EDUCATION

Five Questions with Sarina Renaldi

Sarina M. Renaldi & Associates | Learning Specialist Services

BY HINSDALE MAGAZINE STAFF

Hinsdale Magazine: How did your students handle the transition from school closing to E-learning?

Sarina M. Renaldi: Much depends on their age and grade. My younger students like E-learning, because they enjoy being home with their family and dogs, cats, etc. They are sometimes in their pajamas, they eat snacks, and often move about their house from their bed to the couch or kitchen table. They finish their daily work fairly quickly, which gives them the rest of the day to play. On the other hand, many of my middle-school, high-school, and college students do not like E-learning, as they feel they must often “teach themselves” the materials; there is little structure to their daily schedule; they miss the social interaction with their classmates and teachers; and they are much less motivated to put forth their best effort, since the grades for the E-learning assignments “can do no harm,” or negatively impact students’ academic standing. HM: What technology did you implement to make the transition easier?

Renaldi: I have used Zoom to work remotely with all my students, and it has been a wonderful means to continue the learning process with my students. When the stay-at-home order was first implemented, I was greatly concerned for my students, knowing they would lose many of the academic skills we had worked so hard to develop during our one-on-one in-person sessions. Many of my students have learning challenges

such as dyslexia, ADHD, struggles with organization, reading comprehension, written language, math, working memory, visual-spatial abilities, nonverbal learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. These children need to continually practice new skills in order to develop and master them. They must work much harder to overcome their learning challenges, keep up with their peers, and perform at their optimal level. Any significant periods of time off from developing their deficit areas will set them back many months, and they will lose much of the progress they’ve made. However, with the Zoom platform, I am able to continue my one-on-one sessions remotely, and have found it to be a highly effective tool, enabling me to do nearly everything remotely that I normally to do in-person with each student. With Zoom, we are engaged in face-to-face learning. We can share our screens, use the writing tools, use a white-board to teach lessons, access Google Classroom, Canvas, online educational websites, and work together to complete any E-learning assignments in which the students need assistance. Additionally, each week, I scan and e-mail materials from my office, which are custom-tailored to my students’ specific skill development areas. My students complete these pages for homework, which I then review with them at our next Zoom meeting.

HM: Generally, what expertise do you provide for students that has enabled them to carry over skills into the classroom?

Renaldi: As a learning specialist, I feel it is critically important to connect with each of my students through their strengths and interests. I want them to feel happy, comfortable, confident and enjoy the time we spend working together. Learning can be fun, interesting and exciting; it can also be challenging, frustrating and stressful. I want my students to understand that everyone learns differently, and has unique strengths and weaknesses. I help my students believe in themselves, learn resilience and perseverance, develop a strong work ethic and most importantly, develop an enjoyment of the learning process. I believe in pushing and challenging my students to achieve at a high level, while also providing them support, and teaching them to use tools and strategies which will aid their success. I want them to understand that nothing and no one should ever stand in their way of pursuing their dreams. They are highly capable of accomplishing whatever they set their sights on, as long as they are willing to work hard, never give up and do their best. My greatest reward is seeing how proud they are of themselves with the academic successes they experience. I feel tremendous pride watching students I worked with throughout various years of their education head off to college and pursue their careers.

HM: Can you discuss your background and why you decided to start your business?

Renaldi: I have worked as a learning specialist in private practice in Hinsdale for nearly 20 years. After earning a bachelor of arts in English at the University of Chicago in 1984, I continued my studies in the university's social sciences department, and pursued a master of arts in teaching. After having a son with significant learning challenges, I gained an intense interest in understanding his special needs, and learning how to best help him to overcome his deficit skills. After he entered middle school, I returned to graduate school, attending Northwestern University’s School of Communication, and earning a master of science in communication sciences and disorders, with a specialization in learning disabilities. My vision was to open a private practice to provide diagnostic evaluations and specialized interventions for children and adolescents with various learning needs. I wanted to work with children struggling with learning disabilities by utilizing specialized methods and interventions to develop their deficit skills, so they could achieve at their optimal ability. I also wanted to help families gain insight into their child’s needs, become advocates for their children and support them through the process of raising a child with special needs.

HM: Can you talk about some of the famous people on your wall poster who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, but have become successful? of famous individuals across many career fields who were diagnosed with (or are suspected of having) dyslexia and/or ADHD. Many of the following individuals are on both of these charts. Some of the famous dyslexics include Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard, Branson, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Leonardo DaVinci, Pablo Picasso, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Magic Johnson, [Ludwig van] Beethoven, [Peter Ilyitch] Tchaikovsky, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Stephen Hawking, Sir Isaac Newton, Gen. George S. Patton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Nelson Rockefeller, Hans Christian Anderson, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemmingway. Some of the famous individuals with ADHD include Sylvester Stallone, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Vincent Van Gogh, Michael Jordan, [Wolfgang Amadeus] Mozart, [Sergei] Rachmaninoff, Steven Spielberg, Galileo, Gen. Dwight E. Eisenhower, the Wright brothers, Napoleon [Bonaparte], Charles [Prince of Wales], Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln.

When I meet with new students who have a diagnosis of ADHD and/or dyslexia, or any type of learning disability, they sometimes feel discouraged, embarrassed, anxious or have low self-confidence. After I show them these posters, and they recognize the names of these famous and highly-accomplished individuals, they begin to look at having dyslexia, ADHD or learning disabilities in a different light. They realize they may actually have a gift in the sense that they are more creative, think outside the box, are problem-solvers, have developed great coping and perseverance skills, and even though they may struggle academically, they are smart, capable individuals whose learning challenges can be addressed and will not stand in their way of success. I always try to inspire these students by showing them that anything in life is possible through hard work, and that perhaps one day when they grow up, their names will be on these posters along with these legends. ■

The new SECURE Act and your retirement