The Arrogant Jerk

CHAPTER 33

I walk inside the empty lab to find some of the teachers and an unfamiliar lady already seated. There are two strange men in suits outside. I guess this is Mesuli’s parent or guardian. I smile at everyone and go stand at the front. I am a bit nervous about what I am about to say to all these people but I remember my motto ‘NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND’. So I am going to do this thing, even though it’s a bit scary.

“Hey, Mesuli.” I greet him. He is sitting at the front alone. He smiles and waves at me. I hand him a clean paper and a pen. “I need you to go to my office which. Sit down and write on that paper. Write about something that makes you happy. Write about a few occasions in life where you were completely carefree and happy. If you run out of paper, feel free to take one from my desk.” He frowns but doesn’t say anything. He stands up and heads out.

I clear my throat and move my eyes around the room. “I won’t beat around the bush. I will go straight to what has brought us here today. Firstly, I am Miss Chizoba Gwendaline, Mesuli’s Life Science teacher. Thank you for coming here today and clearing your schedule for this. First things first, do we all know what dyslexia is?” a few teachers nod while others shake their heads. Mesuli’s mother is still.

“It’s a learning disorder that makes a student’s learning ability slow or very difficult.” One teacher states and I nod.

“Thank you for that answer. I will not dwell in the explanation. Please take note of everything I am about to say. Dyslexia is caused by an overburden of impairments in reading abilities that the person cannot adjust with effectively. Dyslexia doesn’t mean the person is intellectually low. Rather, a person with dyslexia may have a better intelligence quotient than a regular person. There are four types of dyslexia:

- PHONOLOGICAL DYSLEXIA which involves difficulty in processing sounds of the individual letters and syllables and cannot match them with the written forms.

- SURFACE DYSLEXIA involves difficulty in recognizing whole words which probably result from vision issues or visual processing difficulties in the brain.

- RAPID NAMING DEFICIT involves difficulty in naming a letter, number, colour, or object quickly and automatically. Speed is low and takes time to name them.

- DOUBLE DEFICIT DYSLEXIA. A person with Double Deficit Dyslexia (DDD) shows deficits in both the phonological process and naming speed. The majority of the weakest readers fall under this category.

Are you guys still with me?” I ask and they all nod. Mesuli’s mother has leaned in and seems to be a bit interested in this. Good.

“The last type of dyslexia which is Double deficit dyslexia is very important for our discussion. I am no medical doctor who usually does evaluations or tests for such disorders but I am quite observant and in my week teaching in this school, I have observed that one of the leaners may have DDD. Dyslexia symptoms differ according to each age group. For teens and adults, the symptoms are as follows;

• The person takes time processing or summarizing what they read or write.
• They struggle with spelling or learning a new language.
• They mispronounce words or have difficulty memorizing text or doing math.
• Difficulty reading aloud.
• Difficulty conveying a story.
• Poor handwriting.
• Poor academic performance.

Now as I have stated the above symptoms, with regards to Mesuli, is there something you guys wanna share?” I ask and one teacher stands up.

“I am Mr. Chouinard, Mesuli’s German teacher.” I nod. His Mesuli pronunciation is funny, but we are the same. “Mesuli struggles so much with learning German and it’s not even about the language being foreign. I once said to him I am going to chase him out of my class because, and I apologize deeply for what I am about to say, he is too stupid for me to teach. He begged me and asked that I give him time. He is so slow, I actually have to spend an extra 20 minutes with him after every class so that I can check if he heard well.” He sits down and I see Mesuli’s mother clenching her jaws and looking at the wall. I can understand her pain.

“I am Miss Ximba, his math teacher. He is a very special kid. I have some understanding with him. By the end of January, I noticed how he usually failed math and I was concerned. So I decided to pay attention to him. I actually watched him do a sum and it was a painful thing to watch. He kept clenching his jaws, squeezing his pen and frowning. 20 minutes passed and he hadn’t written anything. I gave myself homework and type when I observed online. I found out about dyslexia and I tried to give him as many methods as I could to help him with math. He went for one that seemed easy to him and he has been passing math ever since. I thought he had difficulties with numbers only, that’s why I never said anything.” She sits down and all the other teachers stand one by one, telling their different stories. Some are a bit painful because other kids have actually made fun of Mesuli before and the teachers did nothing about this.

Mesuli’s mother stands up at the end and looks around. “I feel a bit ashamed because I am a workaholic. I don’t pay attention to most things, including what might seem to be a learning difficulty with my son. It’s true, my husband is the more hands-on parent than me and he wanted to come here today, he is just out of town on business. I have observed certain behaviours from my son from a young age but I didn’t take note to it. His speech was a bit audible at the age of 4 and at the age of 7, that’s when he knew how to write his name, surname and some alphabets. So he actually started grade R at the age of 8 which is very late. I won’t disclose everything but what I can say is that thank you, Miss Gwendaline for being so observant and raising this in an open platform like this. It’s much better to find out about this through a teacher and not a gossip blog.”
“It’s my pleasure.” She smiles and sits down. Mesuli chooses that moment to reenter the room. He hands me the papers and scratches his head.

“I don’t know if I have done well.” He murmurs and I smile.
“Do you want to present or read this in front of everyone?” I ask and he quickly shakes his word.
“I am not comfortable with public speaking.” I nod.

“I understand. Well as a reader myself, I can’t wait to dive into this essay. I will give you my feedback tomorrow.” He smiles. “You can go wait for your mother outside.”
“I have practice.” He says looking at his mother.
“We will see each other at home.” She responds and he nods before heading out. I turn to everyone.

“I will make a copy for everyone to read tomorrow. Before we conclude our meeting, there are a few Dos and Don’ts when dealing with someone who is dyslexic. The first and important rule is to not shout at the person. Trust him. Be patient with him. Help him learn in his own way. Give him the time he needs. Help him keep faith in himself. Be by his side and help him rise when he falls. Encourage him when he struggles. Treat him equally, he is not different but unique. Focus on his strengths and remember, he is gifted. That’s all from me. Thank you for coming and I hope together we will help Mesuli reach his true potential. I hope we won’t help only him but other students here at the school who have the same disorder as him. Have a great evening.”

We converse with the teachers a bit and they leave. Mesuli’s mother stands up and comes to me. She clears her throat and straightens. She looks so gorgeous and she smells really nice and expensive. I wonder what type of job she does.

“Thank you for what you have done for my son. Someone else would’ve demanded money just to help him but you have done all this from the goodness of your heart. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”

“My family is very famous, especially in this province. So, please don’t share with anyone anything with regards to my son.” I frown. I am wondering what’s special about her family “Oww you don’t know?” she asks. “That’s a first. My husband is the mayor, Mayor Mthimkhulu and I am the National Prosecutor.” Wow. That means she is more important than her husband.

“I didn’t know about any of that, Mrs. Mthimkhulu, but what you and your husband do doesn’t concern me. I am only concerned about the wellbeing of your son. That’s what I get paid for.” She nods.

“I hope it stays that way. My husband may come see you. As I said, he is the more hands on parent, so he will want full explanation from you.”
“I don’t mind giving it to him.”
“We shall see each other soon.” she gives me half a hug and heads out. That was awkward. I head to my office, take my bag and walk to the parking lot.

Amongst four of the luxurious cars that he owns, Makho decided to give me his Jaguar F-Pace. It’s the least flashy car that he owns. The other ones were too much and he didn’t wanna take no for an answer. I slide inside and drive out.
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For those who may find the chapter boring, it was dedicated to dyslexic people. I hope you got educated about the disorder through this chapter.