The Learning Mystique: A Critical Look at Learning Disabilities

An essential book for any parent whose child has been labeled “learning disabled,” for any teacher who has worked with these children, for anyone interested in the future of education and the future of our children With alarming, even shocking frequency, children of normal intelligence who do not read, remember, or concentrate at the same level as their peers are branded “learning disabled,” the victims of some sort of neurological dysfunction. No one thought to examine the theory or the practice that has consigned nearly two million of these children to “special ed” classes, subjected some of them to special treatment with drugs, and stigmatized many with a sense of intellectual inferiority for life. The Learning Mystique is the first direct challenge by a distinguished scholar to the concept of learning disabilities. Rigorously scrutinizing all of the available research on learning disabilities, Gerald Coles demonstrates beyond question that neurological explanations have never been scientifically substantiated, and that a considerable amount of professional practice in the schools is based on mere speculation. But The Learning Mystique is more than a condemnation of the attitude toward learning disabilities. Coles presents his own stimulating ideas on learning differences, arguing that school failure must be viewed and treated in the context of both the learning environment and the child’s individual abilities, behavior, family life, and social relationships.