1 00:00:00,583 --> 00:00:02,085 One factor that must 2 00:00:02,085 --> 00:00:05,088 absolutely be present is safety. 3 00:00:05,672 --> 00:00:09,342 My students are not going to learn well at all. 4 00:00:09,634 --> 00:00:11,803 If they come into the classroom 5 00:00:11,803 --> 00:00:14,264 and they're thinking, am I safe with miss Kuhns? 6 00:00:14,264 --> 00:00:15,390 Is she going to yell at me? 7 00:00:15,390 --> 00:00:18,018 Is she going to get mad at me. Is she going to. 8 00:00:19,019 --> 00:00:20,020 They're not going to learn. 9 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:23,106 It's that amygdala, that part of our brain that wants to keep us 10 00:00:23,106 --> 00:00:25,734 safe is constantly scanning for danger, danger, danger. 11 00:00:31,281 --> 00:00:34,200 Ruth Anna, welcome to the podcast. 12 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,579 You've been an educator for a while, and there's a 13 00:00:37,620 --> 00:00:38,955 there's a lot of different areas. 14 00:00:38,955 --> 00:00:41,666 We could go with this, but I want to drill in on a couple things. 15 00:00:41,666 --> 00:00:45,086 Specifically in the field of education that that you're involved with. 16 00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:49,549 But before we get too specific, how many years have you been an educator? 17 00:00:49,966 --> 00:00:52,719 This is year 17 year 17. Okay. Okay. 18 00:00:52,719 --> 00:00:57,015 So so one of the areas when we had had a phone call before this 19 00:00:57,015 --> 00:00:59,309 and we were talking about, okay, what are the things we can discuss? 20 00:00:59,309 --> 00:01:02,020 You mentioned a term I had never heard before. 21 00:01:02,020 --> 00:01:04,147 Neurodivergence. 22 00:01:04,147 --> 00:01:08,026 So can you tell us what that even is, and why does having 23 00:01:08,026 --> 00:01:12,072 an understanding of that term apply or matter to us, and how does that affect 24 00:01:12,155 --> 00:01:13,698 how we view education? Sure. 25 00:01:13,698 --> 00:01:15,700 That is such a great question. 26 00:01:15,700 --> 00:01:19,370 So neurodivergence is kind of an umbrella term. 27 00:01:19,370 --> 00:01:21,081 It's a big word right now in education. 28 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:23,249 And it's 29 00:01:23,249 --> 00:01:26,586 it's the umbrella term for learning differences. 30 00:01:26,586 --> 00:01:31,216 So you think autistic students, dyslexic students. 31 00:01:31,633 --> 00:01:34,594 So. Yeah, it's a it's a big word in education right now. 32 00:01:35,553 --> 00:01:39,808 So if you think of your student who learns in a typical way. 33 00:01:40,058 --> 00:01:45,438 So let's say you know, you as a teacher are lecturing and they're taking notes. 34 00:01:45,438 --> 00:01:47,857 They're listening to your lectures. 35 00:01:47,857 --> 00:01:51,861 They're reading and discovering information that’s your neurotypical 36 00:01:51,861 --> 00:01:53,488 student. Okay. 37 00:01:53,488 --> 00:01:59,119 So not all of our students learn in the same way, and we know that. 38 00:01:59,119 --> 00:02:03,456 But I think in the past, we've kind of treated education as a one size fits all. 39 00:02:03,748 --> 00:02:05,416 And it's it's not that. 40 00:02:05,416 --> 00:02:08,586 So your neurodivergent student is your student 41 00:02:08,586 --> 00:02:11,589 who learns in ways other than what are typical. 42 00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:14,634 And so as educators, you know, 43 00:02:14,634 --> 00:02:18,138 if we have classes of 22 or 24 students, 44 00:02:18,471 --> 00:02:21,432 you are not going to just have neurotypical learners. 45 00:02:21,432 --> 00:02:24,435 And so how can we accommodate our students? 46 00:02:25,478 --> 00:02:28,356 Who are struggling? 47 00:02:28,356 --> 00:02:30,066 So that's that's what 48 00:02:30,066 --> 00:02:33,069 I mean when I talk about neurodivergent students 49 00:02:33,236 --> 00:02:35,572 and the that, that makes a lot of sense. 50 00:02:35,572 --> 00:02:38,241 And I can immediately see why understanding 51 00:02:38,241 --> 00:02:39,868 this is actually a pretty big deal. 52 00:02:39,868 --> 00:02:42,871 Or it is important if we want to provide, 53 00:02:43,371 --> 00:02:46,374 a reasonable education for these children. 54 00:02:46,374 --> 00:02:49,169 Wow. So this is a 55 00:02:49,169 --> 00:02:52,755 area that you have experience in, like you work with neurodivergent. 56 00:02:52,839 --> 00:02:55,842 So earlier in my, in my teaching career, 57 00:02:56,009 --> 00:02:58,761 I didn't you know, really understand these things. 58 00:02:58,761 --> 00:03:02,432 And so I'm looking back at almost two decades 59 00:03:02,432 --> 00:03:05,435 of being in the classroom and seeing, you know, 60 00:03:05,518 --> 00:03:08,438 there were a lot of students that got missed in my classroom 61 00:03:08,438 --> 00:03:11,900 because I just simply didn't understand what they needed. 62 00:03:12,025 --> 00:03:13,902 And I know sometimes in our private schools, 63 00:03:13,902 --> 00:03:16,905 we don't always have all the resources that we need. 64 00:03:17,530 --> 00:03:21,409 And so I think we're doing better at thinking about how can we 65 00:03:22,076 --> 00:03:26,706 how can we use our resources well, but there's still a long way to go. 66 00:03:27,248 --> 00:03:29,792 So I currently am pursuing a Bachelor 67 00:03:29,792 --> 00:03:32,879 of Education in special education from Liberty University. 68 00:03:33,213 --> 00:03:36,216 And part of the reason that, 69 00:03:36,382 --> 00:03:39,385 I was interested in that 70 00:03:39,802 --> 00:03:43,681 major is because I really wanted to learn more about diverse learners. 71 00:03:43,848 --> 00:03:46,351 Like, how can I service all of my students? 72 00:03:46,351 --> 00:03:48,728 How can I be responsible for all of them? 73 00:03:48,728 --> 00:03:53,608 And I realized, like as a homeroom teacher, you can't do it all by yourself. 74 00:03:53,608 --> 00:03:55,735 You need lots of support. 75 00:03:55,735 --> 00:03:57,695 And so, Yeah, I've. 76 00:03:57,695 --> 00:04:02,867 I've seen how having more understanding can really be empowering, because 77 00:04:03,368 --> 00:04:06,537 if we're not understanding the learning difference, well, 78 00:04:06,829 --> 00:04:12,210 we can actually end up, doing more harm to our students. And. 79 00:04:13,211 --> 00:04:14,629 Yeah, that's not what we want to. 80 00:04:14,629 --> 00:04:16,214 That's not what we want to do. 81 00:04:16,214 --> 00:04:17,173 Yeah. 82 00:04:17,173 --> 00:04:20,885 That does make sense, though, because there is so much variety 83 00:04:20,885 --> 00:04:22,804 within between different humans. 84 00:04:22,804 --> 00:04:24,514 Let's just say very broadly speaking. Right. 85 00:04:24,514 --> 00:04:25,807 So it would kind of make sense. 86 00:04:25,807 --> 00:04:28,685 Like we learn in different ways. Right. 87 00:04:28,685 --> 00:04:31,896 But I, I see the, the challenge here because if you're 88 00:04:32,647 --> 00:04:35,275 okay, you have your classroom, you have 20 students. 89 00:04:35,275 --> 00:04:39,362 It's it would be so easy for someone to get missed in that process. 90 00:04:39,779 --> 00:04:42,198 Yeah, right. 91 00:04:42,198 --> 00:04:42,907 Yeah. Wow. 92 00:04:42,907 --> 00:04:45,660 This is this is, this is a challenge. 93 00:04:45,660 --> 00:04:49,163 I think some of this is to just the complexity of the human brain. 94 00:04:49,163 --> 00:04:52,041 Is that an element that comes in here where we don't fully understand 95 00:04:52,041 --> 00:04:55,962 all the different dynamics that are involved, is how does that play into this? 96 00:04:56,170 --> 00:04:57,213 Absolutely, yes. 97 00:04:57,213 --> 00:05:00,133 So let's let's talk about dyslexia for a little bit. 98 00:05:00,133 --> 00:05:03,928 So there's been a lot of myths around dyslexia. 99 00:05:05,138 --> 00:05:08,266 I'm thinking I should have checked the research on this, 100 00:05:08,266 --> 00:05:11,269 but it's about 20% of your students that it's going to affect. 101 00:05:11,561 --> 00:05:13,646 20 percent? 102 00:05:13,646 --> 00:05:16,274 That's a lot more than I thought. Yes. Yes. 103 00:05:16,274 --> 00:05:19,319 So as we take apart the term a little bit dis, 104 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:22,196 you know, having difficulty with lexia language. 105 00:05:22,196 --> 00:05:27,201 So it is actually a, It is a language processing disorder. 106 00:05:28,036 --> 00:05:28,786 Okay. 107 00:05:28,786 --> 00:05:33,833 So for example, dyslexic students are trying to use 108 00:05:33,833 --> 00:05:37,170 a different part of their brain to read than what your neurotypical students will. 109 00:05:38,046 --> 00:05:42,342 And so understanding that can be can be really helpful. 110 00:05:42,467 --> 00:05:45,470 Well, just acknowledging the complexities here. 111 00:05:45,970 --> 00:05:47,597 I mean, we're talking the human brain, right? 112 00:05:47,597 --> 00:05:48,973 So. Right. 113 00:05:48,973 --> 00:05:52,352 But again, some of the challenges, probably because we don't fully understand 114 00:05:52,352 --> 00:05:54,354 all of these things. right? Yes. 115 00:05:54,354 --> 00:05:57,357 So if you have your neurotypical student who's learning to read, 116 00:05:58,107 --> 00:06:01,194 they're actually using the back left 117 00:06:01,194 --> 00:06:04,197 part of their brain, like, behind your ear. 118 00:06:04,364 --> 00:06:06,866 Okay. So that's that's typical. 119 00:06:06,866 --> 00:06:11,662 A dyslexic student tends to use more of the right front part. 120 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,749 And so contrary to 121 00:06:14,749 --> 00:06:17,752 myths is that it's a vision problem. 122 00:06:17,835 --> 00:06:20,046 My dyslexic students see backwards. 123 00:06:20,046 --> 00:06:23,925 Well, they don't actually see backwards what they what they will tend to do 124 00:06:23,925 --> 00:06:28,054 as a coping skill, as though they will tend to memorize word shapes. 125 00:06:28,638 --> 00:06:31,641 Because hearing sounds, hearing differences 126 00:06:31,641 --> 00:06:34,644 in sounds is so complicated. 127 00:06:34,727 --> 00:06:37,939 So if I give you the word sand right now, 128 00:06:38,523 --> 00:06:41,234 you can tell me how many sounds are in sand, right? 129 00:06:43,194 --> 00:06:46,197 And so, you know, we have s a n d. 130 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:47,407 Sand. 131 00:06:47,407 --> 00:06:49,700 They might not actually hear four sounds. 132 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:52,703 They may only hear three s a nd. 133 00:06:53,329 --> 00:06:56,416 And so part of retraining their brain 134 00:06:56,666 --> 00:07:01,129 is training them how to listen for differences in sound. 135 00:07:01,754 --> 00:07:02,463 Yeah. Okay. 136 00:07:02,463 --> 00:07:04,507 This is starting to make a lot more sense. 137 00:07:04,507 --> 00:07:08,052 Wow. Because again if you have a one size fits all though, someone like that 138 00:07:08,052 --> 00:07:10,555 just you just kind of get lost in the shuffle. Right. 139 00:07:10,555 --> 00:07:13,850 So typically what will happen with our students who have dyslexia. 140 00:07:14,142 --> 00:07:17,145 They they learn how to cope in these situations. 141 00:07:17,145 --> 00:07:20,690 So you know, first grade, second grade, they can kind of 142 00:07:20,690 --> 00:07:23,651 get by by memorizing word shapes. 143 00:07:23,651 --> 00:07:25,153 They hit third grade. 144 00:07:25,153 --> 00:07:29,991 And third grade is a lot more about reading to learn. 145 00:07:30,408 --> 00:07:32,410 Not learning to read. 146 00:07:32,410 --> 00:07:35,455 And so it's kind of they sort of hit a magic wall. 147 00:07:35,746 --> 00:07:41,127 I would say, where you're not going to be able to get by just by memorizing shapes. 148 00:07:42,170 --> 00:07:44,464 And so some of my job, 149 00:07:44,464 --> 00:07:47,008 as a learning support tutor 150 00:07:47,008 --> 00:07:50,636 is assisting them through that, literally 151 00:07:50,636 --> 00:07:54,223 helping them to rewire their brain so they can learn to read. 152 00:07:55,349 --> 00:07:57,018 Oh that's that's kind of wild. 153 00:07:57,018 --> 00:08:01,981 That's actually kind of fantastic though, that enough research has been done 154 00:08:01,981 --> 00:08:03,983 that we have at least this level of understanding 155 00:08:03,983 --> 00:08:06,986 compared to, I don't know, 100 years ago or something. 156 00:08:07,862 --> 00:08:09,864 Wow, that's that's kind of It is. 157 00:08:09,864 --> 00:08:11,240 It is very fascinating. 158 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,912 So, this is not a vision problem students aren't seeing backwards. 159 00:08:16,329 --> 00:08:21,000 but my my my job is, is to help them, develop skills 160 00:08:21,918 --> 00:08:24,712 to learn to read well. 161 00:08:25,004 --> 00:08:27,173 So would you let me do a little experiment? 162 00:08:27,173 --> 00:08:28,925 Yes, of course. Okay. 163 00:08:28,925 --> 00:08:33,763 So one of the things if I don't understand dyslexia, well 164 00:08:34,889 --> 00:08:37,308 I can end up doing some pretty harmful things. 165 00:08:37,308 --> 00:08:39,143 So you're a good reader, right? 166 00:08:39,143 --> 00:08:40,645 I think so. Yeah. Okay. 167 00:08:40,645 --> 00:08:40,978 I think so. Yeah. Okay. 168 00:08:40,978 --> 00:08:45,608 Well, I'm wondering if you would read this sentence for me. 169 00:08:45,775 --> 00:08:47,860 Okay. 170 00:08:47,860 --> 00:08:50,905 It's not difficult, and I'm sure you've seen all these words before. 171 00:08:51,030 --> 00:08:54,033 Okay. 172 00:08:56,494 --> 00:08:56,994 Okay. 173 00:08:56,994 --> 00:08:59,956 Tell me what you're seeing. 174 00:09:00,581 --> 00:09:03,543 You're a good reader Reagan! 175 00:09:03,543 --> 00:09:05,086 That's wild! 176 00:09:05,086 --> 00:09:08,089 You need to try harder. 177 00:09:08,589 --> 00:09:11,592 So what word are you seeing? 178 00:09:11,676 --> 00:09:13,386 are those complete words or are they. 179 00:09:13,386 --> 00:09:15,555 Or are they, split apart? 180 00:09:15,555 --> 00:09:16,556 It’s a complete sentence. 181 00:09:16,556 --> 00:09:19,308 You've seen these words many times. 182 00:09:19,308 --> 00:09:19,475 So start here. 183 00:09:19,475 --> 00:09:22,311 So start here. 184 00:09:24,772 --> 00:09:28,859 Oh, this this. 185 00:09:30,152 --> 00:09:32,363 Okay. I'm trying to find the pattern here. 186 00:09:32,363 --> 00:09:35,366 Gotcha, keep going. 187 00:09:38,911 --> 00:09:39,579 This Actual. 188 00:09:39,579 --> 00:09:42,331 Actual, look you missed a word. 189 00:09:42,331 --> 00:09:43,624 This is. 190 00:09:43,624 --> 00:09:46,627 This is actually. 191 00:09:55,386 --> 00:09:58,389 Quite... 192 00:10:01,350 --> 00:10:04,895 Quite easy to decode. 193 00:10:05,187 --> 00:10:08,566 Oh, wow. Were you working hard? 194 00:10:09,734 --> 00:10:12,361 Yeah, but, like, in a different way. 195 00:10:12,361 --> 00:10:14,280 Right? 196 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,658 Now, if I would have shown you the sentence, if I would have shown it to you 197 00:10:17,658 --> 00:10:21,412 like this, I thought I had it on the back there like you normally see it. 198 00:10:21,412 --> 00:10:22,913 You would have been able to read it. No problem. 199 00:10:22,913 --> 00:10:25,041 This is easy to decode, but because. 200 00:10:25,041 --> 00:10:26,417 Because you're adding the layers, 201 00:10:26,417 --> 00:10:30,379 like almost like the levels, my brain immediately said, this is scrambled. 202 00:10:30,504 --> 00:10:32,506 Yes. It's not, but it's. 203 00:10:32,506 --> 00:10:33,215 That's wild. 204 00:10:33,215 --> 00:10:36,260 So you see, this gives you a little bit of an experience, 205 00:10:36,344 --> 00:10:39,305 what it's like to try to read as a dyslexic student. 206 00:10:39,305 --> 00:10:42,099 What do you do when the letters move around? 207 00:10:42,099 --> 00:10:45,061 You know, and or, you know, if I'm not used to the letters 208 00:10:45,061 --> 00:10:48,939 being, Right, in layers, I guess, layers levels? 209 00:10:48,939 --> 00:10:50,524 anyways. That's wild. 210 00:10:50,524 --> 00:10:53,319 Yeah. So you take you take a lack of understanding into this. 211 00:10:53,319 --> 00:10:54,695 If you're one of my reading students, 212 00:10:54,695 --> 00:10:57,823 you know, I say, Reagan, you need to try harder. 213 00:10:59,158 --> 00:11:01,327 You can look at the word. 214 00:11:01,327 --> 00:11:06,832 Well You are looking at the word you are trying, and then you have the whole thing. 215 00:11:06,832 --> 00:11:09,835 Well, Reagan, you need to study this with me at recess. 216 00:11:10,002 --> 00:11:13,422 And you're like, oh, no, I was already working so hard. 217 00:11:13,631 --> 00:11:15,800 Now I need to stay in at recess. 218 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:16,175 Okay. 219 00:11:16,175 --> 00:11:19,220 And things just build and then the behavior 220 00:11:19,220 --> 00:11:22,390 starts happening, and we want to try to manage the behavior. 221 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:24,058 And there's all these layers 222 00:11:24,058 --> 00:11:27,603 to just not simply understanding what's actually going on. 223 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:32,149 So that's an example of how I can cause trauma 224 00:11:32,858 --> 00:11:35,736 by lack of understanding, 225 00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:38,739 Well and that does seem to to tie in very closely 226 00:11:38,739 --> 00:11:42,368 with another one that I want to have you describe a bit, 227 00:11:42,451 --> 00:11:44,161 because when we were on the phone before 228 00:11:44,161 --> 00:11:46,247 we were talking through like okay what are we going to cover on the podcast. 229 00:11:46,247 --> 00:11:49,125 Use a term I never heard before. Another one had never heard. 230 00:11:49,125 --> 00:11:50,793 And that was academic trauma. 231 00:11:50,793 --> 00:11:54,380 And I I'm already seeing how I okay, I think I'm seeing how this might start 232 00:11:54,380 --> 00:11:56,340 going together with what you were just saying. 233 00:11:56,340 --> 00:11:57,800 So yeah. 234 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,052 Tell me about what what is academic trauma. 235 00:12:00,052 --> 00:12:01,470 Define that for us. Yes. 236 00:12:01,470 --> 00:12:01,887 Okay. 237 00:12:01,887 --> 00:12:04,056 So let's take the let's take the phrase apart a little bit. 238 00:12:04,056 --> 00:12:07,476 So academic obviously has to do with school learning. 239 00:12:08,185 --> 00:12:11,564 And trauma is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. 240 00:12:12,314 --> 00:12:15,234 But I'm just going to try to define it a little bit for how I'm using it 241 00:12:15,234 --> 00:12:16,485 in this conversation. 242 00:12:16,485 --> 00:12:20,948 So trauma can be a life threatening event, like a car accident. 243 00:12:20,948 --> 00:12:22,408 Maybe you almost died. 244 00:12:22,408 --> 00:12:24,577 You had you lost a parent. 245 00:12:24,577 --> 00:12:27,121 You witnessed a shooting, abuse, neglect, 246 00:12:27,121 --> 00:12:30,374 like all of those things I would call big T trauma. 247 00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:32,626 They're life threatening events. 248 00:12:32,626 --> 00:12:35,671 And the person is overwhelmed. 249 00:12:35,671 --> 00:12:40,384 Does not feel resourced as to, how to deal with a situation. 250 00:12:40,676 --> 00:12:43,554 So feeling overwhelmed, feeling helpless. 251 00:12:43,554 --> 00:12:46,265 Those are often, symptoms of trauma. 252 00:12:46,265 --> 00:12:50,519 So now if you have, you know, a one case where, 253 00:12:51,771 --> 00:12:54,273 I'm just going to say you yelled at your daughter, okay? 254 00:12:54,273 --> 00:12:58,861 She's probably not going to develop trauma over that, but, 255 00:12:59,278 --> 00:13:02,114 you know, you yell at your daughter every day. 256 00:13:02,114 --> 00:13:04,408 You know, it becomes verbally abusive. 257 00:13:04,408 --> 00:13:08,996 It becomes an overwhelming situation where your daughter is going to feel helpless. 258 00:13:09,747 --> 00:13:10,247 Okay. 259 00:13:10,247 --> 00:13:12,291 So so we think about trauma. 260 00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:16,462 We we we know that by itself, the event by itself 261 00:13:16,462 --> 00:13:19,507 might not be threatening, but it was impactful. 262 00:13:20,090 --> 00:13:22,051 And one of the things that we're learning about trauma 263 00:13:22,051 --> 00:13:25,054 is how it imprints on our nervous system. 264 00:13:26,096 --> 00:13:26,555 Okay. 265 00:13:26,555 --> 00:13:31,227 So let's say with our students now, let's say they have dyslexia 266 00:13:31,227 --> 00:13:35,606 or you know, they're autistic and they're misunderstood. 267 00:13:35,898 --> 00:13:39,443 They come to school day after day after day after day. 268 00:13:39,443 --> 00:13:40,861 They're misunderstood. 269 00:13:40,861 --> 00:13:44,824 That creates this academic trauma for them. 270 00:13:44,824 --> 00:13:47,535 Does that make sense? It it really does. 271 00:13:48,619 --> 00:13:50,704 Would you be able to get it a bit practical? 272 00:13:50,704 --> 00:13:54,750 Yes. Like, I don't know if maybe you have some examples if you can share those. 273 00:13:55,543 --> 00:13:58,504 I, wow. I'm already seen, 274 00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:01,340 already thinking of some examples in my, my own mind as well. 275 00:14:01,340 --> 00:14:02,591 But anyways, yes. 276 00:14:02,591 --> 00:14:03,300 Go ahead. Yes. 277 00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:06,095 Let me share a story with you. 278 00:14:06,095 --> 00:14:10,432 I was working with a with a boy in middle school. 279 00:14:10,432 --> 00:14:13,978 He was dyslexic, and he had ADHD, 280 00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:17,523 and he was on my caseload. 281 00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:22,319 And so I began working with him, and I knew that he had transferred 282 00:14:22,319 --> 00:14:24,905 to our school, 283 00:14:24,905 --> 00:14:27,491 in the, you know, recent past. 284 00:14:27,491 --> 00:14:30,661 And we're about two weeks into the school year and 285 00:14:31,662 --> 00:14:36,125 he made a comment to me and I said, 286 00:14:38,335 --> 00:14:40,504 that must have been difficult. 287 00:14:40,504 --> 00:14:44,884 And that validation of his experience opened it up for him. 288 00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:49,555 And he began talking about how traumatic his past school had been. 289 00:14:50,264 --> 00:14:54,059 And I sat there and listened to him, 290 00:14:54,059 --> 00:14:58,689 and I said, Johnny, that must have been really hard. 291 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,609 And he said, it was. 292 00:15:01,609 --> 00:15:04,278 But that began, 293 00:15:04,278 --> 00:15:08,198 the process of of a friendship and a real connection between us. 294 00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:11,952 And one of the things that I told him, I said, 295 00:15:14,288 --> 00:15:17,291 you know, at our current school, 296 00:15:17,625 --> 00:15:20,252 we are going to do the best 297 00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:23,756 that we can to accommodate the way your brain works. 298 00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:27,760 We want to make this a safe environment for you to learn. 299 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,763 We're not going to do this perfectly, but that's our goal. 300 00:15:30,971 --> 00:15:35,517 And you know, students are not they're not concerned about us, 301 00:15:36,226 --> 00:15:41,065 having every, or they're not concerned about every interaction being perfect. 302 00:15:41,482 --> 00:15:43,651 They want to be affirmed, I should say. 303 00:15:43,651 --> 00:15:46,654 They need to be affirmed and validated. 304 00:15:48,364 --> 00:15:53,243 So as he was opening up to me about his past story, 305 00:15:53,702 --> 00:15:58,540 he very vividly described his experience of depression. 306 00:15:58,832 --> 00:16:01,835 So think of this academic trauma that he's facing. 307 00:16:01,835 --> 00:16:02,711 This is middle school. 308 00:16:02,711 --> 00:16:05,422 This is a middle school boy. 309 00:16:05,422 --> 00:16:08,425 This is a seventh grader. 310 00:16:08,676 --> 00:16:12,680 And I asked him about it a little bit and he said, 311 00:16:14,390 --> 00:16:16,684 well, depression 312 00:16:16,684 --> 00:16:19,687 lasts all the way home from school. 313 00:16:20,646 --> 00:16:23,649 It lasts the whole way through the weekend. 314 00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:27,111 It lasts 315 00:16:27,111 --> 00:16:29,905 all through the holidays. 316 00:16:29,905 --> 00:16:32,116 And I just felt really sad about that. 317 00:16:32,116 --> 00:16:33,534 Like, 318 00:16:33,534 --> 00:16:37,997 we don't want our teens to be having these experiences of depression 319 00:16:38,706 --> 00:16:43,877 and and my, my goal is not to shame his teachers or his former school. 320 00:16:44,545 --> 00:16:49,049 But my point is, can we have some understanding around, 321 00:16:50,926 --> 00:16:53,012 you know, his his learning differences 322 00:16:53,012 --> 00:16:56,849 and try to accommodate that and create a safe environment? 323 00:16:56,849 --> 00:17:00,144 Because for someone who's experienced trauma, 324 00:17:01,645 --> 00:17:03,230 One factor that must 325 00:17:03,230 --> 00:17:06,233 absolutely be present is safety. 326 00:17:06,817 --> 00:17:10,487 My students are not going to learn well at all. 327 00:17:10,779 --> 00:17:12,948 If they come into the classroom 328 00:17:12,948 --> 00:17:15,409 and they're thinking, am I safe with miss Kuhns? 329 00:17:15,409 --> 00:17:16,535 Is she going to yell at me? 330 00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:19,163 Is she going to get mad at me. Is she going to. 331 00:17:20,164 --> 00:17:21,165 They're not going to learn. 332 00:17:21,165 --> 00:17:24,251 It's that amygdala, that part of our brain that wants to keep us 333 00:17:24,251 --> 00:17:26,879 safe is constantly scanning for danger, danger, danger. 334 00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:27,463 Okay. 335 00:17:27,546 --> 00:17:31,884 So my goal as a tutor, when I get a new student who doesn't know me at all, 336 00:17:32,092 --> 00:17:35,387 is to establish that relationship of rapport 337 00:17:35,387 --> 00:17:38,390 and safety. 338 00:17:38,849 --> 00:17:41,894 I think safety is a really key piece there. 339 00:17:42,394 --> 00:17:44,480 Yeah. Right. 340 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,107 I wonder. 341 00:17:47,107 --> 00:17:50,110 things, things like academic trauma 342 00:17:51,111 --> 00:17:54,114 could potentially be much more widespread than we realize. 343 00:17:55,199 --> 00:17:56,617 You know. 344 00:17:56,617 --> 00:17:59,119 It's because it's just like, I don't know, you 345 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:02,247 just kind of go through the day to day and, you know what I mean? 346 00:18:02,247 --> 00:18:05,292 It's just getting your routines and then suddenly, like, you're 347 00:18:05,334 --> 00:18:07,544 mentioning this particular case, 348 00:18:07,544 --> 00:18:11,048 and then you start peeling back the curtain a bit and seeing how 349 00:18:11,465 --> 00:18:14,802 this student is actually feeling like, whoa, wait a minute. 350 00:18:14,802 --> 00:18:15,928 That is not good. 351 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:19,348 You know, and you got to kind of wonder how many more cases that are like that 352 00:18:19,807 --> 00:18:20,849 that we never hear about. 353 00:18:21,809 --> 00:18:22,559 I'm speculating. 354 00:18:22,559 --> 00:18:25,562 Obviously, I'm not in the field of education necessarily, but. 355 00:18:25,729 --> 00:18:26,271 Right. 356 00:18:26,271 --> 00:18:30,150 So I think one thing to think about often 357 00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:33,112 at our private schools, especially if it's a small private school, 358 00:18:34,071 --> 00:18:37,241 they may not necessarily have like a resource room 359 00:18:37,241 --> 00:18:41,161 or a learning support, room where you're where 360 00:18:42,204 --> 00:18:44,873 your student is able to get some one on one tutoring. 361 00:18:44,873 --> 00:18:48,710 So back to my middle school or some of the ways that we accommodated him, 362 00:18:49,962 --> 00:18:52,589 he caffeine would help his ADHD. 363 00:18:52,589 --> 00:18:55,384 And so he’d eat coffee beans before he came to my classroom. 364 00:18:55,384 --> 00:18:58,387 And, you know, it was it was wonderful. 365 00:18:58,929 --> 00:19:01,390 Because I'd get, like, this smell of, like, fresh 366 00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:04,393 ground coffee. 367 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,396 So it was a positive for both of us. 368 00:19:07,396 --> 00:19:10,190 I was not where I expected that to go. 369 00:19:10,190 --> 00:19:13,193 I'm just saying, Yeah. Possible solution. 370 00:19:13,193 --> 00:19:14,069 Eat some coffee beans. 371 00:19:14,069 --> 00:19:16,405 But, hey, like, I mean, that's. 372 00:19:16,405 --> 00:19:18,157 It sounds like it worked for him. 373 00:19:18,157 --> 00:19:19,867 He was like, a little bit of caffeine. 374 00:19:19,867 --> 00:19:21,326 Just helps me to focus, you know? 375 00:19:21,326 --> 00:19:25,455 And then on days when he would say, I just can't focus today. 376 00:19:25,706 --> 00:19:26,123 Okay. 377 00:19:26,123 --> 00:19:30,210 I would try to just really back off and we would just kind of we would slowmo 378 00:19:30,460 --> 00:19:31,879 it or just really go gently. 379 00:19:33,005 --> 00:19:33,755 At it. 380 00:19:33,755 --> 00:19:36,758 The other thing for him is that reading black 381 00:19:36,842 --> 00:19:39,845 text on a white page was distracting for him. 382 00:19:40,262 --> 00:19:42,764 And so sometimes overlays will help. 383 00:19:42,764 --> 00:19:44,349 Again, this is going to vary with your students. 384 00:19:44,349 --> 00:19:46,977 But for him I would give him like a green overlay. 385 00:19:46,977 --> 00:19:47,853 And it would take away 386 00:19:47,853 --> 00:19:52,107 that contrast was a little easier on his eyes to actually read. 387 00:19:52,274 --> 00:19:53,901 Oh okay I get that. 388 00:19:53,901 --> 00:19:56,320 That makes sense. Yeah. 389 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,615 So those are just a couple of practical things that I, that I'm thinking about. 390 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,243 The story with, with him. 391 00:20:03,493 --> 00:20:06,496 I felt like had a beautiful ending 392 00:20:06,496 --> 00:20:09,124 the year that he 393 00:20:09,124 --> 00:20:12,127 so I, I worked with him for a year and at the end of that year, 394 00:20:12,211 --> 00:20:15,380 his mom wrote me this beautiful note, 395 00:20:15,839 --> 00:20:19,343 and she was thanking me for what I had done for her son. 396 00:20:19,801 --> 00:20:23,680 And her last line in the note was, thank you for helping him heal. 397 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:29,436 And that that just, like, causes me to worship 398 00:20:29,436 --> 00:20:32,648 like the Lord can take, you know, 399 00:20:33,482 --> 00:20:36,485 my small understanding of these things, 400 00:20:36,735 --> 00:20:40,948 and, and make it into something really redemptive and restorative. 401 00:20:41,448 --> 00:20:44,451 And so that was a real moment of worship for me. 402 00:20:45,994 --> 00:20:48,038 so we were looking at some interesting pieces here 403 00:20:48,038 --> 00:20:51,041 with neurodivergent academic trauma. 404 00:20:52,709 --> 00:20:55,712 You know especially the theme of safety or. 405 00:20:56,088 --> 00:20:56,421 Yeah. 406 00:20:56,421 --> 00:20:59,716 But yeah safety like and students need to feel safe 407 00:21:00,008 --> 00:21:02,135 when they're with their teacher etc.. 408 00:21:02,135 --> 00:21:06,682 And a piece I'm thinking about is education can be an amazing experience, 409 00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:06,890 right? 410 00:21:06,890 --> 00:21:10,978 So like, I was homeschooled, and then went on to Bible school college. 411 00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:14,231 Honestly, I had a great experience through all of that. 412 00:21:14,231 --> 00:21:15,607 Yeah, I really did. 413 00:21:15,607 --> 00:21:20,028 But I know not everybody has that, and it's kind of easy to take for granted. 414 00:21:20,195 --> 00:21:20,862 Yeah, I was fine. 415 00:21:20,862 --> 00:21:23,407 Like, why is it, you know, you just miss it. 416 00:21:23,407 --> 00:21:24,324 Right. 417 00:21:24,324 --> 00:21:27,327 So there are many people don't have that experience. 418 00:21:27,619 --> 00:21:30,956 And I guess the question I have is, so how can we create 419 00:21:30,956 --> 00:21:33,959 better educational experiences for our children? 420 00:21:33,959 --> 00:21:36,461 Which is an enormous question, and I'm sure we won't answer 421 00:21:36,461 --> 00:21:38,797 all of that right here now, because every situation is different. 422 00:21:38,797 --> 00:21:40,424 But at least give us some pieces to work with. 423 00:21:40,424 --> 00:21:43,427 sure. Yes. That is such a good question. 424 00:21:43,719 --> 00:21:44,261 Yeah. Okay. 425 00:21:44,261 --> 00:21:47,264 There's, there's a lot of ways we could go with this. 426 00:21:47,514 --> 00:21:50,100 But since we're talking around the academic trauma, the learning 427 00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:53,103 difference piece, I'm just I'm going to kind of address that. 428 00:21:53,603 --> 00:21:56,231 So how can we create better experiences? 429 00:21:57,983 --> 00:21:59,359 So I think especially 430 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,904 if we are in a small school and we don't have, 431 00:22:03,488 --> 00:22:06,491 all the resources that that are needed. 432 00:22:06,992 --> 00:22:09,995 I think we need to we need to think creatively. 433 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,373 Well, maybe get to more of that in our next episode when we talk about burnout. 434 00:22:14,207 --> 00:22:17,210 But I think, you know, 435 00:22:17,210 --> 00:22:20,630 there's a lot on homeroom teachers and, 436 00:22:22,007 --> 00:22:25,052 you know, let's say that they're teaching multiple grades, 437 00:22:26,178 --> 00:22:28,472 and have, you know, a really heavy workload. 438 00:22:28,472 --> 00:22:30,223 They don't have a lot of support. 439 00:22:30,223 --> 00:22:33,226 They're doing just multiple, 440 00:22:33,935 --> 00:22:36,563 you know, pieces with their students, teaching all the math, 441 00:22:36,563 --> 00:22:38,565 reading Bible, all of that. 442 00:22:38,565 --> 00:22:43,236 I think sometimes our teachers are so overloaded that they don't have 443 00:22:43,528 --> 00:22:47,866 there's not enough brain space left to to develop this mindset of curiosity, 444 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,203 like, well, what is dyslexia, for example? 445 00:22:52,412 --> 00:22:53,747 How can I accommodate that? 446 00:22:53,747 --> 00:22:56,958 Well, my student with, ADHD is doing this, 447 00:22:56,958 --> 00:23:00,170 and you know what's actually going on with with that behavior. 448 00:23:00,295 --> 00:23:01,254 But I think our teachers 449 00:23:01,254 --> 00:23:04,257 are so overloaded, there's not always that space to think about it. 450 00:23:05,092 --> 00:23:08,095 So I think we we need to think about 451 00:23:08,303 --> 00:23:11,306 how we can support our, our teachers better. 452 00:23:12,724 --> 00:23:15,936 So, yeah, cultivate a mindset of curiosity. 453 00:23:16,603 --> 00:23:18,980 You know, I'm curious about or I'm curious 454 00:23:18,980 --> 00:23:21,983 about what that might mean. 455 00:23:22,067 --> 00:23:25,070 Because behavior is always a language. 456 00:23:28,865 --> 00:23:31,451 So the mindset of curiosity is huge. 457 00:23:31,451 --> 00:23:34,704 I think doing some research, seeking to understand, 458 00:23:36,623 --> 00:23:37,666 what what would it be 459 00:23:37,666 --> 00:23:40,961 like to, you know, just like the example I gave you there with dyslexia? 460 00:23:40,961 --> 00:23:43,588 Well, that that helps us understand a little bit 461 00:23:43,588 --> 00:23:45,465 what it's like to be in their shoes. 462 00:23:47,801 --> 00:23:50,929 I was actually, I have some friends that I just, 463 00:23:51,138 --> 00:23:55,100 I asked some questions, to them, just to see what they would have to say 464 00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:56,935 from the parent perspective. 465 00:23:56,935 --> 00:24:02,357 And, I have a friend who they have some adopted children. 466 00:24:02,691 --> 00:24:06,528 And in one conversation, I sensed that she was 467 00:24:06,736 --> 00:24:09,739 having some frustration around. 468 00:24:10,490 --> 00:24:12,826 The whole thing of, like, trying to advocate 469 00:24:12,826 --> 00:24:16,329 for her child, but she wasn't feeling understood by the teachers. 470 00:24:16,329 --> 00:24:19,207 And so I asked her a little bit about that. 471 00:24:19,207 --> 00:24:23,253 I said, so what can we do as educators to make it easier 472 00:24:23,253 --> 00:24:27,382 for you as parents to advocate for your children and 473 00:24:28,675 --> 00:24:30,802 she said, Ruth Anna, 474 00:24:30,802 --> 00:24:33,805 I don't think anyone has ever asked me that question. 475 00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:37,601 And I thought, wow. 476 00:24:37,601 --> 00:24:42,939 Then this it showed me how this conversation is so important. 477 00:24:44,316 --> 00:24:47,027 So It's really important, as 478 00:24:47,027 --> 00:24:52,324 an educator to have a heart of compassion for our students, that they do feel that 479 00:24:52,324 --> 00:24:57,704 I know we don't we don't always, respond in the right ways, okay. 480 00:24:57,704 --> 00:25:00,373 But they can feel if you have a heart of compassion. 481 00:25:00,373 --> 00:25:03,293 Also like having a heart posture of humility. 482 00:25:03,293 --> 00:25:07,923 So when a parent comes to me, they are this is their child. 483 00:25:07,923 --> 00:25:09,674 They know how this child works. 484 00:25:09,674 --> 00:25:12,677 Like being being able to hear them. 485 00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:16,806 And, you know, sometimes they have suggestions 486 00:25:16,806 --> 00:25:20,977 for how how we can actually help this child thrive. 487 00:25:21,144 --> 00:25:21,895 Okay. 488 00:25:21,895 --> 00:25:26,274 And I know, on the other hand, sometimes they are so stressed 489 00:25:26,274 --> 00:25:29,069 and so in the moment that they're just surviving. 490 00:25:29,069 --> 00:25:32,072 So compassion. Humility. 491 00:25:32,155 --> 00:25:35,033 Fostering a classroom atmosphere that feels safe. 492 00:25:36,576 --> 00:25:37,911 And then 493 00:25:37,911 --> 00:25:41,790 validation and I find validation for parents who are dealing with children 494 00:25:41,790 --> 00:25:46,169 from hard places is really key too, because sometimes they need to hear 495 00:25:46,169 --> 00:25:51,758 from another source, like, thank you for everything you are doing for your child. 496 00:25:52,467 --> 00:25:55,470 And so I think if we can develop this, 497 00:25:55,512 --> 00:26:00,475 this team relationship where I'm working with the parents, they're working with me. 498 00:26:00,684 --> 00:26:04,145 It's not me against them or them against me. 499 00:26:05,188 --> 00:26:06,273 Almost. 500 00:26:06,273 --> 00:26:09,192 It seems like you're using terminology that's collaborative 501 00:26:09,192 --> 00:26:12,070 synergetic. 502 00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:12,946 And so forth. 503 00:26:12,946 --> 00:26:16,116 But it really this sense of there's almost like a community element as well. 504 00:26:16,116 --> 00:26:17,200 Right? 505 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,869 Instead of just like I just kind of 506 00:26:19,869 --> 00:26:22,539 doing your thing and you're doing your thing and so forth. 507 00:26:22,539 --> 00:26:24,416 Right. 508 00:26:24,416 --> 00:26:26,585 There's another piece that I'm thinking about, 509 00:26:26,585 --> 00:26:29,588 I'm thinking about with this conversation right now. 510 00:26:29,754 --> 00:26:32,966 And this kind of comes back to the education one size fits all. 511 00:26:33,216 --> 00:26:37,846 So let's say that you have a school whose policy is, 512 00:26:39,222 --> 00:26:41,308 okay, well, if you are failing, 513 00:26:41,308 --> 00:26:44,519 if you have a failing grade in any subject, that means that 514 00:26:44,519 --> 00:26:47,522 that disqualifies you from, let's say, going on a field trip. 515 00:26:48,565 --> 00:26:49,274 Okay. 516 00:26:49,274 --> 00:26:54,654 So for certain students who may actually need 517 00:26:54,654 --> 00:26:57,866 that motivation, that can be okay. 518 00:26:58,116 --> 00:27:01,161 Let's say you have a student who's dealing with a lot of trauma. 519 00:27:01,870 --> 00:27:06,708 And like their brain is just kind of maxed to say, well, you're failing. 520 00:27:06,708 --> 00:27:08,543 You can't go on the field trip. 521 00:27:08,543 --> 00:27:11,296 I think it's just a really hurtful response. 522 00:27:11,296 --> 00:27:14,215 Or when parents hear like, well, 523 00:27:14,215 --> 00:27:17,177 we can't bend the rules for your child. 524 00:27:17,927 --> 00:27:20,221 That's the opposite of compassion 525 00:27:20,221 --> 00:27:23,224 and humility and understanding. 526 00:27:24,059 --> 00:27:26,728 That sounds like, 527 00:27:26,728 --> 00:27:27,354 dangerous. 528 00:27:27,354 --> 00:27:30,357 Dangerous or difficult territory to navigate. 529 00:27:30,357 --> 00:27:31,858 Yeah. What you're describing there. 530 00:27:31,858 --> 00:27:33,193 Yeah. You know. Yes. 531 00:27:34,194 --> 00:27:36,821 There's a thread in that though, that that stands out to me. 532 00:27:36,821 --> 00:27:38,865 And that's the compassion side of things. 533 00:27:38,865 --> 00:27:40,742 Right. Like, 534 00:27:40,742 --> 00:27:45,705 are we doing these things ultimately from a spirit of compassion. 535 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:48,833 Right. Right. Yeah. 536 00:27:49,292 --> 00:27:52,212 You're giving us a lot to think about in this episode. 537 00:27:52,212 --> 00:27:55,507 Education is, you know, fairly complex. 538 00:27:55,507 --> 00:27:58,468 There's lots of opinions and different models and ways of doing things. 539 00:27:58,593 --> 00:28:01,596 Of course, we'll never cover everything on this podcast, but, 540 00:28:02,555 --> 00:28:06,393 kind of tying together the whole package right of what we've done. 541 00:28:07,143 --> 00:28:10,522 What is one practical thing that a listener can take from this and, 542 00:28:10,647 --> 00:28:13,775 and take at least one step in the right direction when it comes 543 00:28:13,775 --> 00:28:17,237 to education, whatever their role may be in their community. 544 00:28:18,029 --> 00:28:19,989 Oh one thing. 545 00:28:19,989 --> 00:28:22,909 Yeah. Well you can give us more if you like. 546 00:28:26,955 --> 00:28:30,542 I think be curious, 547 00:28:32,001 --> 00:28:33,586 be a lifetime time learning. 548 00:28:33,586 --> 00:28:34,295 Be a. 549 00:28:34,295 --> 00:28:35,630 Oh let me say that again. 550 00:28:35,630 --> 00:28:38,216 Be a life long learner. 551 00:28:38,216 --> 00:28:40,885 Let's see if I can get that alliteration there. 552 00:28:40,885 --> 00:28:42,721 I love learning about new things. 553 00:28:42,721 --> 00:28:46,850 And so, you know, in this case, it may mean learning differences. 554 00:28:47,642 --> 00:28:51,563 It doesn't it doesn't take a lot to just, you know, learn a little bit, 555 00:28:52,230 --> 00:28:55,108 about how you can help children who learn differently. 556 00:28:55,108 --> 00:28:58,111 So be curious, be compassionate, 557 00:28:58,194 --> 00:29:01,197 have a stance of humility. 558 00:29:01,322 --> 00:29:04,284 And ultimately it means, 559 00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:09,622 staying connected with the Lord, too, because we are we're human. 560 00:29:09,622 --> 00:29:11,416 And that's a good thing. 561 00:29:11,416 --> 00:29:14,002 We do. We have our limitations. 562 00:29:14,002 --> 00:29:17,714 And, you know, there are days where where it's really stressful. 563 00:29:17,714 --> 00:29:19,174 There's a lot on our plate. 564 00:29:19,174 --> 00:29:23,803 And I think in that case, it can be okay to say, you know what, Lord, 565 00:29:23,970 --> 00:29:27,891 I trust today that your grace is big enough to cover the gaps. 566 00:29:29,934 --> 00:29:31,352 Again that thread 567 00:29:31,352 --> 00:29:35,648 that keeps coming up through this episode is the curiosity and the compassion. 568 00:29:35,815 --> 00:29:39,486 These are the things that, that yeah that's that's really good. 569 00:29:40,111 --> 00:29:43,114 Wow. I feel like I learned a lot on this one. 570 00:29:43,865 --> 00:29:45,325 There's a lot to think about here. 571 00:29:45,325 --> 00:29:49,287 And I appreciate you taking the time to share on this, because, 572 00:29:49,329 --> 00:29:53,124 you know, these topics can be a bit complex and difficult to to, 573 00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:54,959 I don't know, work through. 574 00:29:54,959 --> 00:29:57,587 And. Yeah, I just appreciate you being willing to do that. 575 00:29:57,587 --> 00:30:00,590 Is there anything else you would like to leave us as we wrap this episode up? 576 00:30:01,090 --> 00:30:03,384 Thank you so much for inviting me on. 577 00:30:03,384 --> 00:30:06,387 I've just been delighted to be able to talk 578 00:30:06,387 --> 00:30:09,390 about some of these things that I’m really passionate about. 579 00:30:09,390 --> 00:30:11,476 Yeah. Well, thank you so much for sharing. Thank you. 580 00:30:12,811 --> 00:30:15,647 Thanks for listening to this episode with Ruth Anna. 581 00:30:15,647 --> 00:30:18,358 If you found this interesting, you should check out this episode we did 582 00:30:18,358 --> 00:30:22,195 a number of years ago with Kyle Stoltzfus on the topic of higher education. 583 00:30:22,195 --> 00:30:24,781 You can find that linked in the description down below. 584 00:30:24,781 --> 00:30:29,577 And of course, all our content is on our website at anabaptistperspectives.org. 585 00:30:29,869 --> 00:30:32,872 Thanks again and we'll see you in the next episode. 586 00:30:42,882 --> 00:30:43,216 I think so. Yeah. Okay. 587 00:30:43,216 --> 00:30:47,846 Well, I'm wondering if you would read this sentence for me. 588 00:30:48,012 --> 00:30:50,098 Okay. 589 00:30:50,098 --> 00:30:53,142 It's not difficult, and I'm sure you've seen all these words before. 590 00:30:53,268 --> 00:30:56,271 Okay. 591 00:30:58,731 --> 00:30:59,232 Okay. 592 00:30:59,232 --> 00:31:02,193 Tell me what you're seeing. 593 00:31:02,819 --> 00:31:05,780 You're a good reader Reagan! 594 00:31:05,780 --> 00:31:07,323 That's wild! 595 00:31:07,323 --> 00:31:10,326 You need to try harder. 596 00:31:10,827 --> 00:31:13,830 So what word are you seeing? 597 00:31:13,913 --> 00:31:15,623 are those complete words or are they. 598 00:31:15,623 --> 00:31:17,792 Or are they, split apart? 599 00:31:17,792 --> 00:31:18,793 It’s a complete sentence. 600 00:31:18,793 --> 00:31:21,546 You've seen these words many times. 601 00:31:21,546 --> 00:31:21,713 So start here.