A professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Levine has spent more than 25 years researching how the brain functions, particularly as children learn and develop. To surmount learning differences, he believes teachers, parents, and students alike must be taught how to recognize, understand, and manage both strengths and weaknesses in brain function. Schools Attuned, a professional development program founded by Dr. Levine and colleagues, trains teachers to do just that. Currently applied in 500 elementary and middle schools nationwide, Schools Attuned has teachers evaluate case studies of children and teaches them to recognize eight areas of brain function. Methods for intervention are designed to preclude labeling, special classrooms, and excessive psychological testing.
Inclusion is the goal, and with it nurturing of strengths and self-esteem.
Everyone Has Learning Differences At the Frances C. Richmond School in Hanover, New Hampshire, a number of middle-school teachers are applying the Schools Attuned concepts. A grant enabled four of these teachers to attend a core-instruction course in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after which they shared their learning with colleagues back home. Many say the training has profoundly altered their views. It's just that some kids' differences obstruct their learning, because of the traditional way in which we teach. Facility with memory, for example, is rewarded in school.