The Editor, Sir:

I read the report that teachers who fail to identify students with learning disabilities should be fired and found the solution of the educators to be troubling. As an educator who has not only worked with learning disabled students, but also conducted postgraduate research on learning disabilities, it is known that teachers can only presume that their students may have a learning disability.

The learning difficulties of students may be as a result of social issues and not because of learning disabilities. To determine if students may in fact have learning disabilities, it would be necessary for a learning disability specialist to conduct a thorough interview with the students and also administer a wide range of standardised tests. Moreover, teachers must be trained to implement special teaching methods to accommodate the learning needs.

Determining learning disabilities of students is an expensive venture and lengthy process that needs to be addressed by the Government. Responsibility and blame cannot be placed on teachers who are not learning disability specialists, special education teachers, counsellors or psychologists. Therefore, the solution of firing teachers is totally irrational.

I am, etc.,

JOAN Y. CAMPBELL

porthenderson@gmail.com,

Miami, Florida

Via Go-Jamaica