Yesterdae was a Relly Grate Dae

The title of this post is taken from The Motivation Breakthrough by Richard Lavoie. I was introduced to Mr. Lavoie's work when I watched his 1989 video, "How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop", in a special education course. Through this video, I experienced the Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension that students with learning disabilities experience daily. It was a remarkable experience! Since that time, I have learned much from Lavoie's articles, books, and videos.

Lavoie writes about a nine-year-old student who wrote daily journal entries for language arts. One day he excitedly rushed in and grabbed his journal. Lavoie framed that entry and it has hung on his office wall for over thirty years "as a constant reminder that special education is not about breakthroughs and miracles. Rather our mission is about small victories and plodding progress."

What words could have possibly had such an impact on Lavoie? The student wrote, "Yesterdae was a relly grate dae. I almost caght a ball."

If you have an interest in the development and education of students with learning disabilities, please take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video from the original F.A.T. City workshop. Several other videos are also on YouTube.



You can find more information on Mr. Lavoie's website http://www.ricklavoie.com/

To Rick Lavoie - Thank you for inspiring me to continue to strive for those small victories and plodding progress with my students!