Dr. Mel Levine Talks to Highlights About Learning Differences
Dr. Mel Levine is a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School and co-founder of All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit institute for the study of differences in learning.
Dr. Mel Levine
Over the past thirty years Dr. Levine has pioneered innovative ways to evaluate children and young adults with learning, development, and/or behavioral problems. Dr. Levine's groundbreaking framework for understanding why children struggle in school provides a straightforward, practical system for recognizing variations in the way children learn, and uses their strengths to help them become more successful students. Properly executed, this model can change lives by radically improving prospects for success in and out of school.
Dr. Levine's most recent publications include A Mind at a Time, The Myth of Laziness, and Ready or Not, Here Life Comes.
Highlights: As a pediatrician, what made you focus specifically on learning?
Dr. Mel Levine: I was the base doctor in the Philippines at the biggest military base in the world. As the school doctor I was the interface between pediatrics and education. So many people came to me because they weren't functioning well in life. As a philosophy major in college I became interested in learning as a mystery.
Highlights: And what did you discover?
Dr. Mel Levine: I saw that many people were innocent victims of dysfunction rather than disability. I wouldn't accept the labels kids were given, and was especially bothered by the negativity of a lot of the labels.
I want to understand why a kid is having difficulty and make sure his strengths aren't neglected.
Highlights: You've rejected many of the traditional labels?
Dr. Mel Levine: The approach evolved over time. It's controversial. A lot of people are unhappy about my stance on labeling. There's room for different approaches.
Highlights: You talk about preferring "observable phenomenon" to labels. Can you explain what that means?
Dr. Mel Levine: I want to pinpoint where the breakdown in learning is occurring, and work on that. I don't believe there's such a thing as a "lazy person." A child's output may be low, but you can help him become more productive. Deal with the phenomenon, and don't label.
Highlights: Could you discuss your belief in taking the long view?
Dr. Mel Levine: I think understanding kids is long-term "asset management" and involves looking at what is going to be the payoff in life. Parents need to ask, "What is he going to be like when he's an adult? How can we improve the odds that he'll be fulfilled?"
Highlights: How do you define later success?
Dr. Mel Levine: In my book Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, I talked about kids having a "competitive advantage." But now I call it a "contributive advantage." How is this kid going to make a contribution to himself, his family, and his community?
Highlights: What does this mean for kids who are struggling in school?
Dr. Mel Levine: Sometimes difficulties can be turned into advantages. The child who in third grade has problems in school because he's so focused on his own ideas may have ideas that someday help make him into a CEO.
Highlights: You've made a study of children's learning styles and observed that every kid is wired differently. From a practical perspective, what do these differences mean for parents?
Dr. Mel Levine: The differences have multiple meanings. Not one size fits all. There is an urgent need for parents to know who their kid is and what he's wired for. A child may be different from his parents and brothers and sisters. My work involves interpreting how a child's brain is set up.
Highlights: What are the implications of these differences for learning?
Dr. Mel Levine: We're all somewhat different in the way we learn, but when a difference becomes a difficulty, that may require a specific intervention.
Highlights: What should parents know to look for?
Dr. Mel Levine: See if there's anything interfering with performance in life that's making it hard for a child to succeed either academically or socially.
It becomes a value call to consider the importance of the difficulty. Parents need to prioritize what counts--for instance, spelling isn't that important a skill. However, kids do need to be able to allocate their time, set priorities, and manage their resources.
Highlights: You've been quoted as saying, "I always tell people that from the moment a kid gets up in the morning until he goes to sleep at night, the central mission of the day is to avoid humiliation at all costs." What does this mean for parents?
Dr. Mel Levine: Parents have to have enough of a communication link so that they can tell when a child is experiencing humiliation. If a child is having trouble doing math, he shouldn't be asked to go to the board, or otherwise be publicly disgraced. Parents need to be careful about the statements they make to a child, and there needs to be a certain amount of "humiliation protection" at home.
Highlights: What can parents do to keep kids learning over the summer?
Dr. Mel Levine: Parents need to establish certain expectations so that kids keep using their brains over the summer. Kids ought to be required to read. A child can be involved in planning a family vacation or helping create the itinerary. Ask your child to summarize and describe a movie he's seen. Encourage your child to speak in full sentences. Parents can help a child recognize that the academics of school have practical applications.
Highlights: You've also talked about the importance of sleep for learning. Is summer a time to establish new patterns?
Dr. Mel Levine: A good night's sleep is a priority for learning and brain development. I'm interested in setting up standards for what parents need to do and what schools need to do.
Highlights: From your bio it's apparent that you yourself were always an outstanding student. Why do you feel motivated to focus your attention on working with kids who are having difficulty learning?
Dr. Mel Levine: I didn't have learning difficulties at all--though it was sometimes painful being a terrible athlete.
Several different things spurred my work. Working as a camp counselor when I was in college, I became interested in how kids varied--the differences in how they took up a challenge. I knew I was going to work with kids, and during my medical residency I became interested in how kids were functioning.
Highlights: You started All Kinds of Minds 12 years ago with Charles Schwab. How did that collaboration come about?
Dr. Mel Levine: Basically, Mr. Schwab and his foundation discovered me, and his foundation was interested in how we can make a difference for kids who are struggling. Charles Schwab grappled with learning differences as a child. It was his idea to start an institute speaking about a new model for talking about kids in schools. We've had excellent support and have accomplished a lot of our goals, working with schools all over the country.
Highlights: Are there other examples of talented people who have also used their learning differences in positive ways?
Dr. Mel Levine: One of the donors to All Kinds of Minds, Paul Orfalea, who founded Kinko's, had learning differences that he eventually used to his benefit. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, and a lot of people in business grappled with learning issues. Sometimes these difficulties are a blessing in disguise. Some of the most successful adults were at the bottom of the class at school.
Highlights: What needs to happen for a child to go from struggling to success?
Dr. Mel Levine: Kids need to develop good work habits, learn to manage their time, allocate materials, and set priorities. They also need to develop their strengths and feel a sense of success in the areas in which they have innate ability.
Highlights: In so far as we all have strengths and challenges, do you ever identify with the kids you work with?
Dr. Mel Levine: Very often. There are kids who have the same issues that I have--or the opposite. I'm a wonderful linguist but have no special ability with my hands. I see kids who can fix anything. The world can't survive without both of our abilities. I say to those kids, "Hang in there."
To read a Highlights interview with Mary-Dean Barringer, CEO of the All Kinds of Minds Institute, click here.
To learn more about the All Kinds of Minds Interview, go to: www.allkindsofminds.org