Dyslexic Lisp (say it 5 times fast)

"It is, in fact, nothing short a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom"

Albert Einstein

This article gives a fantastic explanation of my experience with education. Remember when I mentioned, "I'm almost incapable of simply memorizing a thing. I made a terrible student in America's school system"? This article sheds some light that.

Now, I don't have kids, and I hardly noticed the injustice of my own education as a child. It wasn't until college that I realized how futile my efforts in conventional learning were. 

Make me take a test- see how little I know about a topic. Make me write a paper- see how much I know about the very same topic. 

I couldn't can't just simply memorize a thing, I have to digest and relate the information. I have to take information, turn it up-side-down, in-side-out, compare it to everything else I've ever known, unfold it, refold it, play with it,  spin it around, talk about it, examine the ripples the piece of information creates, wring it out, shake it out, taste it, smell it, and if it interests me- hang it up to dry.

Thankfully, I learned this about myself in college and was able to talk most of my professors into letting me write papers for extra credit. And, it did me well.  3.75 ain't too shabby for working full-time through full-time school?

My co-worker has 3 sons. Each if which has been labeled (by the American school system) as having a "learning disability". They are each "severely dyslexic" dyslexic, like lisp, is a mean word. She has done an unbelievable job at getting her boys the help they need in school and at encouraging each of them. Above their dinner table, they have a huge framed poster of, none other than, Albert Einstein with his quote:

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend it's whole life believing it is stupid." 

I feel sorry for kids- standardized testing, one dimensional teaching, the stunting of curiosity and the innate ability to make sense of things. It's no wonder children grow up to be so dependent on thoughtless approaches to life- ehem-Apple. jokes.