I Speak of Dreams

The Coming Pandemic

In my view, there are two guaranteed disasters shambling towards us:

1. A major earthquake on the San Andreas fault
2. A  flu pandemic

A very important article was published in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs, which every informed American should read and understand.

Preparing for the Next Pandemic

Summary:  If an influenza pandemic struck today, borders would close, the global economy would shut down, international vaccine supplies and health-care systems would be overwhelmed, and panic would reign. To limit the fallout, the industrialized world must create a detailed response strategy involving the public and private sectors.

 

Read Banned Books

Walter Mayes (information technologist at The Girls' Middle School and Walter the Giant Storyteller) pulled off a teaching coup during Banned Books Week 2002.   Two things happened: the students at GMS revolted (hurrah!) and my darling daughter sussed out the deal before the week was out (hurrah for critical thinking!)

Now the esteemed P.Z. Meyers is fomenting a meme: how many of the banned challenged books have you read?  (created by Majikthise)

One Child Abandoned

In Fort Wayne, Indiana,  Tammy Stein had to sue to get her son the teaching he needed to perform according to his potential.  There's a need for Wrightslaw.

“It infuriated me,” Stein said. “They were lying to me, making me think he was getting services when he wasn’t.”

Fort Wayne has a Scottish Rite dyslexia treatment center.  It is simply inexcusable that young Master Stein had to struggle for years.

High Achieving Dyslexics: David Iller

David Iler was born in 1912.  It was a struggle for Iler to get through school since he suffered from dyslexia.   "You have dyslexia and everyone thinks you're dumb," Iler said.

He never earned more than a high school diploma.

"I never learned to really read until I started making bids on road work," he said. "They didn't know what dyslexic was at that school. I became a good listener. I think if I hadn't of had it, that I would have played basketball at UK."

High Achieving Dyslexics: Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite authors of fantasy (reviews here and here).

I did not know until today that she is dyslexic.

"It's awfully hard to describe, but when I was eight, in the middle of an afternoon, I suddenly knew I was going to be a writer," she says. "I was in the throes of dyslexia, and being left-handed didn't help, so it did seem like the most improbable thing in the world. I went downstairs and told my parents, who laughed, but I was right. And it does keep you going through lots of disappointments - it took me a long time to get published, too."

I wonder how Jones managed to get from dyslexic to author.  I haven't been able to find anything on how she learned to read.  Her fantasy novels feature several dyslexic characters--my favorite being Grundo from The Merlin Conspiracy.

Books for Dyslexic Kids

Henry Winkler, the Fonz, is dyslexic.

"It was really difficult for me," Winkler said. "It molds the way you think of yourself, and you start to believe that you are stupid ... it's very embarrassing."

So he has written a series of books for young adults, the Hank Zipzer books, with co-author Lin Oliver:

"The reason I get letters from kids from all over the world relating to these stories is because we made a concerted effort not to talk down to these kids," he said. "The emotion is very real and we didn't want to sugarcoat anything; our readers are bright kids."

Winkler calls these books the pinnacle of his career.

"Being a part of this is one of the proudest moments of my life," he said. "Helping kids understand that dyslexia can be dealt with and keeping them entertained is both therapeutic for me and fulfilling."

On growing ups with dyslexia:

No one knew what dyslexia was. I was called stupid, lazy and I was told that I was not living up to my potential.  It was without a doubt painful.  I spent most of my time covering up the fact that reading, writing, spelling, math, science, actually, every subject but lunch, was really, really difficult for me.  If I went to the store and I paid the bill with paper money and I was given coins back for change, I had no idea how to count up the change in my head.  I just trusted that everyone was being honest.

            

High Achieving Dyslexics: Sir Paul Smith

Sir Paul Smith is a leading British fashion designer.

"My biggest regret is my lack of education. I left school at 15 with no qualifications."

High Achieving Dyslexics: Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie is famous for his film work and his wife. 

What I Wished Every Parent and Teacher Knew about Dyslexia

Today is Blogging for Kids with Disabilities Day.

What I wished every parent (and teacher) knew about dyslexia and teaching reading.

• Dyslexia is a spectrum disorder
• Dyslexia affects more than reading
• Dyslexia needs to be addressed before the child fails (instead of waiting for failure, as the law now reads)
  
• Dyslexia can and should be screened for as early as kindergarten
• Dyslexia can be ameliorated with specific teaching methods
• Most teachers do not understand the fundamentals of language, because they are not taught in schools of education
• Most teachers do not understand the fundamentals of teaching reading, because they are not taught in the schools of education
• Eye exercises, balance exercises, motion-sickness medication, and tinted lenses or overlays are a waste of time and money
• It is in the child's best interest to get a private psychoeducational evaluation, rather than relying upon the school district.
• It is better to be too aggressive in treating dyslexia rather than taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Dyslexia Novel

Frank Kloxin of Sioux Falls is the author of a new novel, "Adventures of Mark,"
The book is the fictionalized true story of a boy who struggles with dyslexia.

The narration, Kloxin says, includes real-life experiences and how the boy coped with dyslexia with the help of friends and God at a time when the reading disability was not understood.

Kloxin, a World War II veteran, also is the author of "Jack, a Dakota Dog," written in 1992. He taught at the training school in Plankinton and in Winfred and Mitchell before serving as a counselor in Sioux Falls public schools for 25 years.

I think it was published privately; I can't find an ISBN for it.

Frank, if you see this, send me a copy and I will review it!

He's having a booksigning October 8, 2005 at:

Cover To Cover Booksellers
612 W Empire Mall
Sioux Falls, SD
(605) 361-2338,