Dyslexics of the world untie

I was listening to The Learning Curve last night on Radio 4. There was a report on The Family School, a parent created and run primary school that rejects the national curriculum in favor of an emphasis is on imaginative play, exploration and engagement with nature. I think their advertising slogan is “Built by middle class lefty hippies, for middle class lefty hippies”. I wouldn’t be surprised if their school uniform is made of tie-died hemp.

It’s very easy to scoff, but in reality I have a good deal of respect for what they are trying to do. Particularly their belief in the damaging nature of incessant streams of tests, targets and homework.

When I was seven I was diagnosed as dyslexic. I was lucky, I had understanding and knowledgeable parents who both worked within education. The effects of my dyslexia have become less and less debilitating as time has gone on. Some things do linger - I still can’t do my times tables, remember the correct order of the months, or read music; and all my word documents are littered with red wavy lines before they are spellchecked. But to be honest my label rarely crosses my mind these days.

The thing that took the longest to overcome however wasn’t any of the actual symptoms of dyslexia itself, but the self esteem issues that went along with it. I remember the shame I felt when I came bottom of the maths and spelling tests at primary school, the shame I felt when it was discovered that I couldn’t spell my own last name or recite the alphabet properly.

I am convinced that if I had been working my way through the education system as it stands these days I would have just given up. Each exam, test and progression point would have confirmed to me that I was thick and it wasn’t worth me trying. I would have steadily made my way down through the ability sets until the only expectation made of me would be that I turned up and didn’t set fire to anything.

As it was I sometimes used my dyslexia as an excuse to be apathetic about school work. It was only when the assessment criteria switched from route learning to actual understanding that I realized I could do well. I now have two honors degrees, one of which is a 1:1 but the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was not the coursework but my prejudices against myself.

Amy starts school in just over a year, Evan has a bit longer than that yet. While I hope they do well and want them to be successful I will also do my damnedest to ensure they never feels any shame in their own abilities, no matter how far off the mark the national curriculum says they are