Sajoune Rose, Gleaner Writer

Everyone else is advancing in class, but for some reason, they are always behind. They are the classified "slow" learners who struggle to keep up with the rest. Often identified by a short attention span, regular daydreaming, and more importantly, their inability to comprehend what is being taught, these children face challenges which are not effectively dealt with in the traditional school system.

However, they are placed in higher grades as they get older because of their age and space constraints. "We cannot keep them back, we have to send them on even if they don't know the word zero," said Iris Lewis, principal of the Crescent All-Age School in St. Catherine. Invariably, these students exit the system the same way they enter - empty.

No proper intervention

Many continue through the system and exit without any proper intervention from their schools. However, educators who have been in the system for many years believe that some areas of the traditional system have to b to assist these children.

Dr. Polly Bowes-Howell, chairman of special education at the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), laments that the country is losing many of its children because of the attachment of the "slow" title to them.

"We need to get rid of that label and provide the services to make sure that every child will learn because everyone has a desire to move ahead, so give him, or her, the chance," she told The Gleaner yesterday. "These children are only gifted underachievers who have a problem with processing information."

This is the case for many schools. St. Andrew Primary is one such school where many slow learners have been identified. "We don't have the teacher personnel. Even though every teacher is trained, it takes a lot more to deal with these students," said a senior teacher at the school.

Teacher constraints

"I don't think we are equipped because of teacher constraints. I think what the Government needs to do, is have one specialist teacher in every school," she said.

She said the school made a request to the education officer for the region, but was told that based on student enrolment, the school could not get another teacher; that the number of slow students identified did not warrant them getting one of these specialist teachers at their school.

Some slow learners are referred to the Mico Child Assessment and Research in Education centre. When they go in, they are assessed and are given intensive remediation for four weeks before they are returned to the school system. Mico, in its 26-year existence, has done over 40,000 assessments.

'I don't think we are equipped because of teacher constraints. I think what the Government needs to do is have one specialist teacher in every school'