graphomotor and drawing

If I could afford to purchase a copy of Mel Levine’s book “A Mind at A Time” for every teacher I would. Unfortunately, for many of them, it would sit on a shelf gathering dust. PP. 172-173 describe graphomotor function. It maybe helpful to your son’s teacher if she if open to it. His new book “The Myth of Laziness” speaks to written output difficulties as well. Another fine book. His books are available at most bookstores.

As a former class teacher, this one is a hair-puller. First question is why the kids are supposed to be drawing something anyway, since it isn’t art class. Well, somebody somewhere noticed that many kids have trouble focusing on pure academic studies all the time, and invented an activity where the kids relate the academic/verbal work to visual by drawing an illustration. This was intended to be a break from tedium, an aid to comprehension, a jog to the memory, a way to get kids more involved in their work, a chance for the kid with more visual/kinesthetic skills than verbal/written to shine. Altogether good goals, in general and in a suitable balance with the rest of the curriculum. Now, your child comes along, and he can’t do the activity. What’s the teacher to do? This is supposed to be an activity that kids will like better than a written activity, and visualization is a good thing after all. The teacher doesn’t want to give an opening to all the little middle schoolers who are past masters at getting out of work, copying homework (even easier with computer) and at screaming “unfair!” No easy answer — can he trace the clip art so that it is hand-drawn? Can he produce some sort of drawing, no matter how weak, and if so, does the teacher mark on artistic merit (shouldn’t, here)?