My name is Kathryn Garforth and I have a passion for helping people reach their personal best in education. Not only do I have a Ph.D. in Special Education, but I also have the personal experience as a dyslexic having to find my own way through a system that was not designed to meet my needs.
There were many road bumps along the way, and at one point I was told by one of my teachers that I would never make it to high school, let alone graduate. Instead of seeing this as a dead end, I saw it as a challenge and pushed myself to prove her wrong.
With each success, I gained more self-acceptance, strength and resilience. I knew that even though things seemed to be harder for me than they were for others, I could do most subjects if I set my mind to it.
Now, all that hard work has paid off. I began my advocacy work at a young age and I have been working with individuals and their families ever since.
While I was at university, I was on the president’s Special Needs Advisory Committee and participated in a few focus groups to help support individuals with varying disabilities. This grew my passion for assisting others to succeed regardless of their needs.
Once I finished my computer science degree, I decided to change my career path to Special Education, so I could continue to help others achieve their personal best. There are a few reasons I have decided to start this blog.
Over the years, in my time as a student, research assistant, teacher, tutor and educational consultant, I have repeatedly experienced people feeling helpless because they didn’t know how to get help. They found themselves getting lost in technical jargon, running into red tape and not understanding what was best for them given their situation. Turning to the Internet would only provide them with information overload. They would not know where they should start looking for help, or whom they could trust.
I hope to provide empathy and informed guidance to help individuals and their families achieve their own successes in education, work, home life and extra-curricular activities.
Another reason for this blog is because I believe there is a big disconnect between research (in the fields of education, special education and educational psychology) and practice (teachers and parents).
While I was going through university, I often heard that it usually took 20 years to have things go from research to practice. I don’t feel this lag between research and practice is acceptable and through this blog, I hope to reduce the delay by making the information available to you, my readers, in a language you can understand.
I plan on posting about current issues and current best practices in education for teachers and parents to use with students. It is my goal to also help you understand different terms that you may be hearing in the education field, as well as suggesting different books and resources that I feel are helpful.
A few experts have agreed to guest blog from time to time to offer you their perspective on specific topics and issues. I welcome your comments and questions, and I would love to hear from you if you think there is something I should write about.