environment, it's this is a bad environment for my child.
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This is not a fit.
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It's not yeah, it's not the teacher's fault.
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The teacher's doing their best that they know.
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They were absolutely and then the second thing that I really like is what helped you to pick the best environment for Austin at five years old was understanding Austin.
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Yeah.
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And so many times it's almost like we as parents forget that that kids are unique human beings.
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They're not clones of us, they're not a product of society, they are, you know, uniquely who they are.
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And at five or six or seven or twelve or thirteen, sometimes we need to pause and evaluate the child, not evaluate the school, you know?
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Absolutely.
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And I that's something I credit the teachers with at Rolf Literacy Academy was that they taught me so much about my kid.
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And they taught me to be open to it because exactly what Kristen says, you get it in your head that, like, oh, this is how this kid's gonna be.
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And you know, and and I mean, as a parent, you have those dreams, and sometimes when someone says a learning difference or something different, those that that that kid is gone.
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Yeah.
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That kid that I thought he was gonna be is gone.
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But but that's not something to mourn.
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Yeah.
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And that's what I always tell people is it's it's something to be celebrated because now you get a chance to learn to appreciate that kid.
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I learned so much from those teachers, and I think that's one of the things that when you find the right environment, you find teachers who understand that child and they teach you things about that child.
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My little one is the best example.
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He he loves scary stories and creepy things and ghost stories.
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And I was always like, oh my gosh, what's wrong with him?
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Why is he like this?
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You know?
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And he did a project at Rolf Literacy Academy where they had to take images and sounds, and they the the goal was for them to evoke a feeling in their audience.
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And so most of the kids were like, I want people to laugh.
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So they were like fart noises, to be pictures.
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And Alex chose like a baby crying and like an air-raid siren.
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And I saw it and I was like, therapy immediately.
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Oh my gosh, you know.
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But what they told me, what his teacher told me, they were like, his was the best one.
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Like the kids really felt what he wanted to feel.
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And he is not a dark person, he is like the most sunshiny sweep I know.
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Opposite of how I know him, but I'm just like, really?
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But he likes to evoke those feelings.
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So if he's gonna make you laugh, you are gonna like be on the floor laughing.
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That's what he chose for that.
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But I paused and I got to learn that about him.
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So then for the rest of his days, up until right now, is I'm telling him, hey, you're really good at telling stories.
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And so they taught me words to give back to him that affirm his strengths.
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Yeah.
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I want to pause and say, what is what is Rolf Literacy Academy for our audience that might not know?
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Um Rolf Literacy Academy is a school.
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Um, it's a kind of a dyslexia center that is uh part of Phillips Fundamental Learning Center over on 13th and Central.
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Um and it is a school, full-day school for kids with learning differences, primarily dyslexia, those language-based learning differences.
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Um and what makes it absolutely amazing, I have two kids that have been there.
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I, full disclosure, I worked there for like 10 years and I still love it.
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I'm still a volunteer.
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Um, is that the entire school is wrapped around what those kids need to be successful.
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So everyone from the front desk to the PE teacher to the highly trained reading teachers know how those kids learn and they know how to talk to them and they know how to interact with them in a way that works for those brains because these kids are brilliant.
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They are gifted, they are creative.
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Like I have had the best time getting to know so many of these students.
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Um, and it is just a really special place in Wichita for kids that need that type of kind of intense, you know, therapeutic language education.
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It's it's outstanding.
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And it's for kindergarten through fifth grade students.
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And so it ends at middle school.
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It does.
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And so that is kind of part of the story we've got.
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That's when the panic attack starts for parents.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So, and I do want to just say if people are unfamiliar with dyslexia, I mean, you would probably be more current on language, but go ahead and share what dyslexia is.
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Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference.
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Um, and a lot of people think like, oh, it means you read backwards.
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You know, it absolutely does not.
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You, everybody I talk to, though, that'd be so cool if I could read backwards.
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I'm like, no, I can't.
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Um, but it is just that the words on a page when they are trying to translate that into your brain to read that, that doesn't work for those kids.
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They need a ton of repetition, they need a really systematic approach where they learn the letter sounds and they learn to connect all those.
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It's kind of the way that me, I'm old enough to have learned reading that way.
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Like it was all phonics-based.
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Um, and that's what we know works for these kids.
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So when my kids were trying to learn sight words, flashcards in a traditional environment, it wasn't happening for them.
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It probably would have worked for me.
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Like you probably could have put me in a box with a book and I would have learned to read.
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Like it just came easy to me.
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Yeah.
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For your dyslexic kids, it doesn't.
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It's language-based.
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Spelling will always be hard for them.
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A lot of times, word recall is hard for them.
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So it is not just reading, it is an entire language-based, just a difference in the way they learn.
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Processing.
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Processing speed, things like that.
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So um, and also I always like to point out that you can't be stupid and have dyslexia.
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Absolutely not.
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Because the definition of dyslexia is you do have trouble with language, but you have strengths in other areas.
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If you don't have strengths in other areas, you're probably not dyslexic.
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You're right.
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You're right.
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Um, and so I think that's interesting that people don't understand.
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Um, and a lot of times the strengths are like um your boys and visual spatial, but there are lots of other strengths that can accompany dyslexia.
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I saw a lot of athleticism.
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Now, some kids who have dyslexia have the opposite of athleticism, but either one of my kids an empty room with common field day.
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Not according to it.
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There's athleticism, there's charisma, um, lots of like entrepreneurial strengths.
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Yeah.
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Like you wouldn't even believe.
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I mean, I remember having, we were laying out this mosaic project with all these tiles, and my brain is like, there's a bunch of tile, I don't know what to do.
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And this, all these dyslexic kids are remember, they're like, put this here, this, here, this.
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And I was like, I don't know how you guys do this.
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Like, how do you see this?
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How do you solve that problem?
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And just that staying calm.
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Like, I'm like, I don't know what to do.
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I'm getting all frustrated.
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And they're just like, it's fine.
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So, I mean, there are so many amazing things, but what you see in a classroom is difficulty to read, difficulty using the wrong word.
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Um, you know, and sometimes it's funny, like Alex the other day.
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We had uh some work done in our house, and there was like he called it asbestos, but it was insulation.
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But he called he couldn't remember the word.
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Uh-huh.
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So we called it unfriendly cotton candy.
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And you know, we're all like not hilarious, but those things will get, you know, when you're in sixth grade, you know, your friends are gonna be like, wait, you don't know that word?
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Yeah.
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So that's why a lot of times, like Kristen said, they feel stupid or people assume a lack of intelligence, which is not true.
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Yeah.
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They're so brilliant.
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Yeah, so brilliant.
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My son was diagnosed with dyslexia through fun uh Philip's fundamental learning summer.
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Have we said that on the podcast before?
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I feel like we have.
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I don't know.
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Okay, well, news English, everyone.
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Breaking news.
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It's not really that surprising, um, knowing our family.
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But what I've observed in crew as he's like uh, so he's been doing alphabetic phonics tutoring sessions over the summer.
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Um, he has teachers at his school that help with it.
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But and Kristen's seen this, right?
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He's a very reserved kid.
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Like, so he is a very much an observer.
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He doesn't miss anything.
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But I think what having but like Kristen will be like, Gru, how's it going?
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And he'll be like, fine.
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Like he'll give her such a short or he won't respond to her.
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Yeah.
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But I think the the dyslexia diagnosis for us gave us a little bit of context of like, he's I think when he's more nervous or stressed, it's even harder for him to recall the word or like think about what he would want to say.
00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:55.120
And so it's I feel like over this summer he's been strengthening that muscle to where like now he'll we had our Instacart delivery person drop off groceries and he walked out the door and he's like, Hey, how's it going?
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:55.600
Hi.
00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.879
And you're like, You can't do that for Kristen, right?
00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.960
But you're gonna do it for the delivery driver.
00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:10.480
Which, but it's just it's like he just needed, I don't know, like some some sort of more greater confidence building and like finding the words that he would want to communicate.
00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.039
It gave you so much insight into like, oh, he's not just being rude to Kristen.
00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.600
He probably can't think of the words or right.
00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:32.480
And that's I think what I learned so much was that it gave me the ability to you know prep them if we were going into a situation and I knew Alex wasn't gonna be able to think of the words, but like, okay, hey, you're gonna meet this person, you know, make sure you ask her, you know, XYZ.
00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:33.200
Yeah.
00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:36.799
Okay, yeah, you know, and then he can do it if he chooses to.
00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:45.679
But you know, it gave me an insight into how they think and what their interactions were, so I wasn't like, oh my gosh, why did you not talk to your aunt when she was over here?
00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:49.600
You know, like instead of being disappointed, I was like, Oh, I understand.
00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:57.600
You know, and I I get a lot of pushback when I start to say things like that from people that are like, you know, well, you still have to have expectations of them.
00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:00.399
And they said, and yeah, you absolutely do.
00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:05.279
But if you do it with understanding, you're going to give them so much more confidence.
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:05.599
Yeah.
00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:16.559
And that's the ultimate story with Austin, as you know, Kristen probably knows, is this kid that started out broken went through that program, got his confidence, was at the right school.
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:25.039
And then, like we started talking about when it came time to go to middle school, we you know had to go through a whole process that we could talk about, but to find that place for him.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:29.119
But now the confidence is almost absurd with that child.
00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.799
I mean, it is absurd.
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:35.519
It was like State Scholars Bowl, Champions, National Honor Society, AP classes.
00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:35.839
Yeah.
00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.440
My kid, who they told me in kindergarten was going to fail.
00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.599
I really just want to go back to that principle.
00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:42.000
Sorry.
00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:44.400
But his teacher was amazing.
00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:44.720
Yeah.
00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:50.000
Um, so it's just, it gives you that insight to really know them.
00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:55.839
And that's such the biggest indicator of success is you know, parents that truly appreciate them.
00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:08.799
So again, my speech being that when you find the right environment, even if it doesn't look like what you think it should look like, they're going to know those kids and they're going to teach you more about your kid in a lot of ways.
00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:09.920
Yeah.
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:16.000
Well, something what you were just saying made me think about like I was just having this conversation this morning too.
00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:21.279
People can perceive some of these supports as like a crotch, right?
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.440
To your point of like, they're not gonna be ready for the real world.
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.720
But I think that there is something, there's a way for them to know.
00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:33.200
What I was thinking about was my son does really well previewing the day.
00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:47.119
Like, so if we're like, hey, we're gonna go here and then we're gonna go here and we're gonna see so-and-so there, and then and I was like, Well, you saying that makes me think, well, is that his language brain can hear words and hear names and have those places back in his mind?
00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:57.599
Where if we don't preview the day, it's and he's never he's a very chill kid, but you can just tell he's like a little bit like more prickly.
00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.240
Yeah.
00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:03.920
Um, and we'll, if he hears a new word, we'll write it down so that he can like anchor to it.
00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:13.119
But if he knows that about himself, if he knows, hey, I need to preview my day and I need to plan before I go into a situation that's unfamiliar, that's not a crutch.
00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:16.079
That is you figuring out how to function as a person.
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:17.039
You know what?
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:24.240
This is like really interesting to me in my life because I am married to a man who has dyslexia.
00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.599
And does he know he has dyslexia?
00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:28.000
Oh yeah.
00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:37.279
Okay, so told him his mom had to quit her job when he is in kindergarten and do phonics with him, and that is the only reason that he can read.
00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:38.079
That's right.
00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:45.279
And he is such the like prototype of a dyslexic, if you know like an amazing artist.
00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.000
You can give him a picture and he can duplicate it.
00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:54.799
Um, very good at um like darts and things that require hand iron coronation.
00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.279
He was a a champion golfer.
00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:10.799
But anyway, this really gave me insight into him, just you talking about this, because he has to plan so carefully the next day, every night.
00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:22.079
I mean, he has to have his stuff in the right spot, his clothing ironed and laid out, his lunch made, and he has to know everything he has to do.
00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.000
And it's like to me, you know me.
00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.839
I'm like, I get up and I wear what I feel like wearing.
00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:28.880
We're all laughing.
00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:45.680
We're like, um, but yeah, it's I do think it's um, you know, some of those side effects of being neurodivergent, like if you don't have your computer in your laptop bag by the door, like you're not gonna remember school.
00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:52.000
See, we give adults the grace that like that's okay, but for some reason for kids, we're like, no, no, they have to conform.
00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:53.759
Yeah, and they have to fit in this box.
00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:02.400
You know, and I've never understood since I've gotten into this world is why do we not allow kids that same space, right?
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:12.640
I mean, and giving, you know, your son those tools now and helping him line out his day doesn't mean that you're gonna have to call him when he's 30 and be like, hey, baby, remember calendar.
00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.519
No, because we're teaching him how to do it.
00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:16.319
Yes, right.
00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:22.640
It teaches him so he grows up to be a fully functioning man and says, okay, I know this about myself.
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:31.440
And that's I think the biggest thing that as parents, they get really hung up on like, well, I don't want to put him into a world where everything is catered to him.
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:32.160
Sure.
00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:32.480
Sure.
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:34.319
And I I had that thought too.
00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:35.279
I had it too.
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:38.160
And I would tell anybody, why wouldn't you?
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:44.000
Why would you not take away that one hard thing while they figure everything else out?
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:52.559
And then you can put that hard thing back once they've learned to read, once they've learned all of these things, then that confidence can just grow.
00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:52.880
Yeah.
00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:57.519
I mean, is it absolutely easy to go from, you know, Rolf Literacy Academy to a different?
00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.039
No, it's not.
00:21:59.200 --> 00:21:59.759
It's never easy.
00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:10.559
Yeah, but that's why you have to work on things like soft skills and why I mean and we've even I think talked on the podcast about accommodations like audiobooks.
00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:11.599
And we love it.
00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:22.079
I'm a big fan of audiobooks for kids, but we still have lots of educators in the in all schools probably that don't think that that is reading a book.
00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:22.400
Yeah.
00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:22.799
Yeah.
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:22.960
Yeah.
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.119
And it I mean it absolutely is.
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:30.880
I mean, I've got a kid taking AP classes and he is supposed to annotate the book.
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.839
So a lot of times he'll listen, he'll read along, he'll do that.
00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:35.599
I mean, and dude's passing all these classes.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.559
Like it's working.
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:36.799
Yeah.
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.960
So it's not that he's not getting that information.
00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:45.920
But you've got to know, and that's where it it sometimes does fall to parents is I've got to know my kid.
00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.599
I need to know what works for him.
00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:54.799
And I need to be the kind of parent that can work with teachers and work with school staff to say, here's what this kid needs.
00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:06.640
I mean, and that's you have to be a parent and an advocate if you have a child that and honestly, all of us should I still sometimes feel guilty advocating for my kid, you know?
00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:07.599
Oh, absolutely.
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:08.880
But that's okay.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:24.000
We are well, like the example I thought about is like even like as an older high school student, like calling the coach and being like, Yeah, um, hey, there's some girls that are real mean.
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:26.240
And it just makes me feel like a Karen.
00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:29.839
No offense, Karen is in the world.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.440
But all the characters.
00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.880
But I just think like every that is your job.
00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:40.319
I mean, and especially that coach said to me, like, no, it's your job.
00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:42.319
It's your job to advocate for your kids.
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:45.839
And I think there's a difference between being an advocate and being combative.
00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:46.319
Right.
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:46.640
Right?
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:50.640
Like, I don't have to come in hot and be like, you gotta do this, this, and this for my kid.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:54.799
I gotta be like, hey, teacher, I know you want to work with this kid.
00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:56.240
Here's what I know about him.
00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:56.480
Yeah.
00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:57.920
And here's what I know works.
00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:59.920
Here's what I know has worked in the past.
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.119
I have had like so few educators.
00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:10.240
I mean, I've had none in my own life, but in you know, the lives of the other kids I've worked with, very few have been like, absolutely not.
00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:10.720
Yeah.
00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:11.119
Yeah.
00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:16.160
I mean, the classroom teachers on the whole are they want to help.
00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:17.759
They want to be successful.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:19.599
They want those kids to succeed.
00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.400
They nobody sits there and thinks, I really want this kid to fail.
00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:22.640
Right.
00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:23.759
They don't.
00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:25.119
They just don't.
00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:31.440
And that's what I think is is such a challenge as a parent is you you can't you can't start out combative.
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:32.559
Like it's not you're not.
00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:38.640
Well, because you're I mean, and the thing is you you just want the best for your kid, and so you're emotionally charged.
00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:45.759
And that part is normal, but it's like you might need to do some prep for yourself reach out to educators.
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:48.559
Um, let's talk a little bit about.
00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:57.119
So, your kids obviously both have aged out of Rolf Literacy Academy, which I remember working there, talking to the parents who had fifth graders.
00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:13.039
It's a hard year because you are in this like utopia, basically, like everybody here understands what your kid is working with, and then you're going to have to go somewhere else, whether that be homeschool, whether it be a private school, whether it be a public school.
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.359
And kids from Rolf go to all of those options.
00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.559
And it depends on the kid and where they're at and what they need.
00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:22.960
But so, how did you proceed to pick a school for your boys?
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:33.759
So it was Austin went first, and he had really just thrived with the the curriculum at Rolf Litacy Academy.
00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:39.200
So he was ready in that he could read, um, he could do math, it was, it was good.
00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:40.880
I knew his skills were there.
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:44.240
Um, I didn't know how he was gonna interact with peers.
00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:48.960
So I wanted to find an environment that they would pause and listen to me.
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:55.359
Um, he was not a kid that wanted to do a lot of sports, that wasn't his jam, so I could check that off the list.
00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.119
I don't have to find a school like that.
00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.559
Um, he does better in a small environment.
00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:04.319
He didn't really want a big school, so I was like, okay.
00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:10.480
So we we talked, and it was me knowing my kid, like we talked about, um, and then talking to him.
00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:19.759
And we started just kind of looking at different schools and it it does, it takes your time as a parent to go meet with them and set up that time and ask them questions.
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.559
Um, I did not have the questions myself.
00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:27.359
I leaned on my fundamental learning center team to say, hey, here's what you go ask.
00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:29.039
I took them to meetings with me.
00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:37.680
I mean, and that's another thing that kind of helps de-escalate your feelings as a parent, is if you've got somebody to go with you to just help you ask those questions.
00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:49.359
And so we eventually settled on the independent school for Austin, which if you would have told me this child's gonna go to a college prep school, I'd have been like, no, they told me he can't learn, you know.
00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:52.240
And but he enjoys a challenge.
00:26:52.480 --> 00:27:02.400
He wanted that environment, and he really he loves that um that chance to prove himself, I think.
00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:06.319
And what they did so well was they took the time.
00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:12.480
I got to meet with all of the teachers, he got to meet with all the teachers, I got to talk a little bit about him.
00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.839
He got, he didn't talk a lot, but he at least was familiar with them.
00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.359
So he was another, he's another one that has to see people and know what's happening.
00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.720
So he got to see them.
00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:23.599
He knew that they knew me, he knew we were good.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.640
But they just took that.
00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.960
It took probably 15 minutes out of their day.
00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:27.279
Yeah.
00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:28.559
And that's all they had to do.
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:33.920
And they have continued from sixth grade to he's a senior in two weeks.
00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:35.119
Oh isn't that wild?
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.720
But they have continued to know him and challenge him.
00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:43.599
I mean, you would think, well, oh, take it easy on him.
00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:49.599
He's got some learning differences, but they knew him well enough to know no, no, don't take it easy on this kid.
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:50.960
He thrives in a challenge.
00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:53.200
He wants the hardest thing we can throw at him.
00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:53.599
Yeah.
00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:55.839
And he has risen to that challenge.
00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:01.599
So that is something that, again, another misconception is oh, we got to make it easier for them.
00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:04.000
No, no, you have to make it right for them.
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:04.559
Right.
00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:10.480
And, you know, so all through middle school, if he needed to use his iPad, need to use speech to text, need to use all those things.
00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:12.720
They were like, Absolutely, yes.
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:17.519
Nobody ever said an audiobook isn't reading, nobody ever said speech to text is cheating.
00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.039
Like they understood.
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:19.519
Yeah.
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:21.039
And it was wonderful.
00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:27.359
And over the course of all those years, I think there's been one teacher that I tried to, you know, sit back and be like, let me explain dysgraphia to you.
00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:30.160
And that's why you don't want him to handwrite stuff.
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.519
You won't be able to read it.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:34.400
Um and she was like, Oh, I never knew what that meant.
00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.519
I'm like, Great, love it.
00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:37.440
So it can all learn.
00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:43.759
So it was just that conversation and just really coming at it very collaboratively and knowing my kid.
00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:44.079
Yeah.
00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:50.880
So when it came time for Alex a couple years later to go, I was like, um, no, independent school.
00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.920
I mean, we have been thrilled, love them, they've been great.
00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:54.319
Yeah.
00:28:54.559 --> 00:29:00.799
That was not going to be the right situation for that kid because Alex is creative and he's people-y.
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.279
He does not like loud, overwhelming environments.
00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:05.440
So again, I knew smaller school.
00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:07.920
Um, he is artistic.
00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.240
He wants to build and make things.
00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:15.519
And so we came to the con lab school because here he's got the opportunity to say, you know what?
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.400
I did this research project, I gathered all the information.
00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.720
We wrote out a paragraph about it.
00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:21.599
Was it hard?
00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:22.079
Yeah.
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:23.119
Did he like it?
00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:23.759
No.
00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:28.400
But when it came time for him to present, they said, Hey, you can present however you want.
00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:33.200
You can do a Canva presentation, you can sing a song, you can write a poem, you can build a model.
00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:36.400
And he was like, I'm building a model in the Assyrian army.
00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:37.759
I mean, I've told you guys the story.
00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:39.440
Oh my gosh.
00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:41.200
We spent days working on this model.
00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:47.200
Like, I will tell everybody that story because that gave him a chance to express that learning in a way that meant something to him.
00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:57.119
So in his paper, he was trying real hard to remember, oh, it was a catapult, it was something, I can't remember the words because language is real hard for that guy.
00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:04.319
But when he got up and had his Assyrian army diorama thing that was huge, he remembered every single fact he had researched.
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:06.880
And it's because it meant something to him.
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:08.880
So, did he still learn to research?
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:09.440
Absolutely.
00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:11.039
Did he learn his presentation skills?
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:11.519
Yep.
00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:14.480
Did he learn about the Assyrian army that we'll probably serve him later?
00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:15.200
I don't know.
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:16.559
Um I don't know.
00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:20.000
But he still learned and demonstrated all that learning.
00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:21.920
And it was just a different type of environment.
00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:28.160
So I that's really where we ended up just being open-minded and saying, you know what?
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:30.640
We've we're trying a new school.
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:31.599
We don't we don't know.
00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:35.839
And you know, I told him in the very beginning, you know, if it doesn't work, we'll go somewhere else.
00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:36.880
Yeah, we will try something.
00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:42.480
That's a big thing that especially Lydia always says is like you have to reevaluate every year.
00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:47.279
It's not like you're you put him in independent school and he has to stay there for the rest of you.
00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:48.960
Yeah, it's gonna be the perfect fit for all the time.
00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:50.720
Well, and how stressful is that, right?
00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:56.160
That's I think a lot of parents, because you uh you and I probably talk to the same parents.
00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:05.119
We get a lot of parents who have a kid that isn't really fitting at a traditional environment, and they're coming and saying, What do you have to offer?
00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:11.839
And it's like they feel like if they pull him from the traditional environment for a year that it's done.
00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:17.759
Yeah, they can never go back, they can't try a third option, they're stuck with whatever they choose.
00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:19.279
And that's not true.
00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:24.799
And we have families that do switch every year, and sometimes that's great.
00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:26.480
Yeah, sometimes it's weird.
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:27.759
Exactly.
00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:30.880
But you have to figure it out for your family and your kids.
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:31.599
Exactly.
00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:39.519
And we have we've had a lot of kids at Ralph Literacy Academy who came from a school, and then when they finished the program, they went back to that school.
00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:43.119
Yeah, like they maintained those friendships or they kept playing sports with those kids.
00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:44.240
Fantastic.
00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:44.880
Loved it.
00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:45.279
Yeah.
00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:55.599
Um, you know, and then we had other kids like both of mine that were like, we gotta do something totally different because now I know who this kid is, and you know, we've got to find the right place for them.
00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:05.039
And I I deeply understand what a privilege it is that I got to send my kids to two private schools because I know that's not easy financially.
00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:09.920
It's not easy logistically, you know, if you've got kids at different schools all over town.
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:10.240
I know.
00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:17.519
There are a lot of barriers for parents, but there are so many more options that are more affordable than there were 10 years ago.
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:17.680
Yeah.
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:18.319
There are.
00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:25.680
And there's a lot going on even within our public schools that have those smaller environments that have that learning.
00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:35.680
When we listen to teachers and do what they see in their classroom and what they say needs to be done, they're able to do a lot of that in those environments as well.
00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.440
So that doesn't rule out public schools.
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.680
No, just it was not the fit for my kids.
00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:40.079
Sure.
00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:44.000
But we've had a lot of kids from RLA go and thrive in public schools.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.839
And we've had some that have it hasn't worked and they've had to try something else.
00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:52.079
But it's just that keep your options open and keep your mind open as a parent.
00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.119
It's so hard.
00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:54.480
Yeah, it's hard.
00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:55.920
It is hard.
00:32:56.400 --> 00:33:00.480
Um, so you two met way back when at Fundamental Learning Center.
00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:08.640
So talk about your experience as an employee there at Fundamental Learning Center and yeah, what you how you're still involved with them.
00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:09.200
What do you do?
00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:15.920
So I started out as a volunteer, and um, my background is nonprofit fundraising.
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:19.440
I was the executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Waco, Texas before we moved here.
00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:20.240
I didn't know that.
00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:22.160
Um, so that's kind of my passion.
00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:26.720
Um, and the more that I volunteered, the more they were like, hey, you can help us out.
00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:28.559
She was she was the best volunteer ever.
00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:30.720
If you're gonna be here so often, you know.
00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:38.559
But I also I I got to be so passionate about what they do because it's not just the school.
00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:41.599
Um and and I mean, Learning Lab does this kind of thing too.
00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:48.640
I mean, you wrap it around the family and the community, and your goal is to make education better for everyone.
00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:49.200
That's right.
00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:52.640
And you know, that's just that just happened to be the organization I was working with.
00:33:52.799 --> 00:34:03.759
And I love that they educated parents and the community, and they did a lot of advocacy on the state level, that they were trying to make it better for not just kids, but for teachers too.
00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.160
I mean, they are huge advocates for teachers.
00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:09.599
Um, and I really loved the work that they were doing there.
00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:21.199
I particularly loved being close to the families and the parents because, you know, my whole several years of experience, you know, I was just like, it meant so much to be able to share that.
00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:21.599
Sure.
00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:28.159
Because it helped me tremendously when parents who had been through a couple years said, Hey, you know what, here's what I learned.
00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:28.559
Yeah.
00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:32.800
And I just I know how painful it is to not have support.
00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:35.519
And so that was a big part of me getting drawn into there.
00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:38.880
So I did fundraising and events and things like that uh with them.
00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:42.000
And again, wonderful, wonderful organization.
00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:43.920
Um, fantastic mission.
00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:46.719
Uh, the school is spectacular.
00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:49.039
So that's where I'm spending my volunteer time now.
00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:50.079
I never really left.
00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:56.639
I'm back at the US school, um, helping out with uh, you know, parent education and things like that.
00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:57.599
That's awesome.
00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:01.760
And just kind of staying close to something that was so special to our family.
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:08.079
Um, but for me, it was just a chance that you know I needed to step back because I had kids at two different schools.
00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:10.559
I got one about to go off to college, and I was like, you know what?
00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:13.280
Life is life, and I gotta, I gotta do this for now.
00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:17.840
So but can't completely ever come to Wichita.
00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:23.039
If you're local to Wichita and you've not been out there, or if you're visiting Wichita, it's an amazing facility.
00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:24.159
It's a beautiful building.
00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:33.119
It's got so many really I love walking through the building every time because there's so much intention with like everything.
00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:37.599
And so if you're ever everything has a meaning, get somebody to give you a tour.
00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:40.320
It's a Jen Phillips adventure move.
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:43.679
Phillips uh tour is could last a day.
00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:46.400
Yeah, I mean no joke, it really could.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:48.239
I mean, I usually do that too.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:48.639
Yeah.
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:50.239
Um people would be like, Can I have a tour?
00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:51.280
I'm like, Did you have three hours?
00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:52.960
Yeah, a lot to tell you.
00:35:53.199 --> 00:36:00.079
Yeah, but that again goes to the fact that they know those kids and they know the people that are coming into that building.
00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:01.519
Yeah, just like you guys do here.
00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:07.360
I mean, same principle is we know them, we respect them, and so it is intentional.
00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:16.159
I mean, the the way that that building is designed was intentionally done for these, you know, unique learners and the teachers that would be teaching them, you know.
00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:18.400
And I I want more of that in education.
00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:20.000
Well, it is true.
00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:30.800
I mean, we talk about our building design a lot too, but fundamental learning center is such a good example of like they the small classroom specifically for the language therapy.
00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:36.480
I mean, they just did everything designed for the kid that was the audience for the school.
00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:36.960
That's right.
00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:45.519
Um and I just will always love, I know it's Phillips Fundamental Learning Center, but I have it's Fundamental Learning Center in my head.
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:47.519
They added the Phillips after you left.
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:57.119
Um but I feel like you know, we on our walls here, we it says every every person is different.
00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:02.719
Our belief statement is all kids um deserve an education that works for them.
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:07.199
And I feel like those beliefs were like pounded into me at Fundamental Learning Center.
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:18.719
Even after teaching for 12 years, um I had a lot of guilt about looking back on my 12 years with the knowledge that I then had at Fundamental Learning Center because you just don't know what you don't know.
00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:19.199
Yeah.
00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:30.159
That you know, the education programs at the time were not really addressing dyslexia in a way that I mean, I'm sure I had a paragraph about it in my textbook.
00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:41.360
But I just learned so much about how every kid needs something different, and that has really kind of like come to fruition in this job because that's our whole purpose.
00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:44.000
Well, and I think that's why we were drawn here.
00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:48.719
Like I came when the groundbreaking for this building, just because I was fascinated with it.
00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:50.480
I was like, this looks amazing.
00:37:50.800 --> 00:38:01.119
And you know, I found Con Lab School because I started realizing, you know, Alex's skills were not gonna be as solid as Austin's were, just because he's a different learner.
00:38:01.199 --> 00:38:02.400
He had a lot of different challenges.
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:04.800
And so I was like, how does AI work for this kid?
00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:07.039
How do I how do I use something like this?
00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:11.039
It was, I mean, when everybody was first starting to talk about it, and I was like, how does this work?
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:14.400
How would this work as an accommodation for a kid with a learning difference?
00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:21.519
And so just started Googling, started researching, and I found Con Mingo, which is the con Academy AI.
00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:22.480
And I was like, what?
00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:24.000
That exists, that's so cool.
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:28.079
So a little further on there, and it was like, hey, we're opening a con lab school in Wichita.
00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.079
And I was like, I live in Wichita.
00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:35.599
And so immediately reached out to, you know, the, I mean, like just the website.
00:38:35.679 --> 00:38:37.920
And I'm like, hey, I'm interested, whatever.
00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:56.480
And so was talking with the director at the time, like before the building even existed, before the school existed, because I was doing it as a parent, but I was also doing it for the Rolf Literacy Academy kids because there's so much overlap there that this space and the con lab school within it is perfect for them.
00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:05.199
I mean, you guys have the podcast studio and the video studio and all of these things that our creative, amazing kids are drawn to.
00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:08.639
I mean, it took Alex 10 minutes of a tour and he was like done.
00:39:09.679 --> 00:39:11.599
You know, and push so many buttons.
00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:13.440
He probably does.
00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:13.840
Yeah.
00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:18.719
But that's just like, again, you just have to think outside the box.
00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:24.639
Like, you know, was it scary to say, hey, I'm gonna take a gamble on a new school that doesn't exist anywhere but in California?
00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:25.599
A little.
00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:25.920
Yeah.
00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:28.320
But I also was like, wait, I got choices.
00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:29.760
I have options, you know.
00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:34.800
So it's it's it's just about being brave, I guess, as a parent.
00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:42.239
So when you think about the two school models that your boys are in, what do they do differently?
00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:50.800
You kind of touched on it, but if you had to summarize it, like what do you see in each environment that they do differently that directly like is tailored, curated to your kids?
00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:51.760
Absolutely.
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:55.119
I think that they understand them.
00:39:55.199 --> 00:40:00.800
And I think that's something that both schools have done a tremendous job of is getting to know this kid.
00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:01.039
Yeah.
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:07.199
And not just saying, okay, everyone's learning this, you do this, everyone's expressing it this way, you do this.
00:40:07.519 --> 00:40:09.519
Um, you know, like I said, independent school.
00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:17.199
I was speaking there for something, and I I can't even remember their motto at this point, but it was like, you know, truly understanding the individual child.
00:40:17.360 --> 00:40:19.760
And I was like, this school really does that.
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.119
They really do.
00:40:21.679 --> 00:40:30.400
And Austin has just thrived, like I said, um, because they have challenged him, because they realize the type of student that he is.
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:36.800
Um, he was very shy, very not shy, very thoughtful, very reserved.
00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:38.480
He's not very gregarious.
00:40:38.719 --> 00:40:44.880
Um but over the years, as he has gotten that confidence academically, it has come socially.
00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:47.360
And now he's student counsel and he chaired prom.
00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:49.440
But they helped him grow.
00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:49.760
Yeah.
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:57.039
So I think that's one of the things that they do well is challenge that specific child because they know him.
00:40:57.519 --> 00:40:59.360
And I love that about them.
00:40:59.599 --> 00:40:59.840
Yeah.
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:09.599
Um, at Khan, it has been such a tremendous environment for Alex because he is given the space to learn at his own pace.
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.000
So there are things that come super quick to him.
00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:12.639
He's got it.
00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:14.719
There's things he's gonna take some more time on.
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:19.679
So it's not a traditional, okay, we're done with unit one, we're moving to unit two, you're gonna move on.
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:21.039
It's like, hey, wait a minute.
00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:25.760
Alex needs a little more practice to fully get order of operations and decimals.
00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:27.039
He gets it.
00:41:27.119 --> 00:41:27.440
Yeah.
00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:29.280
And it's not a failure.
00:41:29.519 --> 00:41:32.880
It's not, you know, hey, nobody knows or cares where he's gonna be.
00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:34.480
Nobody else is looking.
00:41:34.559 --> 00:41:34.800
Yeah.
00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:38.960
And, you know, even to the point where Austin loves a grade, right?
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:41.519
He wants to tell me his GPA, he wants to tell me exactly what he got.
00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:44.639
He knows I have to get this on a test so I can get an A.
00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:49.039
Alex is not at all inspired by that.
00:41:49.679 --> 00:41:55.920
So Khan is perfect because they'll say, okay, you know, when you did this the first time, you got 85% of the questions right.
00:41:56.159 --> 00:41:56.960
Here's the ones.
00:41:57.039 --> 00:42:00.159
I want you to go back and find a different answer to those.
00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:05.039
So it's not like, bro, you got an 85 or bro, you got a 65%.
00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:08.320
It's, hey, this is the percentage you got right.
00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:09.039
Let's go back.
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:09.440
Yeah.
00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:09.599
Yeah.
00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:11.519
Because that's something we learn.
00:42:11.840 --> 00:42:17.599
And, you know, I don't want my kid to be passed on because he got a 70%.
00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:29.599
Yeah, we always used to use the example of like, if I have a guy who's welding airplane parts and he gets it right 75% of the time, I don't want welding my airplane parts, right?
00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:32.800
Um, we want to make sure that they have mastery.
00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:36.079
And that's what works so well for Alex.
00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:36.320
Yeah.
00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:41.679
You know, now if I would have plopped us in down in this environment, oh, he would have been absolutely baffled.
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:43.599
He'd be like, where is the structure?
00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:45.760
Where is tell me exactly what to do?
00:42:45.840 --> 00:42:46.559
I need a syllabus.
00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:48.639
You know, some kids do need that.
00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:48.960
Yeah.
00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:49.920
And they know that.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:56.000
And that's what I love about the two environments because it is it it goes back to they've taken the time to know that kid.
00:42:56.079 --> 00:42:56.239
Yeah.
00:42:56.559 --> 00:42:56.880
Yeah.
00:42:57.039 --> 00:42:59.440
Um, and I appreciate that so much.
00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:04.719
Um, but I couldn't have found those environments if I didn't step back and know and appreciate my kid.
00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:05.199
Sure.
00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:08.000
And I did that through learning about him.
00:43:08.079 --> 00:43:09.599
And it started with that assessment.
00:43:09.679 --> 00:43:09.840
Yeah.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:11.280
I mean, when Austin was five.
00:43:12.159 --> 00:43:12.719
And here you are.
00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:22.480
So if you were talking to parents who school is not working for their kid, but they're afraid to do something different, what would you what would you say to them?
00:43:23.440 --> 00:43:25.920
I would want them to know that it is scary.
00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:27.119
And it's true.
00:43:27.280 --> 00:43:28.480
It is, it's scary.
00:43:28.639 --> 00:43:36.159
And it's hard to break out of that thought pattern of well, this is school, this is what's right, this is how it goes.
00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:40.079
You're not hating on that teacher, you're not hating on that school.
00:43:40.239 --> 00:43:44.400
You are just doing what is right by your child and you are setting them up for success.
00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:59.840
Um, I got a lot of pushback from parents, you know, like I said, you know, but I don't want to put him in an environment where all of his needs are gonna be met and all of the everything's gonna be catered to him, and he's gonna be like, you know, snowflakey or what I don't know what the words were, but it was always so frustrating.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:01.920
Frustrating, but I but I had been there.
00:44:02.079 --> 00:44:02.320
Yeah.
00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:07.519
And I think I would want them to know that changing an environment is a show of strength for you.
00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:14.880
It is a show of strength and belief in your child that you are not a failure because the school didn't work for you.
00:44:15.039 --> 00:44:16.000
It just didn't.
00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:16.320
Yeah.
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:19.360
If you try on a pair of shoes and they don't fit right, you take them off.
00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:20.719
You don't keep wearing them, right?
00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:24.079
And that's something as parents that we didn't fail.
00:44:24.239 --> 00:44:28.320
I didn't fail Austin because his kindergarten year was terrible.
00:44:28.559 --> 00:44:37.360
Now, had I learned what I learned and seen that there were choices and chose not to make them because I was scared, maybe, maybe I did fail him a little there.
00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:37.679
Yeah.
00:44:38.079 --> 00:44:42.639
But it it really is about strength and it is doing what is best for your child.
00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:48.639
It is not catering to them, enabling them, all those words that you know people want to use negatively.
00:44:48.800 --> 00:44:51.519
It is the strongest and bravest thing you can do for your child.
00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:52.559
It's to find the right place.
00:44:53.039 --> 00:44:54.320
I do think it's brave.
00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:55.280
Absolutely.
00:44:55.679 --> 00:45:02.159
Make do something different than you felt like was gonna be or society says you should do.
00:45:02.320 --> 00:45:08.880
I said to a homeschooling mom, they were her daughter was experiencing some health problems.
00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:15.119
And so she just uh ended up deciding that the rigorous school environment was not the right place for her child.
00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:20.400
And I said, gosh, I think it is so brave of you to make the choice to homeschool.
00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:21.599
And she started crying.
00:45:21.920 --> 00:45:38.079
And she was she said, Nobody has ever complimented me for this and it just made me feel so bad because you know, we're looking for validation that we're doing the right thing for for our children, and society hasn't quite caught up to this mindset yet.
00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:46.480
I actually think Wichita is ahead of a lot of cities in you know, picking a non-traditional school environment for your kiddos.
00:45:47.039 --> 00:45:52.880
But it's still it's nobody's gonna pat you on the back for for making that.
00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:55.599
We will, we will, we will do that.
00:45:55.760 --> 00:46:03.360
Yeah, yeah, it's so true because you you you're so worried about every decision I make is gonna impact their future forever.
00:46:04.079 --> 00:46:05.519
Yes, but no, also no.
00:46:05.760 --> 00:46:09.760
Yeah, you know, yes, you're impacting their lives and who they are.
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:15.119
But if you try a school for six months a year and it doesn't work out, they're probably gonna be okay.
00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:18.079
And that's not a perspective you can have in the moment.
00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:20.400
You can only have that when you've passed it.
00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:27.119
And that's I think where I would take my, you know, so much years of wisdom and failing and messing up.
00:46:27.280 --> 00:46:31.360
But in and say, just you're not you're not failing them.
00:46:31.440 --> 00:46:34.880
The fact that you're even asking yourself these questions means you're doing the right thing.
00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:35.119
Yeah.
00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:36.000
Absolutely.
00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:36.480
That's right.
00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:36.960
100%.
00:46:37.360 --> 00:46:50.000
Well, and I also like to think like there is a reason you're asking, like that little nudge that you feel inside, like you have to listen to your conscience and trust yourself to make a change if you think something is wrong.
00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:55.280
If your kid is coming home crying every day, that's a good indicator that maybe you need to address this.
00:46:55.360 --> 00:46:55.519
Yeah.
00:46:55.920 --> 00:47:00.159
Makes me think about that saying of like you're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.
00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:00.480
Right.
00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:03.599
So if you look at your kid and you're like, okay, well, I'm one of their voices.
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:06.480
Like, what am like as parents, like what are what's that voice shaping?
00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:09.119
Well, school is another one of those voices, right?
00:47:09.199 --> 00:47:13.440
And it's developing their internal narrative and how they feel about themselves.
00:47:13.599 --> 00:47:23.119
So yeah, if it's giving making them cry and making them feel stupid and making them feel unsuccessful and like they don't have something to contribute, well, that's how they're gonna grow up.
00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:25.280
And we don't, we don't want anybody to feel that way.
00:47:25.519 --> 00:47:40.320
So the trade-off cost of making them feel discomfort to go to something new because it's new, not because it's bad, but just because it's new, there's that's gonna change in a more positive way that internal dialogue and in the way that they see themselves.
00:47:40.559 --> 00:47:40.719
Absolutely.
00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:54.480
And that's where we saw our kids and my kids, you know, at Rolf Literacy Academy, just they they learned about themselves and they got that confidence, um, you know, just to be able to talk about it, to understand how their brains work.
00:47:54.559 --> 00:48:01.199
I mean, if you've been there and gone on a tour with schools in session, like those kids will come up to you like, hey, I'm Levi and welcome to my school.
00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:02.800
Let me tell you about dyslexia.
00:48:03.039 --> 00:48:03.360
Awesome.
00:48:03.519 --> 00:48:06.239
You know, you're like, I want to feel that confident, right?
00:48:06.639 --> 00:48:09.920
Like, I am 49 years old and I don't know if I can tell you what I'm good at, right?
00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:11.519
But I love that.
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:19.840
And so that's what you get in that environment rather than exactly what you said, forcing them to continue to go somewhere that they feel terrible.
00:48:20.400 --> 00:48:23.199
Let's get them somewhere where they feel good and they can learn.
00:48:23.280 --> 00:48:27.920
Because if you are miserable, you're sad, you're scared, you're upset, you are not available for learning.
00:48:28.079 --> 00:48:28.239
No.
00:48:28.400 --> 00:48:30.079
You can't learn in that environment.
00:48:30.239 --> 00:48:30.400
Yeah.
00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:35.119
And I think that's something that, you know, like in the very beginning when Kristen's like, how come you didn't pull Austin out?
00:48:35.360 --> 00:48:36.800
I was like, well, because he had to finish.
00:48:36.960 --> 00:48:37.119
Yeah.
00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:39.519
He wasn't learning anything.
00:48:39.679 --> 00:48:42.880
He was just trying to hold it together long enough to get done with that day.
00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:43.280
Oh.
00:48:43.519 --> 00:48:45.280
And I didn't know that at the time.
00:48:45.599 --> 00:48:50.400
You know, but I didn't know it until I surrounded myself with people who who know these things.
00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:50.559
Yeah.
00:48:50.800 --> 00:48:54.960
So I'm so thankful to be in Wichita because we have so much of that, like you said.
00:48:55.199 --> 00:48:55.599
So much.
00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:56.239
That's right.
00:48:56.320 --> 00:48:56.880
That's right.
00:48:57.119 --> 00:48:58.239
I like to ask this question.
00:48:58.400 --> 00:48:59.360
So I'm gonna ask this question.
00:48:59.440 --> 00:49:01.840
And then Kristen can ask whatever other questions she wants to ask.
00:49:02.480 --> 00:49:06.400
I think this probably is for you as a parent, but maybe be the perspective to have.
00:49:06.559 --> 00:49:11.360
But what are your non-negotiables when it comes to your kids' education?
00:49:11.519 --> 00:49:12.880
What's the hill you'll die on?
00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:15.119
Things you will not compromise on.
00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:17.920
And maybe it could go for like all kids' education.
00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:22.960
Like you could think about like what you want education to look at like, but what are your non-negotiables?
00:49:23.679 --> 00:49:31.119
I absolutely know that I could not collaborate with a teacher who did not think that learning differences were real.
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:41.280
Um, but we've had some kids that like that's not real, that's an excuse for being lazy.
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:44.639
Um, that's somebody that I I can't.
00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:54.320
I can't change that because what that will translate to in a classroom is I hate to use the word cruelty, but it almost ends up being cruelty to that kid.
00:49:54.480 --> 00:49:54.800
Yeah.
00:49:55.039 --> 00:49:56.400
And that I can't do.
00:49:56.559 --> 00:50:07.840
So if if you can't even understand that there are kids that learn differently, you know, I'm not asking you to know everything, I'm not asking you to be a dyslexia expert or an ADHD expert, but you have to at least be open-minded.
00:50:08.239 --> 00:50:13.840
Um, and then I think that just being open-minded leads to a degree of kindness that you have to have.
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:14.320
Yeah.
00:50:14.480 --> 00:50:17.360
Um, so that's more of what you have to have rather than what you don't have.
00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:19.599
But you have to have that.
00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:23.360
Um, just that willingness to say they're all individuals.
00:50:23.519 --> 00:50:24.960
I can't fit them all into a box.
00:50:25.119 --> 00:50:25.440
Yeah.
00:50:25.599 --> 00:50:30.159
Um, and I like I said, I've found very few classroom teachers that are not open to that.
00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:30.639
Yeah.
00:50:30.800 --> 00:50:33.920
Um, maybe some administrators, but it's fine.
00:50:34.239 --> 00:50:37.599
It's amazing how everything really leads back to personalized learning.
00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:43.199
I mean, it's all about an understanding the needs of each individual child in your room.
00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:45.840
And that doesn't mean it has to be laborious.
00:50:45.920 --> 00:50:48.880
Like you don't have to create an individual lesson plan for each child.
00:50:49.119 --> 00:50:56.000
I mean, I look at Khan Academy right now, they've got several different age levels all in one classroom, and they find a way.
00:50:56.079 --> 00:50:58.639
I mean, it's not how we used to do like one-room schoolhouses, right?
00:50:59.119 --> 00:51:02.400
You knew that kid and you knew what they needed to learn that day.
00:51:02.480 --> 00:51:05.760
And it's not the same thing in sixth grade as it is in eighth grade.
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:09.599
You know, I want to say it's not that hard, but it's not easy for me to say that, not ever taught.
00:51:10.159 --> 00:51:12.159
I'm not a teacher, but you know, it can be done.
00:51:12.400 --> 00:51:16.079
I've seen that, you know, but it goes back to you've got to understand that kid.
00:51:16.480 --> 00:51:30.159
So well, when I think about all those environments that you kind of just mentioned, it requires that more you if you cannot make an individual lesson plan for each kid, it means that you need to give more space to the pro in within the process, right?
00:51:30.400 --> 00:51:36.480
There needs to be more space and there needs to be more trust with in and that gives the kid agency.
00:51:36.639 --> 00:51:39.920
If I give the kid agency, then and not that it's perfect, right?
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:48.400
But if you are trying to create a personalized learning environment and you think you're going to create a lesson plan for every kid, you've got to, you are you're just gonna lay yourself.
00:51:49.039 --> 00:51:51.599
Yeah, you're setting yourself up for big possible.
00:51:51.840 --> 00:51:52.000
Yeah.
00:51:52.239 --> 00:51:59.119
But if I can give, you know, norms and guidelines, give more space to the process, the kids will figure it out.
00:51:59.199 --> 00:52:02.320
Kids are more capable than we ever give them credit for.
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:05.599
And so I love to see across all these environments.
00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:09.119
Um we need to go on a little field trip over to the independent school.
00:52:09.199 --> 00:52:10.159
I haven't been there in a really long time.
00:52:10.800 --> 00:52:12.639
Well, and you know, just stong is the friend of ours.
00:52:12.880 --> 00:52:13.280
I mean Sarah.
00:52:13.599 --> 00:52:14.400
Sarah knows it too.
00:52:14.480 --> 00:52:14.559
Yeah.
00:52:14.719 --> 00:52:21.360
Um, but just sounds like the these spaces are these places are doing a great, a better job of giving the kids space.
00:52:21.599 --> 00:52:22.079
Absolutely.
00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:29.920
And absolutely one of the the most amazing educator I've ever known um is the math teacher, one of the math teachers at World Literacy Academy.
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:32.800
And she has the earliest Diddy.
00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:36.800
She has the littlest ones that come in there.
00:52:37.280 --> 00:52:41.679
And so this is their first time in school, or it's their first time in a school that's good for them.
00:52:42.239 --> 00:52:45.599
Um, and her classroom is the most peaceful room.
00:52:46.000 --> 00:52:48.639
They are all dyslexia, ADHD.
00:52:48.719 --> 00:52:55.440
I mean, there's all sorts of stuff going on in there, all sorts of different levels of math, but they are working on their own projects.
00:52:55.519 --> 00:52:57.360
They work individually with her.
00:52:57.679 --> 00:53:01.440
That to me is like the most brilliant model of how it can be done.
00:53:01.599 --> 00:53:01.840
Right.
00:53:02.079 --> 00:53:07.119
And I mean, this is a room that I you would not expect to be peaceful and quiet and focused.
00:53:07.199 --> 00:53:09.199
Like, how are you five and you're focusing?
00:53:09.360 --> 00:53:09.599
Yeah.
00:53:09.760 --> 00:53:12.159
I mean, it's developmentally appropriate.
00:53:12.639 --> 00:53:13.280
Unicorns.
00:53:13.599 --> 00:53:14.800
I mean she's amazing.
00:53:14.960 --> 00:53:17.599
But that to me, that shows me that it can be done.
00:53:17.840 --> 00:53:18.159
That's right.
00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:18.559
That's right.
00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:19.760
And it absolutely can be.
00:53:19.840 --> 00:53:24.639
So it's not necessarily, you know, she's broken herself making an individualized lesson plan.
00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:25.440
She hasn't.
00:53:25.599 --> 00:53:25.760
No.
00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:27.679
She's said this is how you handle this.
00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:31.119
So there are amazing educators out there that are examples.
00:53:31.199 --> 00:53:32.880
So, like you guys are like, yeah, field trip.
00:53:33.039 --> 00:53:33.679
Absolutely.
00:53:33.760 --> 00:53:36.239
There are so many people in this community that are doing it.
00:53:36.400 --> 00:53:36.800
Yeah.
00:53:37.119 --> 00:53:39.440
Absolutely amazing that we can all learn from.
00:53:39.679 --> 00:53:40.079
That's right.
00:53:40.400 --> 00:53:41.440
So many people.
00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:50.159
Well, Sarah, any final thoughts about school shopping or dyslexia, parenting?
00:53:50.480 --> 00:53:51.519
Any final soapbox?
00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:53.360
So many soaps.
00:53:53.519 --> 00:54:12.079
Um I think it's just because I having been there and having lived through a year where we kept on a calendar like a rating of one to five of how bad Austin's Day was, you know, so we could try to find a pattern, you know, and just having lived through this, like I know there are parents in this community asking these same questions.
00:54:12.239 --> 00:54:12.480
Yeah.
00:54:12.639 --> 00:54:18.719
Um, I know how hard it is, but you're not alone as a parent if you're asking these questions.
00:54:18.880 --> 00:54:22.239
There are resources, there is help, there is hope.
00:54:22.639 --> 00:54:26.559
Um, that may sound trite because it sort of rhymes, but it's so true.
00:54:26.719 --> 00:54:31.039
I mean, there are places out there that can help you better understand your child.
00:54:31.199 --> 00:54:39.760
There are options out there that will make your child strong and happy and healthy and confident and get the education they need to be successful.
00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:40.159
Yeah.
00:54:40.400 --> 00:54:44.159
The educational world we're living in right now is changing on a daily basis.
00:54:44.400 --> 00:54:46.960
I mean, it doesn't look like it did when I was a little kid.
00:54:47.039 --> 00:54:47.920
And it's not going back.
00:54:48.079 --> 00:54:51.440
I mean, we're not going back to what school looked like in 1980 something.
00:54:51.840 --> 00:54:53.119
You know, we're just, we're not.
00:54:53.440 --> 00:54:58.880
And that's great because the world that these kids are growing up in is so much different.
00:54:59.119 --> 00:54:59.360
Yeah.
00:54:59.519 --> 00:55:02.400
So I think that it is so important to be open-minded.
00:55:02.639 --> 00:55:09.840
It is so important to be brave, and it is so important to listen to people who are experts in their field and know what they're talking about.
00:55:09.920 --> 00:55:10.159
Yeah.
00:55:10.320 --> 00:55:16.880
Um, I can find 10 different influencers, and sometimes that's great as we're sitting here doing a podcast that say 10 different things.
00:55:17.599 --> 00:55:28.880
But to really get down and talk to experts, especially if you're looking for a school in your own community, get in there and meet them because there is so much knowledge in Wichita right now about education.
00:55:29.039 --> 00:55:32.480
And there are options, and it makes all the difference in the world.
00:55:32.559 --> 00:55:33.119
So that's right.
00:55:33.280 --> 00:55:35.199
Be brave commercial for Wichita.
00:55:35.519 --> 00:55:35.760
That's right.
00:55:35.840 --> 00:55:36.559
Go Wichita.
00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:39.920
Yay! The education innovation capital of the world.
00:55:41.199 --> 00:55:41.760
Two things.
00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:50.719
You can reach out to Learning Lab because we do kind of a concierge service where if a parent's looking for a school, we just share what we know.
00:55:50.880 --> 00:55:51.679
They are amazing.
00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:53.039
So also commercial for them.
00:55:53.280 --> 00:55:55.519
Like amazing work at this place.
00:55:55.840 --> 00:55:56.800
So that is an option.
00:55:56.880 --> 00:55:58.320
We have a tour button on our website.
00:55:58.480 --> 00:56:03.840
And then since we were talking about dyslexia, I just wanted to plug our September 10th event.
00:56:03.920 --> 00:56:08.159
We're having local author Joan Stambaugh come speak about her book.
00:56:08.320 --> 00:56:09.519
Oh gosh, it's so good.
00:56:09.679 --> 00:56:10.079
Yes.
00:56:10.239 --> 00:56:31.840
Um, and she is um a sweet woman who has dyslexia herself and has written two books, and she's gonna share some inspiring stories about people with dyslexia, and she's also gonna share some basic information about dyslexia, and then she will talk about how hard it was to write a book when you have dyslexia.
00:56:32.079 --> 00:56:41.360
And she will sign her books and it's um free for parents like Sarah, who are part of our community, and it's$10 for anybody else who wants to come.
00:56:41.519 --> 00:56:44.400
So great opportunity to learn more about dyslexia.
00:56:44.719 --> 00:56:52.000
And I think you're like even your middle school and high school age kids hearing those stories that Joan's gonna tell, I think that would be so inspiring to them.
00:56:52.400 --> 00:57:05.920
Um, you know, if that is, you know, something that they're dealing with, I think that would help them a ton because I know a lot of the kids she interviewed for that book, and I think that those stories would be so inspiring to kids who learn like that to hear that and see that success.
00:57:06.079 --> 00:57:07.280
So she has she's phenomenal.
00:57:07.519 --> 00:57:08.159
That's so fun.
00:57:08.320 --> 00:57:09.039
Yeah, I love it.
00:57:09.199 --> 00:57:09.440
Awesome.
00:57:09.519 --> 00:57:10.239
Well, thanks, Sarah.
00:57:10.400 --> 00:57:10.719
Absolutely.
00:57:11.039 --> 00:57:11.760
Thanks, Sarah.
00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:12.639
Thank you.