Dr. Peter Eden, who took office as the fourth president of Landmark College on July 1, 2011, shared with Lon Woodbury and his audience today on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, about this very unique college intentionally designed for students struggling with diagnosed learning disabilities. Tucked away up in southern Vermont, Landmark College with its 200 faculty and staff, who are experts in working with students with language based learning challenges are changing the lives of the more than 400 students who attend this college institution. "In a mainstream college of over 1,000 students, students with LD's can fall thru the cracks, often feeling alone and carrying around a stigma of "LD" and the label of being "dumb" that goes along with this. These students want to get rid of the "shame" of having an LD.
"When they get into an environment that works primarily with LD students (Landmark College) they get it and they understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to learn despite their struggles" shared Peter. "This is all we do and we are one of two in the United States with this primary focus .Our staff here knows the students by name and the professors design their courses for these students with different modalities. We know from the beginning that we have students who learn differently. We use technology to our advantage and with our small class sizes every student will need to learn to succeed in an online milieu. There are apps and software that we teach our students to utilize, some that are directly on the student's smart phones. "Education is ripe for reinvention" shared Peter, a strong advocate of new technology in higher education. Through "universal design" the curriculum our professors design takes into account for the different kinds of learning and they engage their students in flexible and yet challenging ways."
For parents looking to explore this kind of option for their child, Peter gave some useful tips in determining if their child would flourish at a college such as Landmark: 1st- you need to know if they are a right fit- are they emotionally ready and ready to be a good college citizen in the dorms, on campus and in class. Secondly- talk with current students and their parents to see if they are receiving the resources they need and how they feel about the school and lastly- This is college and there are a lot of diversions, add on top of that a diagnosed LD… the student will need structure. And if their child is not ready for college, have them enroll into a community college and take a course or two, they need to achieve a college level course. Or use a short term program or summer program such as the ones here at Landmark.
Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports, Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens.
Dr. Peter Eden, PhD, is the president of Landmark College, specifically designed for college students with learning disabilities. Dr. Eden champions integrating new technology in higher education and with 20 years of achievement as an administrator and professor in higher education, he was also a researcher in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry.
Stay Tuned for Upcoming Programs:
September 30:
C. Lynn Williams: "Staying Sane While Raising a Teen"
October 21:
Betty Kreisel Shubert: "What Teen Clothing Choices Say About Them"
Attention Viewers:
Part 3 to the Parent Empowerment Handbook -Wilderness Therapy and Outdoor Adventure E-Book is now available on amazon.com. In addition, Part 1- the Introduction to the Parent Empowerment Handbook and Part 2- Single Sex Schools are also available on Amazon.com
