LDAO-C Blog
The Importance of Community
Welcome to October. So sorry we are late putting out this month’s Newsletter and Blog. As many of you know, I am located in Prince Edward Island, and Hurricane Fiona was not kind to us. I have been two weeks with no power or internet. Internet could be still longer. It is amazing how much we rely on both. However, we are grateful that we live somewhere that will rebuild and somewhere that looks after each other.
I was thinking about that as I sat down to right October’s Blog – the importance of community. In the past two weeks we have had family, neighbours and complete strangers stop by to chop down trees, cut up fallen trees and drag everything to the side of the road. We have taken food to our local Warming Centre, as they try to provide for those who are not so lucky as to have a generator.
Being a part of an organization such as the Learning Disabilities Association is much like that. There are people who are there for you. We have a Board of Directors that works hard to ensure that people know we are here, who work on raising funds, and organizing activities and network with the school boards. Our executive director, Mike Marta, puts in long hours attending meetings with stakeholders, working with community partners, and looking after the budget that allows us to pay tutors and offer programs. As your Program Specialist, I bring years of experience in this field. I have been involved with learning disabilities and the LDAO-C for over 20 years. As a teacher I was always drawn to the kids who struggled. I stayed home with my own children when they were young, and when my youngest was in grade 1 I began volunteering in his class. I saw how many kids were slipping through the cracks, especially boys. Parents were reassured that they were behind because they were boys, or because they were left-handed or because they had late birthdays. In most cases, these were not the actual reasons. One day the teacher asked me to work with a little boy named Eugene. Eugene was from Russia. Each week I would go in and I would teach him that ‘b’ made a /b/ sound and we would play rhyming games and by the next week it was as if I was never there the week before. They matched him with a parent who could work on teaching him English. Yet still nothing. He was lost. I knew we were missing something which started me on the road to learning as much as I could about learning disabilities and dyslexia.
I soon realized that many kids were like Eugene. So, I opened a tutoring company, which shifted into summer camps, which became a full day school – MIndWare Academy. Last year I stepped down and sold the school to an amazing teacher who had been with me from the beginning and I took the position at the LDAO-C. I had worked closely with the LDA before and had been a Board Member for many years. I now run the tutoring program and develop programs. I feel like I have come full circle. I found myself back in a familiar community.
Of course, the community would feel empty without tutors, parents and kids. This is my favourite part of my job – connecting with everyone and being a part of a solution for kids. I love having tutors email and share their excitement when a child begins to read. I love the heartfelt emails from parents when they start to see confidence build in their children and love that kids are excited for tutoring!!
Rounding all of this out is our wonderful summer camp. Miss Emma was incredible this summer as she motivated her staff and together they ran a camp to be remembered. There were a lot of smiles this summer and I know that will only continue. Community is important. When you find one that feels right, you stick with it. I am lucky to have PEI and the LDAO-C as my communities and I hope that this year you too will feel that sense of community as we continue to build and grow.
Shelley
Program Specialist
