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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 4, 2012 · 16 By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Learning is about an imagination taking flight "I found this frustrating and would take this home at night. Critics used to say it doesn't matter how hard you're teaching; if nobody is learning, no teaching is really taking place," he said. He said he loved teaching, but found the criticism that came with the occupation frustrating. "When a child's imagination and learning would ignite and you would see they were going to go somewhere, there's never been a greater feeling in all my career," he said. "The thing that gave me the most satisfaction in life was helping a child to take off. I imagine you, too, are motivated by that. I imagine you're here because you're looking for additional skills to help you ignite additional lives and to have the pleasure of more kids take off as you ignite them with learning." Burton was speaking at an April 13 event hosted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Halton (LDA Halton). It was a day-long forum that featured presentations from experts in the learning research field. The presenters were Dr. Guinevere Eden and Dr. Maureen Lovett. Lovett is a senior scientist in the Neurosciences and Mental Health Program at the Hospital for Sick Children and professor of pediatrics and medical sciences at the University of Toronto. Eden is a professor in the department of pediatrics and director of the Centre for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Eden is also a past president of the International Dyslexia Association. Eden spoke about brain imaging (through tools such as a MRI) and how it can be used to learn about reading acquisition and intervention. She said her research findings are the result of years of work by a very large team. "There's something really important to remember and that sometimes we forget. When we study the reading brain, we have to remember the brain was not designed to read," she told the gathering Eden said language has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and it develops spontaneously in a child. Reading, however, does not. "Reading is a cultural invention," Eden said. "There's nothing designed in the brain to make us readers. Reading has only been around for 4,000 years, maybe a little longer. There are no systems in place from an evolutionary perspective designed for reading." The brain is apportioned for various tasks. However, Eden said, when people learn to read, brain areas designed for other skills are being converted for the reading skill. "It's important to remember this is a skill that we have invented and we use to access knowledge and information," Eden said. "It's not a skill that we have a designated brain region for. It's something the brain has to learn and it takes many years to learn it. For some individuals, it's just a huge challenge to do this very specific skill." The researcher took the audience Before becoming a journalist, television executive and later a politician, Mayor Rob Burton was an English teacher. So when he stood in front of a roomful of teachers at the first annual Solutions For Learning Conference recently, he was appreciative of what those teachers hope to accomplish. Hampton's Mother's Day Brunch Join us at Hampton's Restaurant located in the Quality Hotel & Suites for our Enjoy an elaborate buffet presented with all of your favourites. All mothers will also be given a rose to celebrate their special day. Mother's Day Brunch Sunday May 13/12 · Roast Prime Rib of Beef Carvery · Steamed Mussels · Scrambled Eggs · Bacon & Sausage · Pancakes · Tossed & Caesar Salad · Baked Atlantic Salmon · Smoked Salmon Platters · Assortment of Fine World Cheeses · Pasta of the Day · Home style Potatoes · Fresh Garden Vegetables · Home Baked Breads · Muffins, Croissants, Danishes · French Pastries, Tortes, Cakes & Pies · Coffee or Tea Buffet Includes: on a tour of the brain in an effort to provide participants with a better understanding of how it works and how it learns. The brain, she said, compartmentalizes various tasks into different areas of the brain. Also, it is adept at studying objects, evident at a child's early life when he or she learns to recognize the faces of family members. However, people are better able to recognize the faces of people they're familiar with -- a task that is experience driven. "When we learn words, clearly learning to read involves many different mechanisms and one of them is the recognition of words and having that exposure. Many of you, as teachers, know that exposure to words is one of the key things to build familiarity and recognition," Eden said. Dr. Lovett, meanwhile, presented lessons learned from research done in classrooms and outlined effective intervention methods for children and adolescents with reading disabilities. For more information, visit www. ldahalton.ca. $24.99 per person presents Children 12 and under half price. Children under 5 eat free We will be offering different seating times for our brunch at 10:30am, or 1:30pm Please call us at 905-847-1566 or email hamptonscatering@hotmail.com to book your reservation. Visit us at www.hamptonsrestaurant.ca Blue s e i k S th SAVE UP TO $2700 ON NEW FURNACE & AIR CONDITIONER $700 OFF HI-EFFICIENCY CENTRAL AIR BIGGEST SALE EVER! WAS $ PRICE MATC H GUARANTEE. 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