Back
First things first – I’m all for students who need accommodations, getting accommodations. There are absolutely certain students who need them and benefit from them.
Often, however, accommodations are a solution to the wrong problem.
For example, many students don’t need time and a half on the test.
They need to learn how to study and focus, both of which are acquired skills (yes, focus is a skill too, including and especially for kiddos with ADHD).
And/or they need to understand and practice intellectual humility, which makes it easier for them to listen in class (because they don’t assume they know everything already) and ask the teacher questions (because they know it doesn’t make them look dumb and that asking questions in fact is a sign of being smart).
These are just a small example of the kinds of skills that drastically improve how your kid is able to do in school and feel about themselves as a learner.
Two things to keep in mind:
- No skills or low skills = no or low confidence or capacity to thrive academically, regardless of accommodations.
- Skills are built, not born.
To your child knowing they can feel like a rockstar in school…when they have the right skills!
Kelsey
***Want help giving your child the skills they need to thrive (inside and outside the classroom)? Click here to book a free 1:1 Learning Skills Assessment with my team. This is a ~60 minute deep dive into your child’s situation with school and their
Kelsey Komorowski is an educator and the founder of Komo, where she helps high school and university students close the skills debt and become confident, capable learners. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto and began her career at Ontario’s Ministry of Education, in the Student Achievement Division. Over the past decade, she has worked with thousands of students and been featured in The Washington Post and The Globe and Mail.
