Fish in a tree

By: Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Location: FIC HUN
Genre:  Could be a true story- but isnt

 This book had me swiveling on my library chair reading happily. It was like reading my sons own story- super intelligent, spunky, quick as a fiddle, amazingly  gifted with oral and verbal skills- sometimes misdirected but often used as compensation.
He had to survive high school years with dyslexia.
Some years he had teachers who just did not get it, and made his life extremely difficult, like asking an obese man to run a marathon, each day.  Often he was told "Common- just write down what you are saying- write it!" They could of asked him to speak Russian with the same results.
He has made it, he is my hero, he is working with kids kicked out of school as an outdoor instructor, many of whom have also learning difficulties.
I guess it was our support and belief but also Mr Peters and Mrs Dixon and Miss Taigels. Tyler got an excellence in Yr 13 English- because of them! The power of a believing teacher!

So this story is very very real to me and I want teachers and bullies of dyslexic kids to read it. I know of very few people who have an EQ as high as my sons, intelligence is not school worksheets, or essays, it is how you hold what you are taught and then use that to make an impact into your world.

“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
 
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike


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