Neurodiversity and Me: Imposter Syndrome

I had never heard of ‘Imposter Syndrome’ until yesterday when a good friend of mine shared this video from YouTube that they had seen. My friend is someone who I have the utmost respect for, so when they post things up I always try to take a look at them, especially when it’s things I haven’t heard of before. As soon as I started watching this, I realised just how important it was not only for this Vlogger or my friend, but also for me to share with all of you who read my blog. It is just over 8 minutes long, but I will explain below why I found it so important (which you will hopefully look at AFTER watching the video).

I didn’t realise that this was an actual thing. I thought that it was just my own personal “paranoias”. “Paranoias” that I can explain exactly where they arose from. 

Dyslexia and Me: Reaction to The Guardian’s Secret Teacher

Source: http://images.clipartpanda.com/classroom-clip-art-ncBazrRcA.gif

Yesterday, The Guardian posted an article online called Secret Teacher: we are too quick to label children who aren’t perfect. I have shared it on social media to see reaction from the dyslexic community, but I thought I would write a response in the blog to the article too.

Knowing where to start with this is difficult. I have given my opinions on social media already, but rather than copy and paste, it is probably best to dissect the article rather than a gut reaction.

Firstly let me note that I am neither a parent nor a teacher, but I have been through the education system as an undiagnosed dyslexic who asked for help on more than one occasion. 

#blogging4charity – H is for Homework

The word that still strikes horror and resentment in my heart to this day. Memories of homework in high school.

I didn’t like being in school. I was in 5 days a week for hours on end wishing for the weekend. To have homework on top felt like punishment for the teachers inability to teach effectively while we were there. It used to make me feel really frustrated as it wouldn’t just be for the one class and it was expected for the following day a lot of the time. At university, I didn’t feel as annoyed by studying at home. Perhaps because we were given more time and it was for stuff I wanted to learn about. Sometimes I found the workload overbearing when I couldn’t get my assistive technology on my laptop to work converting scanned files so it could be read to me. Even though I was often in 5 days a week, I had far more free time and breathing space and deadlines were given to us in advance. 

The Journal: Part 6

 

Dyslexia and Me: X is for Xanadu

University College Cork

Xanadu! What a great word! And you didn’t think I could come up with a word for ‘X’ 😉

My favourite place(s) that represent great beauty and that have provided me with contentment was university. With my negative experiences of school, my time at university was far more positive and a generally happy experience. And though this contentment within an educational environment may have been surprising to me, the beauty in both the universities I studied at during my undergraduate degree really cannot be denied (though both had the odd really ugly building too!!!!). 

Dyslexia and Me: A Month of Blogging

So I’ve been blogging on Dyslexia and Me for over a month now! It really doesn’t feel that long at all! It has been very exciting so far. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback and it has encouraged me to look into a career in learning support (though I am still searching for answers on where and what to do next, but my dissertation is my main priority the next month or so).

Dyslexia and Me: Education System and Me – Primary School

I think it would be wrong to name and shame institutions in their failings. However, I am going to share a bit of my experiences within the education system in both Scotland and Ireland. I am going to look at the different stages separately to cover the next few weeks.

Dyslexia and Me: Dear Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I wanted to write to you to thank you for inspiring me at school. My overall experience was very negative and your classes are one of the few things I remember with fondness. After I left school, I went back to college where I was diagnosed as dyslexic. That was the reason I struggled so much in your class, couldn’t keep up with the coursework and only handed in homework once in a blue moon. You predicted I would get a 4 in my Standard Grades, but I walked out with a 1. This was because your lessons were so inspiring and interactive!