Series of Poems/ Allegories of Children with Learning Disabilities
In Their Point of View
I went to school and I couldn’t read
I thought it was temporary.
While others reached to higher levels.
I stayed struggling.
I thought,
This will pass like anything else.
My teachers gave no support.
They continued to fail me,
Like this was my fault.
But the worst part?
For the longest time I thought it was.
Turns out, I had Dyslexia.
And then they felt bad.
They gave me those looks.
Those sympathetic looks,
They felt sorry for me.
I hated them for it.
I kept thinking it would all blow over.
I waited and really still waiting.
I can read and write now
An improvement,
But I’m in Sixth Grade.
I learned in Fifth.
Sometimes my parents don’t even talk to me
It’s sad, yes, but I can’t say I don’t know why.
I do badly.
I mean I’m bad at everything.
I get in trouble with the teachers, my friends
Though sometimes my friends don’t talk to me either…
It’s probably because of the fights I get in.
I’m not so great at school.
When I should know the answer
I blank.
So I try to cover it up,
By being a wise mouth.
I’d rather be known as “bad”
Than stupid.
What’s wrong with me?
Everything should be easy
Like it is for everyone else.
It’s far from easy.
Don’t tell anyone I said any of this, though.
I wouldn’t want it getting out that I’m dim.
Math really isn’t my strong point.
I can’t grasp it.
Sometimes I get so close to understanding.
Soon enough it slips from my fingers.
I’ve got dyscalculia.
But I’m not ashamed.
Some bullies make fun of me.
They say I’ll never do anything with my life,
If I can’t learn math.
I don’t let ‘em get me,
Because I know that’s what they want.
I won’t give it to them.
I know I’m different,
And I’m kind of proud.
I guess it makes me unique.
I’ve always craved to be distinctive from others.
It’s in a not so great way,
But I got what I wanted.
Someday math won’t be hard though,
But I’ll still be an individual
Because of dyscalculia.
The Great Depression
I choose this topic because I find it so interesting and intriguing I can only imagine how much so this would be for young children. It’s funny, because I act like this time period was just something to talk about. I tend to forget that this actually happened, people lost their homes, parents lost their jobs, families lost everything. “It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.”
I first got the idea when I was thinking about some of my favorite childhood books. I figured if I could find an interesting topic from one of those, I could turn my story into something different and new, but also interesting. I thought of the book series “Kit: The American Girl Doll”. I used to read these series over and over, I’d sit for hours. Kit lives in the time period of the Great Depression, I learned from a young age about the this time and it fascinated me. I decided that I wanted to fascinate others.
I also found this topic appropriate being in the economical state the U.S. is in right now, we are “recovering” from a year long recession. I think if I turned a story about the Depression into an allegory, children would better understand what’s really going on in the world, they won’t have it thrown on them like it was thrown on me.
Sure, through picture books I learned about the environment and how to collaborate; plenty of things I could use later in life. But I knew absolutely nothing about the government or how harsh the world can be. I really couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that my parents weren’t rich. I couldn’t believe that the economy actually does affect me, I couldn’t believe the things that did happen were that extreme. That’s why a book about the economy- the Depression- could really benefit children if not get them curious and get them wondering. They need to wonder about things. I know from experience, living in a bubble, really is not ideal.
