I came across a quote from Albert Einstein, which I love,
and appreciate more every day. He said
‘Everyone is a genius. However, if you
judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will go through its life
thinking he is stupid.’
Read that again, and ponder on it. I have report cards to prove that I was ‘stupid’! If I wasn’t stressed out enough at school, I
got more at home when poor report cards came home, which was most of the
time. My parents saw that I got the best
5th grade teacher, but the damage that was done the year before was
to last for the next 40 years or more. As I look back at it, I don’t think
anyone could know how long my experience in 4th grade would last,
nor to what extent the mental challenges I would have during that time. I
didn’t enjoy sports, as I was always the last person chosen for a team. In high school, I would always do better in
my elective classes than the required ones.
Go figure that one out! Everyone
was better than me, in my mind. I was
quite the loner. Very few friends, and
even fewer really close friends. I often
would ask myself ‘Who would want to hang out with me?’
The damage to my mind and mental attitude for so many years
is the main reason for this blog site. It has, and will continue to take time to
undo the poor self-mage I have had. I
can’t help but believe other people with dyslexia have the same complex
feeling, and thus my blog and plead to those who know people with this. They are really the geniuses in this world
today, they just don’t know it, and need help to find it. It would have been
nice to have learned what I know now much earlier in life, but early or not, I
want all who have this challenge to know there is help out there for them
now…NO MATTER HOW OLD THEY ARE!
If I was to be in a group of people, and was judge by the
ability to play basketball, I would more than likely come in last place. However, if that same group was judged on
their ability to tune a piano, I would probably come out on top. Have I mentioned that I have tuned many pianos in
my life time? Same group of people,
different results. So how are we judging
people?
About 10 years ago, I did some serious reflecting on where I
was in life, what I had accomplished, and came to the conclusion that I wasn’t
stupid. If I didn’t have such a
supporting wife, I may never have figured that out. Yes, I have a hard time reading, but if I
kept at it, I could read. I am not
saying that I enjoyed it, but I could.
My wife loves reading, and she would love to go to a cabin on a cool
day, sit in front of a fireplace, and read for most of the day. I think I would rather sit and watch the
paint on the wall dry, rather than to read.
Both would be boring to me, but watching paint dry would be less painful
to me.
Now I will put in one disclaimer here. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints, our leaders tell us we should be reading from the Book of
Mormon daily. I remembered as a
teenager, that I owed it to myself to read it at least once to see if it was
true or not. I got my answer and then I thought I would go through life, saying
I had read that book, once. As this
teaching to read daily has continued to be taught, and as one who believes we
have prophets and apostles on the earth today, I could not ignore that council,
so I read. It wasn’t much in the early
years, and defiantly not consistent, but I read, and read. Over these almost 40 years, I have read that
book countless times, so when one hears me read from it, they don’t think I
have a problem reading. Repetition has a
place, and I learn so much more every time I read that book
Following that council has literally changed my life. I knew I could read. The more I read the same thing, the better I
understood it. And the more I read the
same book, more detail pictures would come to my mind. I would throw out to my wife and children
thoughts that come to my mind, and they probably wonder about me at times. But I was learning that I wasn’t stupid. I
was seeing pictures in my mind, and those pictures were worth at least a
thousand words each! At first, I thought I was a slow learner, have to read
over and over and over again. But then I
was seeing things others didn’t see…reading between the lines, so to
speak. I wasn’t stupid at all, and I
wasn’t necessarily a slow learner. I was
beginning to find out that I learned differently. And when I learned, it stuck with me. Forever.
Let me explain.
In 8th grade, we had to pass both the US
constitution and the state constitution exams to graduate from grade
school. I remember my 8th
grade teacher very clearly as well. She
had to have read all the notes about me from other teachers, as she came to me
at the beginning of the school year and express her concerns she had, and
wanted to help me pass those exams. I
appreciated her concern, and during the year, I could tell she really meant it.
As we studied the US constitution, we took it a section at a time. I don’t recall reading any books there,
though I am sure there were some to read.
She went through each branch of the government, the names, their duties,
and drew it out on the chalk board. Over
and over she went. I was told I had to
pass this exam, and I had a teacher that cared, and taught at a level that I
understood. I scored a 96% on that exam,
and also got an A on the exam for the state as well. How do I remember my score? Repetition! How
many times do you think I looked at that score!
Fast forward to a few years ago, when my daughter was
studying US government in high school, and couldn’t understand it, and had
problems finding the answers in the book.
I started throwing out the answers to her questions without even
glancing at her book. She looked at me
in wonderment, as I could explain concepts to her. There was a term or two I may have forgotten,
but I knew when she didn’t have the correct answer, without looking in the
book. I don’t claim to be a constitution scholar, but I do remember what was
taught to me when I was in the 8th grade those many years ago.
Now back to my first post.
I am in my mid 50’s, unemployed for some time, desperately trying to
find a job, and doing anything to improve my chance of getting a job. And then,
a book was recommended to me!
Next post: The Gift of Dyslexia
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