Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/969549
Lonnie Eskridge teaches class at Oak Grove Elementary in Porterville. hat do Joe Biden, James Earl Jones, Mar- ilyn Monroe, Emily Blunt, King George VI and Mel Tillis have in common? ey didn't let stuttering stop them from fulfilling their dreams. Neither did Lonnie Eskridge, president of the Burton Elementary Teachers Association, class- room teacher at Oak Grove Elementary School in Porterville and former newspaper photographer. Eskridge is one of 70 million people around the world and more than 3 million in the United States managing this complex disorder. He hopes that National Stuttering Awareness Week (May 14-20, 2018) will increase public awareness about the condition and spotlight helpful activities edu- cators can do for students, co-workers or others in their lives who stutter. Stuttering may look like an easy problem that can be solved with simple advice, but for many it can be a lifelong challenge. e condition affects four times as many males as females. Approxi- mately 5 percent of all children go through Educators deal with students' (and sometimes their own) stuttering A Challenging Condition By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman W 55 A P R I L / M AY 2 018 Famous Stutterers Joe Biden James Earl Jones Emily Blunt T