Journey into Dyslexia (2011)

Journey into DyslexiaThis past weekend I watched a DVD called Journey into Dyslexia. It was an HBO documentary from 2011. Here is the link to the trailer. It was really good in so many ways. It reminded me of the The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia that I saw back in February 2014, directed by James Redford and he came to my school and talked with some parents before our big evening event where his film was shown to the community.

Journey into Dyslexia was a documentary on HBO. I don’t know how I missed it but I am glad a family friend told me to watch it. The film shows many students’ (mainly high school) struggles and how some were even suicidal (in the 6th grade). Many stories just tore at my heart strings. It amazes me what teachers have said to these students to tear them down more and most teachers who don’t understand different learners are  likely to not even realize (or care) the devastation they are creating by putting a child down because they can’t write their own name or spell or read well, etc. They showed two schools (high schools) for different learners, one in NY and one in PA, and adults who are dyslexic and struggled terribly in school and succeeded in life. Many of the adults say they would never want to ‘get rid of’ their dyslexia today. “Dyslexia is a gift” it is what made them who they are today. In hindsight they would have done anything back in school to have gotten rid of their dyslexia and glad they couldn’t. it, it’s only 77 minutes long. Available on HBO Go, Amazon, Netflix and check your local public library.  http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/journey-into-dyslexia#/