E218: “My Passion Is For People Outside Of The System” - Lois Letchford Interview

Having struggled with dyslexia all her life, Lois Letchford tells of how she turned her dyslexia into strength to become a literacy spokesperson for struggling learners. Together, Lois and Pete discuss learning environments that help children thrive, how emotions are critical to learning and the experiences that lead Lois to become a teacher.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Many teachers think that reading is about teaching decoding. What they often forget is all of the other foundational stuff that is needed for children to thrive.
• When it comes to teaching the lowest 30% of the population and their ability to understand and read the language on paper, teachers need to have more knowledge and more time to engage these children to help them.
• To help children thrive it is vitally important that you create a learning environment that is safe and happy. When the brain feels like this, the brain learns. The brain does not learn under stress. Tapping into children's curiosity can allow the brain to grow.
• Laughter attaches to memory. Emotions are not an optional extra in learning, emotions are critical to our learning. They are critical because they allow us to access memory.
• There are children that society just writes off and eventually, they end up in prison. If you add race and socioeconomic backgrounds into the mix, then these children will face even more adversity in their life. The chances of these children getting out of this lifestyle are even more difficult as society forgets about them.

 

BEST MOMENTS

“I needed to see that to value what was going on in his brain.”

“That was such a transformative moment in both of our lives.”

“That experience is what drove me to become a reading teacher.”

“As an adult, my poem was not worthy to share with the world.”

“My passion is for people who are outside of the system.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Lois Letchford has struggled with dyslexia her entire life. Using her dyslexia as a strength, she is now a literacy spokesperson for struggling learners who have failed behind in the traditional classroom. Through coaching and workshops at international conferences, TV appearances, and highly-rated radio stations, she uses her own story in Reversed: A Memoir to teach educators and parents how to create flexible learning environments using

comprehensive and innovative teaching methods.”

Website: https://www.loisletchford.com

ABOUT THE HOST

John Paul Reilly A dyslexic businessman who left school just before his 16th birthday. Barely able to read and write, to the point that at exam time one of the teachers had to read the questions out to him (and then write down his answers in every exam). Written off like most kids who struggled at school and being told by his woodwork teacher he “was nothing and would amount to nothing” he now runs a multi-award-winning company in the construction industry. He was a loud but shy person who knew he wanted to achieve great things with no clue what business he wanted to do but knew that’s what he wanted. With his first business started at age 14, he has learned most things the hard way. Now the owner of multiple businesses with one being multi-award-winning, John Paul has been in business for many years sharing what he has learned over this time mainly the hard way.

 

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-paul-reilly-29896556/?originalSubdomain=uk

Facebook - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-paul-reilly-29896556/?originalSubdomain=uk

 

 

 

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