I believe most people know at least one thing about Thomas Edison’s story; the prolific inventor to whom we all owe a huge debt for inventing the light bulb. Most will know he famously failed hundreds of times (rumour puts the failed attempts at 999) before he finally broke through. The exact number of attempts isn’t that significant.
Some of us may also have read that his mother withdrew him from school at just 12 years old, after his teacher concluded he was a dunce and a lost cause. “Unteachable” the teacher called him. The mother resorted to homeschooling her son whom she believed in, even if nobody else did. He was to later say that his mother made him because she refused to believe he was a failure. But how many of us are aware this world acclaimed genius achieved all he did despite being saddled with a frustrating learning disability? Few people know Thomas Edison was dyslexic. Perhaps this “handicap” explains his remarkable resolve to keep trying and trying again. This is something dyslexics have to do all their lives; try and try again. You only need to remember the story of an equally famous apparent dyslexic, Abraham Lincoln, to know that. Despite multiple setbacks and failures, he never gave up, until he clinched the biggest prize of all; the US Presidency. To dyslexics, even the simplest of words will require multiple attempts to read. Edison’s legendary determination is why his name readily rolls off the tongues of parents when admonishing their children on the virtues of determination if they desire to succeed in life.
Some time ago, I listened as the founder of the Dyslexia Foundation (Nigeria) was being interviewed on radio and was so moved with compassion that when I got home I immediately sat my children down to advice, enlighten and discuss with them, as I like to regularly do. I’m one of those who believe the essence of both formal and informal education is to groom individuals to become functional members of society; developing in them character traits that conform to what should be our societal norms, values and expectations. I see it as my duty to guide them by imparting any and every bit of knowledge I feel could put them in good stead in life. These periodic tête-à-tête do not only provide an opportunity to gauge their intellect and ability to reason but also affords me access into their minds, to gauge their capacity to love and to feel for others. In a nutshell, their character. What’s their default mode? Do they always put their interest first as is the instinct of all human beings or have they developed a level of sensitivity and generosity of spirit, to also consider the interest of others? Do they see life as a winner takes all game where they must strive to “succeed” so they can lord it over others or do they see it as an opportunity to be grabbed by both hands, to activate one’s talents to do good; to positively impact the lives of others and to leave behind a lasting legacy by making a difference?
Love, to my understanding means we want the best for others. Love therefore requires we do all we can to adequately prepare our children, wards and pupils for the future. Parents living in denial that there just might be a reason why their child is struggling in school despite his or her obvious intellectual inclination, aren’t doing their child any favours at all. To give them the best chance of making it in life, so they can fulfil their potential while adding value to mankind as we have all been ordained to do in our own peculiar way, we need to identify their challenges early, discounting what others may think or say. We must help them to surmount those challenges. Sure, go ahead. Fast and pray for God to remove this challenge but I beg one thing of you. Pray also for God to show you the purpose of the challenge, if it refuses to go away. It may well be a blessing in disguise for the child to develop other cognitive skills that God has already ordained to make room for him or her. Love them for who they are, for they are all great in their uniqueness and at the same time help them to nurture talents already divinely deposited to pilot them through life.
To do otherwise doesn’t only put one’s love in doubt but for those who have gone through the rigours of formal education, if that hasn’t influenced the way you reason, then I’m sorry to say this, you’re merely knowledgeable and not educated. If your behaviour and outlook on life remains the same, then you’ve only been privileged to have gone through school, school hasn’t gone through you. No one likes to wear the toga of an educated illiterate so let’s do what’s best for our children and not what’s best for our ego. I believe that’s true love.
It was Mahatma Ghandi who once said, “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” In alignment with this, I informed the children that the Dyslexia Foundation (Nigeria) combed through the whole of Lagos and Abuja where they have offices, searching for speech therapists but found just two. Yes, just two! Because of this they had to resort to sponsoring applicants with a Psychology background to embark on Speech Therapy training abroad. The potentials of this sector are endless but how many people have considered this career path? How many even know such exists? Many career paths are good but you better be sure it is God’s plan for you.
Though I’m not dyslexic myself, my secondary school in the UK was renowned for the attention it paid to dyslexic pupils and the special classes it conducted for them. Many of my classmates diagnosed with this condition have gone on to excel in their field of endeavour. We have lawyers, doctors, senior military officers and of course several successful entrepreneurs. With a little more care and greater awareness, the same could be said here.
So let us genuinely look out for the interest of others. Let’s not deny our children the opportunity to live meaningful lives. Let’s put aside appearances and focus on the things that matter. Let’s be more godly and not just do religion. And with that, I end with this quote by Bradley Whitford. “Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honour your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high but by doing what you can to make it happen…yourself, right now, right down here on earth.”
Changing the nation…one mind at a time.
Akande is a Surrey University graduate with a Masters in Professional Ethics. An alumnus of the Institute for National Transformation and author of two books; The Last Flight and Shifting Anchors. He can be reached via dapsakande25@gmail.com
