The story of my student, whom we will call A, is unfortunately all too common in the dyslexic community. In public school, he was deemed a kid that “would catch up”. His identification of English Language Learner took precedence over any other possibility for his struggle. His teachers tried, for YEARS to improve his literacy, and, for years, my student struggled, failed, and quit. He was convinced by this failure of his incapability, his incompetence, his stupidity. You see, we live in a literate world, and if you don’t play the game, if you aren’t able to put together the pieces of instruction that actually don’t make sense, and if you aren’t able to “just memorize”, you’re sunk. You are demoralized at the thought that you will never fit in with these book readers, these spellers, these people who automatically know which way is left or what direction they are facing, these people who remember other’s names and are able to say exactly the word they want in the moment they want to say it. I am not these people. And neither is A. And we have both suffered for it.
This incredible kid, though, found his way to me. Reading significantly below grade level expectations and struggling with literacy in all forms, he came for help, led by his new homeschooling teacher and fantastic sister. I did not start this low reading High School kid with phonics. We did not “sound it out”. We started with meaning. We started with seeing that what he’d been told about English wasn’t true and that there is no such thing as an exception. I told him I would never ask him to “sound out” when reading or spelling and that he was not stupid, unable or incompetent. I told him he was smart and capable and that language is actually beautifully human. That it gives us a little taste of history and connection in every word. I told him the truth. And we studied.
The questions generated by this student took my breath away. He thinks he’s stupid, I thought, and was dumbfounded. This boy, almost a man, had unshakable kindness, a willingness to take risks, and a bounding and insatiable curiosity. He’s an incredible kid, really. And he started growing. Two grade levels in one year with not a “blend this word” uttered. His homeschool teacher and sister have told me that he is utilizing new vocabulary in speech. He is seeking out “why”, in mathematics, in books on historical events, in science work, and in conversations. He and I have been blessed by a scholarship from Mindful Literacy Columbus to continue our work and we hope to continue to be so lucky. Because I have grown more from knowing this kid, I’m sure of it, than he has from me. Every session is an adventure with him. And so, I hope, onward.
