Theme of the week 2 – What is one thing you would like to learn more about
Well, this is an interesting one and one that I don’t quite know how to answer.
On any given day I’m holding my own with PhDs and other “well” educated professionals across a multitude of disciplines. Advanced concepts seem somehow simplistic to me, yet I have always struggled academically.
For me, it’s not one thing I would like to learn. I would want to be able to learn and appropriately use the knowledge.
Since I can remember, I have always struggled academically. Growing up when I did, learning disabilities were not a thing. So despite being a foot smarter than everyone in the class I struggled.
I nearly dropped out of high school, not because I couldn’t do it but because my concerns were being dismissed rather than addressed.
There wasn’t one teacher or other staff members who were concerned when I repeatedly told them I was unable to find my locker, and if I did, I couldn’t remember my locker combination.
As I found out decades later, my brain damage; diagnosed when I was still in grade school, has caused multiple learning disabilities.
They are invisible – so no one in the past has considered there was something wrong. Instead, I was just lazy.
It wasn’t even until the year I graduated high school I was informed I had brain damage; not the only secret my family kept from me, and that left me baffled. I still haven’t received an answer as to why everyone who was aware and a single one considered the possibility it affected how I was able to function academically.
Once I got all the testing done, the results made so much sense.
First off I’m an idiotic genius. Part of my brain functions in the top 97th percentile and the other half in the bottom 5th percentile. While in most people there is a difference between the two it is negligible.
The four most significant areas I struggle with are:
1. Spatial reasoning
2. Memory recall
3. An extremely slow processing speed
4. The area that deals with numbers, lists, spelling and related compliances.
In grade school, I was always getting extra help for things like math, handwriting, spelling – none of which I will ever improve. During those sessions that were embarrassing to attend I was missing out on the things I loved, history, geography, science.
In high school, I was twice accused of plagiarism. Considering I attended classes maybe twice a week and took a whole month off one time I understand why.
However, there was no plagiarism involved, technically. My work seemed so similar because I was writing about 1/4 of the student’s essays. And I made an enormous amount of cash doing so. So much so that my mom accused me of being a drug dealer or a pimp; all but one of my friends were female.
Currently, I’m teaching myself advanced video editing and CGI techniques.
Formal post-secondary education = five tries and no piece of paper.
Other forms of post-secondary education = 68 pieces of paper and counting. I can learn and learn well in the right environment. Something the current educational system can not provide me.
For me, it’s not about what I want to learn more of; it’s I want recognition for the fact I learn well with some extream disadvantages.
Thanks @wildrose_2. In a hilarious twist, I went back to school a few years ago and had the highest mark in the history of the Public Relations (PR) program but I couldn’t get an internship in order to graduate. However; for decades I was a PR consultant and was able to earn enough to retire by 40.
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Being a school bus driver, I can actually pick up on things like this from my kids. I am usually the one they talk to and I can (most of the time) get them in the right direction. I am very impressed with your intelligence and the fact that you kept moving forward.
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@Axalotal: I hate some of the things about the public school system’s. My 18 year old grandson has so many issues. He goes to one of his teachers in particular, to get “more help.” He wants to talk about how to better understand what is going on, How to better grasp it, etc. The teacher told him last time he went to him, : Just buckle down and study, pay attention in class and do all the expected projects and assignments, and study for tests. DAH, dumb A** he doesn’t understand the class matter at hand. He IS trying to get help. I asked him if went and talked to his guidance counselor ? He said she is too busy, and can’t fit him in!! WTheck? grrr…..
That’s really crappy @butterfly4him. Sadly, that’s the state of the educational system today. They teach lies. As an example, my ex’s daughter learned in grade 10 that Columbus was the first person to discover America. We actually argued over this and her mom took her daughters side; of course, and called my fact based research junk science because “her teacher is smarter than me.”
I feel bad for teachers, but not when they refuse to do their job.
Hopefully your grandson get some help if not from the school at least in the form of tutoring or other help “outside the system”.
Maybe you should go down there and give the guidance counselor a talking to.
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