Buddha has given us many lessons in life that should still serve us today. One of the things he has taught is to learn from everyone you come across in life - whether they're on the same path as you or not.
In life we'll come across all kinds of people with different views (especially in topics such as dyslexia). Many of them would write off everyone else's experience or views as wrong and believe that their way was the best.
However I have found that rather than writing off those with different perspectives, it is powerful to listen to everyone and to learn from them. The key is not to just accept everything that they say as truth, but to take what is relevant to me from those on different paths to me and apply it to my own situation - and to leave behind what didn't fit with my situation, values, believes and approach.
The temptation is to simply write off everyone who rubs you up the wrong way and to ignore their teaching completely - however the problem with this is that you could be throwing out some great teaching that is mixed in with a few bits that you don't agree with.
The key is to not swallow everything whole but to take what resonates with you and to apply it to your situation and to calmly leave what doesn't 'fit' aside. The important thing is to be willing to change ones view when one comes across something new which contradicts ones belief but appears logical.
Learn what is working for others, filter it through your own situation, values and belief and you will leave a better world behind through the works you have done.
Why am I writing on the above topic which appears to have nothing to do with dyslexia? This is to release the frustration that has been building up in me after having had no response from many of the researchers who have written on Phonological awareness to whom I had written over the last one year.
One of the Professors who is teaching in our local university even went so far as to tell me not to write on this topic in my blog or he will make sure I will not be able to teach dyslexic children. I had told him that I would gladly stop teaching dyslexic children if his organisation is willing to set up a branch here in Sabah. Let us hope he does.
Note: I will not be posting articles here as regularly as I have been. I am busy writing to professors who had written on phonological awareness. I will post their reply here if I receive any.
I may even write the names of people I have written to just in case you may know them and give a nudge to obtain an answer.
In life we'll come across all kinds of people with different views (especially in topics such as dyslexia). Many of them would write off everyone else's experience or views as wrong and believe that their way was the best.
However I have found that rather than writing off those with different perspectives, it is powerful to listen to everyone and to learn from them. The key is not to just accept everything that they say as truth, but to take what is relevant to me from those on different paths to me and apply it to my own situation - and to leave behind what didn't fit with my situation, values, believes and approach.
The temptation is to simply write off everyone who rubs you up the wrong way and to ignore their teaching completely - however the problem with this is that you could be throwing out some great teaching that is mixed in with a few bits that you don't agree with.
The key is to not swallow everything whole but to take what resonates with you and to apply it to your situation and to calmly leave what doesn't 'fit' aside. The important thing is to be willing to change ones view when one comes across something new which contradicts ones belief but appears logical.
Learn what is working for others, filter it through your own situation, values and belief and you will leave a better world behind through the works you have done.
Why am I writing on the above topic which appears to have nothing to do with dyslexia? This is to release the frustration that has been building up in me after having had no response from many of the researchers who have written on Phonological awareness to whom I had written over the last one year.
One of the Professors who is teaching in our local university even went so far as to tell me not to write on this topic in my blog or he will make sure I will not be able to teach dyslexic children. I had told him that I would gladly stop teaching dyslexic children if his organisation is willing to set up a branch here in Sabah. Let us hope he does.
Note: I will not be posting articles here as regularly as I have been. I am busy writing to professors who had written on phonological awareness. I will post their reply here if I receive any.
I may even write the names of people I have written to just in case you may know them and give a nudge to obtain an answer.
4 comments:
Lord give me the strength to change what I can, give me the patients to let go that which I cannot change and the wisdom to tell the difference. This was a prayer given to me as a kid. This is fantastic advice that I just never really got the hang of.
Boy the stuffed shirts can be really annoying. You should maybe dare the guy. Like Clint Eastwood said “make my day.” I suspect the guy is an air bag. He sees you know something and your method would be a threat to his approach so he has nothing to loose by making ideal threats. I sir believe that you really are onto something so do not loose your cool. Steady will do the job. Quiet persistence will serve the cause. Your goal may not be realized during your life time. Maybe it will be one of your students that will take it to the masses and in a few years dyslexia will be seen as a just one more hurdle that is easily and quietly resolved. No fuss no muss.
You sir are the best.
Thank you John. Your comments are very encouraging.
I believe I am getting experts to start looking at what I have found on phonological awareness. But it is going to take a little longer than I thought it would.
This annoying guy is Dr.Aziz and he is the deputy president of Malaysian Dyslexia Association,a PhD., who says what he likes but does not answer direct questions. He actually threatened to comment harshly in my blog and I was hoping he would do it under Dyslexia Association but he has not.
Being the deputy president of Dyslexia Association of Malaysia I would have expected him to check with his teachers to see if I made sense or conduct a study to see if what I say is true. Otherwise say in a nice manner as to what he disagrees with.I am more than willing to have an open debate on his Dyslexia Association Blog. It does not matter who is wrong or right.
Our country is in a unique position to study this as we have 3 languages using the same 26 alphabets. He, however chose to say that Dyslexia Association Malaysia has taught more than 5000 dyslexics and that figure overwhelms the number of students I have taught! As such I should shut up.
What he does not realize is that I teach my dyslexic students on a one on one basis and I personally teach them all three languages. None of the teachers in the whole of the dyslexia association would be teaching any dyslexic students in all 3 languages.
Let us hope the president of Dyslexia Association Malaysia will read this and get in touch with me.
Hi Michel -
I didn't realise he was the dep. pres. I assumed he was just helping them out in some way.
It never ceases to amaze me how arrogant some people are. I'm glad he didn't stop you from writing. You should consider sending your articles to someone like Ian Smythe who specialises in the study of dyslexia in different languages.
http://www.wdnf.info/cvis.html
Hi Libragal. What a coincidence, I had just written to Ian about 2 weeks ago and again this morning. Hope to get a response from him. I am satisfied just writing my blog and sharing my findings with parents who read my blog. I had written to Aziz saying that I was going ahead with my article and hope to see his comments but he has not done that.I am not challenging anyone but again I am not going to sit down and listen to some guy saying things he does not know much about.He does not even know that he should not be called Aziz. It should always be preceded by Abdul.
Post a Comment