Not Being Defined by a Learning Need

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Not Being Defined by a Learning Need

  • January 8, 2020
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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Lexi! Delightful, happy, helpful, friendly, athletic, willing-to-learn, joyful! These are just a few adjectives to describe this student, whom Donna Stole has worked alongside during her elementary and middle-school years. Lexi is also a struggling learner, but she doesn’t let that define her!

Though typically reluctant to read in from of her class, let alone in front of a larger group or crowd of people, it was Lexi, and only Lexi from her 8th grade class, who volunteered to speak at their 8th grade graduation ceremony, where classmates, teachers, pastors, and other school students, parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and strangers would be present.

It was a pleasant surprise to me and her other teachers that Lexi whole-heartedly wanted to speak at her graduation. Not only that, but she did not want any input from her parents or teachers as to the content of her message. This, from a student who struggled with reading! Regardless of her disability, Lexi loves to write. It didn’t matter that she misplaced punctuation or used improper sentence structure, she loved putting her thoughts on paper. And when she wasn’t going to be graded on the syntax of her writing, she loved it even more!

Lexi did allow me to read her speech, and listen as she practiced with the microphone. I may have given a bit of guidance when she misspelled or forgot to include a word on paper that she then wasn’t sure how to read, but the content was all hers. And it flowed beautifully. Starting with her preschool teacher, she commented and thanked each teacher and pastor throughout her school career. She included how important her parents and classmates are to her. She included how meaningful her faith in Christ is, and how her school and family nurtured that faith.

Lexi is a beautiful girl, inside and out, and has much to offer the world. She needs extra support, reteaching, and guidance throughout her school day with curricular content, but that does not define Lexi or hold her back. She knows that she has talents and challenges, and that God will be with her every step of the way. Her school is committed to helping students reach their potential, and that includes its partnership with LSEM. Without the extra support, Lexi likely would not have been able to be successful in her Lutheran school.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6