The eternal sunshine of a dyslexic's mind or lessons out of nothing

The eternal sunshine of a dyslexic’s mind or lessons out of nothing

There are so many things we take for granted as teachers, so many false assumptions, so many wrong or hasty conclusions we reach. Of course, I speak for myself but I can well imagine that many others might feel the same way.

The reasons vary widely. Exams divide people into those who manage and those who don’t – the qualified and the unqualified. A utilitarian attitude towards knowledge, an adherence to rules, and reluctance to deviate detract from the pleasure of discovery and learning.

I used to think of dyslexic learners as people who need my help. After long years of observation and reflection, I have come to think of them as a source of inspiration. When they are trying to read a word, their mind races through so many possibilities – usually guessing what follows from the first couple of letters – that I, as a teacher, would find it impossible to recall at a time.

There is so much poetry in this anarchy of thought, so much effort and eagerness to get it right after all. I would like to focus on an example of mistake made by one of my dyslexic students.

Among others the class had to learn the word “worship”. I was bowled over when I read my student’s version of it. It was no less than “wondership”.

So class, get ready. We are embarking on an adventure. We must all think of a story that will contain the words “wonder”, “ship” and “worship”.

Once upon a time, in the year of wonders my friends and I decided to travel on a ship. It would be our first acquaintance with the whims of the sea by day and by night. We knew that in the old times there was a god of the sea and he was worshipped by ancient Greeks. And Poseidon, the god of the sea, was the one who created horses. And horses are our favourite animals: they teach us how to be free and independent. …

Or

Once upon a time, there was a wondership. It was called wondership because it would take its passengers to lands of wonders – lands where people worshipped the trees and the flowers and the smell of the soil.

My point, as you will have realised, is that there are beautiful mistakes which can act as springboard for further language development if only we teachers took a few seconds to spot them rather than hasten to correct and prescribe.