In Sher's Own Words
My life has enjoyed a lot of interesting twists and turns on the road to becoming a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator. The way I see it, it all began in the mid-eighties, when I was a classroom volunteer at my childrens elementary school. A very involved mother to my three daughters, I was interested in seeing how the educational system worked in the context of their classrooms. This helped me feel even more an informed part of my childrens education. One day, after about a year of volunteering, two wonderful teachers at the school approached me.
"Sher, they said enthusiastically, "have you ever considered being a teacher?"
This was something that honestly had never crossed my mind before. "Um, no, I said.
"Well, we think you have potential in this area, they said, their eyes gleaming. "You have a very special way of working with children, and we would strongly encourage you to consider a teaching career.
At age thirty-five, with three children under the age of ten, I returned to college with a renewed sense of what I wanted to do. Raising my daughters was the most important, essential part of my life, and now I was prepared to give even more back to the world. After a challenging yet rewarding few years, I graduated with my teaching certificate. When I began my first year of teaching, I realized that I was most drawn to the students who needed extra love and attention: those with learning difficulties. I also found myself in a frustrating conundrum. The students that I most wanted to help were the ones that I felt the most unprepared to - despite my Minor in Learning Disabilities, my university training was woefully deficient in preparing me for what I met in the classroom.
Determined to learn even more about my area of interest, I soon specialized in ESL instruction in addition to becoming a Learning Assistance teacher. In my desire to become as well-rounded an educator as possible, I took courses related to learning styles, learning disabilities, math and literacy skills. I enjoyed helping the students, but I constantly felt a sense of something missing. "With the Herculean effort that these kids and I are putting into this, I thought on a regular basis, "why aren't we seeing the results we'd like? I knew there had to be something more we could do, but I didn't know exactly what it was.
In May 2001, one of the parents in the school I was teaching at lent me a book. The book was The Gift of Dyslexia, by Ron Davis. I hungrily lapped up every single word, and by July 2001 I was taking courses towards becoming a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator. It was such a eureka moment: I felt like it was all coming together, like this was where I belonged in helping people with learning difficulties.
As I worked through the courses, my own decades-long struggle with learning difficulties came into an even clearer focus. Beginning in early high school, I had become keenly aware that it took me longer than most of my friends to read and absorb a page of the written word. I felt that I had to work very hard to receive my average marks in school, as this difficulty with reading followed me through my entire secondary and post-secondary education. My own struggles, I feel, helped me to be even more empathetic with my clients.
I established Mastering Dyslexia in 2003, and it's been wonderfully fulfilling both for myself and the people of all ages who come to my home for the one-week, one-on-one programs. I truly feel that I am doing what I was meant to do, and this passion comes through with every client. My life as a Davis Orientation Counseling®¨, Facilitator is the culmination of all my educational interests and my intense desire to unlock the potential in everyone, and I look forward to helping many more people in the years to come.
Sher Goerzen, Licensed Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator, Certified Teacher
My life has enjoyed a lot of interesting twists and turns on the road to becoming a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator. The way I see it, it all began in the mid-eighties, when I was a classroom volunteer at my childrens elementary school. A very involved mother to my three daughters, I was interested in seeing how the educational system worked in the context of their classrooms. This helped me feel even more an informed part of my childrens education. One day, after about a year of volunteering, two wonderful teachers at the school approached me.
"Sher, they said enthusiastically, "have you ever considered being a teacher?"
This was something that honestly had never crossed my mind before. "Um, no, I said.
"Well, we think you have potential in this area, they said, their eyes gleaming. "You have a very special way of working with children, and we would strongly encourage you to consider a teaching career.
At age thirty-five, with three children under the age of ten, I returned to college with a renewed sense of what I wanted to do. Raising my daughters was the most important, essential part of my life, and now I was prepared to give even more back to the world. After a challenging yet rewarding few years, I graduated with my teaching certificate. When I began my first year of teaching, I realized that I was most drawn to the students who needed extra love and attention: those with learning difficulties. I also found myself in a frustrating conundrum. The students that I most wanted to help were the ones that I felt the most unprepared to - despite my Minor in Learning Disabilities, my university training was woefully deficient in preparing me for what I met in the classroom.
Determined to learn even more about my area of interest, I soon specialized in ESL instruction in addition to becoming a Learning Assistance teacher. In my desire to become as well-rounded an educator as possible, I took courses related to learning styles, learning disabilities, math and literacy skills. I enjoyed helping the students, but I constantly felt a sense of something missing. "With the Herculean effort that these kids and I are putting into this, I thought on a regular basis, "why aren't we seeing the results we'd like? I knew there had to be something more we could do, but I didn't know exactly what it was.
In May 2001, one of the parents in the school I was teaching at lent me a book. The book was The Gift of Dyslexia, by Ron Davis. I hungrily lapped up every single word, and by July 2001 I was taking courses towards becoming a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator. It was such a eureka moment: I felt like it was all coming together, like this was where I belonged in helping people with learning difficulties.
As I worked through the courses, my own decades-long struggle with learning difficulties came into an even clearer focus. Beginning in early high school, I had become keenly aware that it took me longer than most of my friends to read and absorb a page of the written word. I felt that I had to work very hard to receive my average marks in school, as this difficulty with reading followed me through my entire secondary and post-secondary education. My own struggles, I feel, helped me to be even more empathetic with my clients.
I established Mastering Dyslexia in 2003, and it's been wonderfully fulfilling both for myself and the people of all ages who come to my home for the one-week, one-on-one programs. I truly feel that I am doing what I was meant to do, and this passion comes through with every client. My life as a Davis Orientation Counseling®¨, Facilitator is the culmination of all my educational interests and my intense desire to unlock the potential in everyone, and I look forward to helping many more people in the years to come.
Sher Goerzen, Licensed Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator, Certified Teacher
Sher Goerzen
A Maple Ridge, British Columbia resident her whole life, Sher Goerzen has been a teacher for over a decade. Having specialized in helping students with learning disabilities, she is excited to bring the Davis Dyslexia Correction® Program to the Lower Mainland.
The mother of three grown daughters, Sher lives near the beautiful Golden Ears mountains with her husband, Jim.
A Maple Ridge, British Columbia resident her whole life, Sher Goerzen has been a teacher for over a decade. Having specialized in helping students with learning disabilities, she is excited to bring the Davis Dyslexia Correction® Program to the Lower Mainland.
The mother of three grown daughters, Sher lives near the beautiful Golden Ears mountains with her husband, Jim.
Professional services described as Davis®, Davis Dyslexia Correction®, Davis Symbol Mastery®, Davis Orientation Counseling®, Davis Math MasterySM and Davis Learning Strategies® may only be provided by persons who are employed by a licensed Davis Specialist, or who are trained and licensed as Davis Facilitators by Davis Dyslexia Association International.
Davis Dyslexia Association International, the DDAI logo, the phrases Davis Dyslexia Correction®, Davis Symbol Mastery®, Davis Orientation Counseling®, Davis Learning Strategies® and the "dyslexia, the gift" web site logo are trademarks of Ronald D. Davis and DDAI. The material on this site is copyrighted and may not be reprinted or distributed without written permission.