Focal

I think the focus on grades is more harmful than helpful, to be honest. It just puts a ton of pressure on them to perform instead of learning.

And yeah, regarding philosophy/observation of reality, I agree! In case I wasn't clear, I mean philosophy as in.. teaching philosophy, or mantra, as it were.

There are definitely times where you just gotta memorize something.. like names. It's difficult to "understand" those (though not impossible if there's a pattern. Friend of mine has siblings all named the same base word with minor changes.)

But yes. Math, science, social studies, law, etc. You don't need to memorize almost any of it if you UNDERSTAND IT. You can reason out dates of historic events, you can reasonably guess why the mass immigration into the US stopped in like the 1920's, etc.

So that's how I try to teach.

A big one :(

Hah, I see. It's real interesting. A few of the kids of mine have the same way of working, so we've agreed on them being allowed to work the way they want to. If they need computers to work, they're allowed to. If they struggle to listen to the lecture for the rest of the class, that's fine. As long as they're not disruptive, they're allowed to work on stuff their own way.

Also, I also don't like teaching rote memorisation-stuff. I just give the kids formulas on tests and ask them to understand which one to use. No memorization, just understanding.

My philosophy is just that "if you understand it, you won't need to memorize it".

In any case, I'm sorry to hear you've had such a shitty school situation. That's not the school-system I'm used to. I'm used to looking for situations where the kids can prove what they can do, not looking for what they can't do. If kids are disruptive, underperforming or whatever, we find out why. We may not always be able to solve all the problems, but we spend a significant amount of time trying to accommodate for the kids' needs.

May I ask where you're from?

I'm teaching in Norway.

That definitely makes sense to me. Thanks for bouncing ideas like these with me :)

Very useful clarification. Thank you for sharing! I'll refrain from calling autism mild or severe in the future. That's the wording that the institution that tells teachers what needs these kids have use for them, so I just took that as a base when I talked about them too.

Could you elaborate on the hiding method, but present results-part? I find understanding people who think in different ways than me to be one of the most interesting things in the world, and something I appreciate the hell out of.

I recognize that some of the older teachers I work with can get annoyed if you don't do it in their method, or they can dismiss an answer if they don't understand the method in an instant.

I'm honestly constantly in friction with these teachers because I am "nicer" to the kids than they are when we grade tests. I spend a lot more time per test, but will always try to understand the kids' reasoning first and foremost, and it's always fun when I find ways of thinking that are totally valid, but I had never considered.

I appreciate that a ton, honestly. Thanks for your comment.

I did definitely learn something here though, but am also left with a lot of questions. I dove into the ICD-11 to read more about the diagnosis.

Didn't find much about the differences in nuance regarding masking to fit into society for neurodivergents and masking to fit into society for neurotypicals, but I'm sure I'll find more soon now that the question has been formulated.

Anyway, thank you again. Helps put my mind at ease :)

I really appreciate the way you describe autism more as a colour wheel than a gradient. I think that's a very good visual for me to understand. I'm a bit unsure about the language I'm supposed to use when this kid in particular is so high functioning though. If we're talking about a color wheel here, would it be fair to say he's got a fairly desaturated form of autism then? Or that his color mostly blends in with the rest of the neurotypical class?

Or is it all just "masking"? How does autistic type masking differ from the masking everyone has to do just to fit into society at all?

To address some of your concerns here, I believe I've been somewhat misunderstood here and you've assumed something about me that isn't true. I do talk to these kids all the time. It's my job to talk to them and to understand them, and I do it with joy :)

This is not an assumption with the kid. I'm asking them and digging a bit deeper, and the kid tells me that he didn't have his computer there.

I ask him if he brought it to school, and he did. It just wasn't in front of him and he tells me he was more interested in the conversation he had with his classmate instead. That's fine, that's not something I get annoyed with, I just go "alright, chop chop. Talk while you work, and you'll be good" and the situation is solved.

When I only get "the PC isn't here", and we've been through this song and dance many a time before, then I do get a little exasperated, though not outwards, and I am flexible in the whole ordeal.

There's a reason I put "excuse" in quotation marks in my original post here. It's a bad reason, or at least not the full reason. That's what the original question was about, too.

So I understand that you're very, very passionate about this topic, and I get that you try to keep it respectful as well, but I will add that I also definitely feel mischaracterized here, and that makes the message a lot harder to accept for me (though I do agree with your points here and I also appreciate your color wheel explanation).

I basically feel scolded for something I didn't do. Even if you might not mean to, it feels like you're calling me a failure as an educator, and I can guess most people who had a teacher like that didn't learn a lot from them.

I mean, yeah, you're not wrong.

And I do solve these all the time, but it's his computer, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect he'd bring it when he realizes he needs it for his work?

The only reason I call it an "excuse" is because it's not the real reason, or at least it isn't the full reason. We know what the real reason is. He admits as much when we talk as well, and that's fine.

I'm not some super strict and punishing teacher who looks for reasons (or excuses) to punish these kids. Rather, I try to talk to them and understand them, which is why I'm also here in this community :)

Not autistic, but I teach people with mild cases of autism.

The "excuse" I most often hear is that they haven't started doing the work they're supposed to be doing, because they didn't have their computer there.

That's less of a reason and more of an excuse, because the solution is easy for these kids. "Go get the computer". They know they can, and in fact often do.

The real reason is that they'd rather sit and chat with their friends instead of doing work (who doesn't?), and if they were honest about that, I'd appreciate it a lot more.

Often, I guess you could equate an excuse to a "bad reason".

This is ny daily driver as well. Just wish Sony would update the phone for longer

That could absolutely work too. I think grouping it by font style gives the intended meaning, but I really like yours as well.