INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of my Graduate Studies journey in Special Education, I was focused on finding the most effective and scientifically proven best methods of reaching and teaching struggling readers.  At that point in my career, I had been a Reading Recovery teacher for five years and felt that it was duty to teach every child to read. Reading can unlock so many doors and I wanted each and every one of my students to experience that success. Reading comes quickly and easily to the majority of students, however there are many students who find learning to read quite challenging.
Several factors can influence the pace at which a child learns to read. Although some factors cannot be changed at school or by school staff, there are many things teachers can do to help support struggling readers. Nearly four years of reading research has helped me determine some of the best ways to support struggling readers. Through the research I found the following: All students benefit from an engaging, quality literacy program that consistently uses phonics, writing, and reading components.  For those who require further support, a small group, direct instruction program provides sequential lessons that build literacy skills.
As my academic journey continued, I began to learn more about mental health issues that plague our students and their families. There appears to be a growing mental health crisis and it is directly impacting our students. The mental health umbrella can be extended to ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, and any other social-emotional disorder. All of these disorders are on the rise and it is important for teachers to become more fluent in mental health literacy in order to be prepared to support students affected by mental health disorders.
One of the biggest and most influential discoveries as a grad student was that the brain physically and biologically cannot learn new things when in a state of stress. The brain, in effect, shuts down and is in survival mode during states of perceived stress. This is the reason why some of our students, even with all the right plans in place, struggle to meet academic goals. Learning that the brain, mind, and body have to be regulated for learning to occur immediately changed by perspective on how to approach struggling readers, and all students as a whole. When I reflect back on the students who did not reach Reading Recovery goals, they were often the students for whom mental health and/or social-emotional issues were a concern.  Simply put, these students’ brains were not ready to learn, they were in a state of survival.
As I continue on in my career, I will assess a child’s social-emotional needs along with their academic needs. I believe that investing time developing relationships and creating a warm and safe environment for students will only enhance learning. It may take a little time out of the day, but in the long run it is time well spent.