At every parent conference, that is the question the teacher asked me. I would reply he is just like his father, KINESTHETIC/ TACTILE. She would give me a dumb look and say, “What is that?” I would say that my dear son had to touch and move to learn.
About 15% of children have this learning style. They are the unfortunate ones who drive their teachers nuts. For years, teachers have put them right up front of her so she could keep an eye on him. Constant threats and reprimands do not help. If his dad warned him that morning he would get a paddling if he did not get a good report for the day, the poor kid spends the day trying his best to sit still and be quiet, while learning very little. By the end of the year, the teacher dislikes him, his classmates dislike him, and he hates himself..
In my classroom, after testing each child to determine his learning style, I would make special provisions for those who had high scores in kinesthetic/tactile. This is what I would do to make him comfortable.
Place his desk as far away from me as possible, Give him a squeeze ball or ball of clay for him to manipulate when needed. Glue a strip of velcro on the inside of his desk for him to rub. If necessary, I would make a large square of masking tape around his desk and told him he could sit on the floor just as long as he stayed within the square. I allowed him to stand when doing his work. I would put a bungee cord between the legs of his desk for him to pedal with his feet. This gave him a chance to use his learning style just as the other children.
When the principal came to observe, he would look at the child and ask, ‘What in the world is wrong with him?” I would smile and just say he is just tactile/kinesthetic.
In all of my years of teaching, I never had the principal ask what that was even though I knew he probably had no idea but would not ever want to look stupid in front of a teacher.
These poor kids (with high I Q s often) never flourish in a highly-visual classroom with a steady stream of worksheets. They often quit school but get a job using their strengths and make a million dollars…But most end up in trouble and have a unrewarding adulthood when we could have done so much better for him in school Another case of the school failing the child rather than the child failing school,,,SAD
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P.E.A.R.L 