I was at the ice rink to watch a hockey game, but a 4-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother totally upstaged the game as they exuberantly raced up and down in front of the bleachers!
Aren’t little kids great! They embrace life with gusto and pull everyone around them into their adventure.
As kids grow, we expect them to lose some of their 4-year old recklessness, but we hope that the unbridled self-esteem will stick with them. More than anything else, I think it is confidence and self-esteem that gets lost when kids get into school and find that it is a struggle for them.
Our Mission to Help Kids Reclaim Confidence
We are on a mission to change this. We want to help as many kids as possible to overcome learning and attention challenges so that they can reclaim their confidence and learn comfortably and independently in school.
To do this, we need help. We need others around the country to be doing this work and providing the kind of cognitive educational therapy we do to students in their community. To get the word out to people who might want to join this mission with us, we’ve been using the term: Fix Learning Skills.
Why We Say Fix Learning Skills
Someone took exception to this and said, “Kids don’t need to be fixed!” And she’s absolutely right! Kids are amazing just the way they are! But if they are struggling because of weak underlying learning skills, why not resolve those challenges if we can?
The Underlying Skills Behind Struggles
When bright, typical children struggle in school, it is usually because there are weak underlying learning/processing skills that are not supporting their academic learning well enough. These are skills like auditory or visual processing, attention, memory, processing speed, executive function, and sensorimotor integration.
These are not taught in school or traditional tutoring, but they can be developed. And once they are, the reading, writing, spelling, or math can be remediated and make sense!
We are not trying to “fix” kids. We are trying to develop, or strengthen, or make efficient…fix is just a shorter word…those underlying skills that allow students to learn more easily and at their potential. We want them to get their self-esteem back and approach school with the joy and exuberance of the 4 year old in the ice rink!
If you know someone who would love to start a business that “fixes learning skills” and helps children and adults with learning challenges in the way that we do, please have them contact us! There are so many kids suffering and so few out there doing this work!
If you or your child are struggling with learning and attention challenges and you’re ready for a real change…if you’re ready for your child to love school again..
Quick Answers
Why do kids lose self-esteem in school?
More than anything else, confidence and self-esteem get lost when kids get into school and find that it is a struggle for them.
Why do bright children struggle in school?
When bright, typical children struggle in school, it is usually because there are weak underlying learning/processing skills that are not supporting their academic learning well enough.
Can underlying learning skills be developed?
These skills are not taught in school or traditional tutoring, but they can be developed. Once they are, the reading, writing, spelling, or math can be remediated.
Jill Stowell, M.S.
Founder and Executive Director of Stowell Learning Centers and bestselling author of At Wit's End and Take the Stone Out of the Shoe. For more than 40 years, Stowell Learning Centers has helped children and adults correct the root causes of dyslexia, learning, and attention challenges. More about Jill
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