Note from Payne: “I’m not trying to look depressed or bash everything but it’s just been a horrible experience for me.”
Me: Alright Payne, What’s it like to be dyslexic?
P: It sucks.
Me: Could you elaborate?
P: It makes stuff harder.
Me: How?
P: It adds difficulty to pretty much everything.
Me: Like what?
P: Reading, writing, math… remembering stuff.
Me: How do you think public schools handle you being dyslexic?
P: Horribly.
Me: How?
P: Well, sometimes you get lucky and get a good teacher, sometimes you don’t and they just… not treat you differently but they don’t try and work with you.
Me: What are the accommodations on your IEP that you find teachers have the most difficulty following?
P: Some of them have trouble following any.
Me: Which one do you have the hardest time getting a teacher to follow?
P: Test corrections unless they are willing to work. The ones that are willing to work will use that accommodation but otherwise they won't.
Me: What could public schools do better to work with students like you?
P: I don’t know… Use a different method because whatever they’re using is not working… Orton-Gillingham Method.
P: Do I get a cookie for saying that?
Me: No.
Me: Do you think of dyslexia as a gift?
P: No.
Me: Why?
P: I don’t know let me think... Because last time I checked gifts don’t add a burden to you and unless you’re rich, and it makes you a lot of money, that's the only way it could be a gift, even then it’s not a gift, you still struggle.
Me: When you read articles and comments that dyslexia is a gift, what are your feelings on that?
P: Besides rolling my eyes? What do I think about it? I guess it sets you apart and makes you different, but it’s not like it’s… I don’t find it helpful in many ways. I find it less helpful than more helpful.
Me: You’re a photographer, do you see that as a gift that comes with your dyslexia, the way you see things?
P: No, not really because in class I still have to read the camera instructions, there’s written work in the class on photography history, everything has to do with reading.
Me: What’s your opinion on assistive technology?
P: It’s helpful.
Me: Which do you use most often?
P: My phone and computer for text to speech.
Me: What would you like people to know about how you’ve been treated in school?
P: I’m not trying to say, boohoo me, but pretty poorly. Except by a few teachers, no names, but two of them that I love very much. Whoa, that sounds weird.
Me: It’s okay to love your teachers.
P: Yes, two of them that I’m still connected with.
Me: If you could thank the teachers who have made an impact on your educational career, you don’t have to say their names maybe just the grade level, unless you want to, who would they be and what would you say?
P: Definitely fourth, fifth and eighth.
Me: Why do they stick out in your memory as a teacher that made an impact?
P: They all really cared for sure. I don’t know... They were just willing to help me. They were just great teachers. They tried to understand. Well, they understood me better than other teachers.
Me: If you could go back, and talk to the first or second grade you, what advice would you give?
P: Quit while you’re ahead. [laughs] I don’t know... Don’t let your sixth grade teachers make it your worst year in school, that was the worst.
Me: What about your sixth grade year made it the worst?
P: Only one teacher would work with me and it seemed like they just didn’t like me at all. You know it’s bad when you have to transfer out of school the next year. They didn’t want to help me and they wouldn’t follow any of my accommodations. I don’t like to think about it. So...it makes me really sad. So, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.
Me: You’re a really good talker and listener do you think that has helped you connect with teachers and helped you get through school?
P: Yeah, I guess, if they want to talk about anything other than school, I’ll talk about it.
Me: Do you think legislation is the answer to starting the change in school that will help dyslexic students, answer as truthfully as you can, maybe not a fair question to ask, knowing that your dad and I have been working on it but you’re entitled to your own opinion?
P: Yes, but I think the main thing is it just needs to be changed within the school, but with legislation, it’s probably the only way it's going to change. Just having it isn’t the most important part, but the change is the most important part, but the only way it’s probably going to change is the schools being forced to do it.
P: Are you mad because I said that?
Me: No.
Me: You have good grades and haven’t been in trouble in school so why did you research drop out policies?
P: Because I hate school… some days it doesn’t seem worth it.
Me: Why doesn’t it seem worth it somedays?
P: I don’t know… somedays it feels useless. I don’t feel like I’m learning.
Me: When one of your teachers made you count to five in front of the class because he felt you asked too many questions and was frustrated, how did that make you feel and react?
P: It made me feel like a fool. I just laughed with everyone else because I didn’t want them to know how offended I was. I know how to count to five.
Me: How did you feel about participating in The Dyslexia Buddy Network's short film, What I Wish Teachers Knew About Dyslexia, put together by Luis Macias (Creator/Director of Embracing Dyslexia)?
P: Well, I was embarrassed because I was on camera, but that’s just because I’m me.
Me: If a teacher watches it do you think it would make an impact on their thinking?
P: Yes and no because it depends on if they’re there for the money or if they’re there to teach.
Me: Thank you.
P: Yep, do I get money for answering all these questions? [laughs]
Me: Nope.
Isn't it time to listen to all the experience of high school students like Payne? Turning away and acting as if this isn't a problem, doesn't make it so.
In a previous post, I shared one of Payne’s school papers on perseverance, titled, IBelieve...
Click if you’d like to check it out: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-believe-penny-wagner-auchmuty