Spelling, phoenemes and Learning disabilities

Today's morning class with Dr Matrix was abobout spelling and phonemes ( a very difficult topic to face for non-native teachers).
As for spelling we learned some interesting ways of engaging students through games.
And in the case of phonemes we had a funny time sharing original phonemes from our native language. Dr Mattix shared ideas on how to tackle the issue; one I liked in particular is an interactive program at www.allaboutlearningpress.com

In the afternoon we had a lesson on "working with special needs students" with Dr Anya Evmenova.  We learned about how the topic is approached in the U.S. and how George Mason University works with students who have some kind of disability.  Dr Evmenova told us about the great job GMU is doing related to the topic through a program called Mason Life, which addresses this issue in a very efficient way, giving useful tools for the students to get a job once they get their certificate. These students previously applied for the university, after having finished high-school. Around 50 students with disability apply to enter the university, but there are only 15 places... I can only imagine how difficult would be to do that selection.
Though the Mason Life program has some academic content, the focus is on providing the students with abilities that will help them keep a job and relate to others according to the context.
As these students are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, they are taught how to identify and avoid risky situations. And something that surprised us all is that they are also taught about sexual relationships and how to have sex in a safe way. It should be absolutely normal and obvious, but our prejudices usually make us see things in a different way.
At the end.of the class we met some of the students from the program and asked questions to them. They looked very happy as students here !!
The program is really amazing. It really gets to integrate people with special needs in the society (74% of the students who finish their 4 years in the Campus get a job immediately, some of them even end up working at GMU as part of the Mason Life Program).
Absolutely awesome !!