The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

don't start in grade and end in grade II. They don't start at ' a.m. and dis. appear at 3:30 pm. But, it's just that these disabil- ities don't come to the sur- face very often until a child enters the classroom. "i'2iii'ififi'ii"r" disabilities don 't usually, surface til sdhodl This was the message Edward Poiak imparted to elementary and secondary school teachers taking part in a Learning Disabilities Sessionon Nov. 23. "What do I do with him if I have 35 other kids to deal with," was the topic Smoking p y-Iaw hearing delayed A publii: hearing on Waterloo’s proposed anti-smokipg by-law was set back until the new year at last Monday night's council meeting. ' Ail Waterloo residents will be given a chance to voice their opinions on the mat- ter. The Hearing will be held Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1978 at the Adult Recreation Centre on King Street. [ _ _ The proposed anti-smoking by-Iaw would be similar to one passed in Toronto earlier this year, and if passed would prohibit smok- ing in some public buildings. Dr Terry Jam“ under discussion in the afternoon session held at Inning disabilities Waterloo Collegiate In. i start in grade one stitute. Mr. Pout ite- end in grade ll. They complished conference "tart at9a.m. and dis. organizer, author and pro- ar at 3:30 pm. But, lessional development ani- iust that these disabil- mator with the Quebec don't come to the 3ur- Association for Children very often until a child with Learning Disabilities. rs the classroom. attempted to deal with the is was the message question by basing his ard Polak imparted to answer on two personal entary and secondary assumptions. His first as- ol teachers taking part sumption was that it is Learning Disabilities difficult to be a teacher in Wot-doc Chronido, WM, Nov-mu: a. 1m fljlilili, gtigMtattMlt)tlilulit . ttft Aisraran exciting Christmas awaits Relaxandsleepinbeauty...ln sleepwear from The Soft Touch. Choose from romantic gowns, daring baby dolls or elegant housemate. All with that extra touch only at The Soft Touch. teachefs have to appreciate this when 1hey expect "People who are “not certéin things," said Mt. Thid Ruben axial ex- Polak. ”Moot parents peetatiarresttrtqitt'r, consider their children to l Mr. Point "id_tttt the. tmtheirmotstpepeiottst?its- feel _there is an Anne Sullivan or Oral Roberts who can fix the deficit their child has." pressures confronting teachers and one is the influence of the media on classroom style and teach- ing._While it is true that students today are more infdrmed through watching television, they are not necessarily better learn- ers. Mr. Polak "said that Sesame Street teaches children a concept using 17 reinforcements. In the classroom. a teacher may use only one or two there- fore a number or students are missing some basic in- formation. Ahother stressful tac- tor is the critical attack the media has launched on the teaching profes- sion. The attack depicts social expectations. Mr. Polak said that in 1957 the. stress was on si- ence and mathematics. In the 1960"s and "10's the concept was open and free. "They (society) said we're dropping bombs on Vietnam therefore we need open and loving per- sons. Break down the walls. When we ran out of jobs they said build the walls back up and let's get down to the basics." LOWER MALL, WATERLOO SQUARE w. 11a is, when new a. children who are inefficient learners pose serious problems. The? guest speakers sec- ond assumption (was that the concept ot learning dis- abititieg iremttuaing and misunderstood. The terms surrounding the definition have become flippant and meaningless. Some def- initions. are so narrow that onlyoneper cent ofthe student population could be included. Other' defini- tions are so broad that ai- most every student could be said to have a learning disability. The term is nev- er used to describe men- tally retarded or emotion- ally. disturbed children nor is it used to describe chil- dren with a problem in school although some prob- lems, not all, can be at- tributed to learning disa- bilities. "All children with learn- ing disabilities have learn- ing problems but not all children with learning problems have learning disabilities," said Mr. Polak. "Receiving stimu- lus and responding is what learning is all about. If this is inhibited then they have a learning disability. Perhaps . the greatest reason for confusion is over the controversy as to what causes the learning disa- Nut] and there are (our -,ttl.tter8ttrsehttott' QW'; The teaching disability school says there is no such thing as a learning disability rather it is the result of 'an improper method of teaching. . The fourth 'school deals with an organic or bio. chemical imbalance said to be caused by loud ad- ditives or ‘food children are unknowingly allergic to. Mr. Polak said scient- ists are just beginning to scratch the whole area of biochemistry but it has been proven that. what children eat affects their learning abilities. move on. The process disturtetitm school asks mt psycholo gical, perceptual processes are required and determines where the "weaknesses lie mental school which m that mu hve to evolve though stages acquiring specific skills before they in we modality process. The guest lecturer said that like a child who can only eat half of a sandwich. some children can only SUC- cessfully handle a cer- tain amount of stress in the classroom. "This is the kind of problem we don't always recognize." said Mr. Po- lak. “In school they (the students) get two and one half sandwiches to eat and what they can't eat The ttiit traditioitat four we a, inn: with them ight. lorbomeworkf' 4 nal Mr. Polak said wine snr Bach Choir to present carols at - Parkminister page wimout' having some teedback while other my dents can do bro. Teach- ers run into the problem where they can’t rightful- ly assign one or two students one page of work and then turn around and give the rest of the class What can a teacher do for all her students that incorporates these four or five children? Mr. Polak offered three suggestions. He said 'tthas not neces- sary to individualize each program but teachers should recognize the uniqueness of the individuals in their classroom and feel confid- modating this uniqueness. "Each and every child must experience an import- ant measure of success every day." said Mr. Po- lak. "We protect them from failing and children learn by their mistakes. Mistakes are proof that they are learning. .. Mr. Polak told the teach- ers to inject their class: room with joy and laughter. He said silence is not ne- cessary for learning and it is natural for children to laugh. The Kitchener Bach Choir will present the Festival of Carols, a traditional carol presentation, at Parkminst- er United Church on Fri- day, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. Tick- et prices will be $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for students and senior citizens, $7.00 for families and can be pur- chased from choir members or at the door. Along with the Kitchener Bach Choir conducted by Howard Dyck, there will be a special guest choir. the Inter Mennonite Chil- dren's Choir conducted by Helen Martens. Refresh- ments will be served after the concert. Y planning bus trip to Toronto An all-day Bus Trip to Casa Loma and the. Mc- Laughlin Planetarium will be held on December 30th from 9-5 for boys.and girls 6and up Children should register for this all-day trip by De cember 27th at the Kitchen., er Family Y. Children will need to wear warm cloth- ing. and bring a lunch or lunch money, The bus Will leave the Kitchener Family Y at 9.00 sharp and be back atr00. Cost for members is $5.50 - and others thoo are accom-