When I was 10 years old
My 4th grade teacher gave me my report card
And she said
"The only reason you have these grades is because
You don't try
You're lazy"
I don't try?
I'm lazy?
But I get up every day
Get my 8 year old brother fed, dresses and on the bus
Do my homework on the bus
Because the yelling is too loud at home
And I can't think
I don't know why I write my letters backwards
I've always done that
I don't know why I spell things wrong
I've always done that
I don't know why I have trouble in math
I always have
But instead or helping me by talking to my parents
Or maybe getting me tested for learning disabilities
You give me this report card and tell me
I don't try
I'm lazy
Well what if I tell you the school system
Doesn't try
Is lazy
Because until I moved to Hawaii in 6th grade
I never had a teacher who could give me what I needed
I had a teacher who cared in 5th grade
Thank you, Mrs. Kanehen
But even she didn't have the resources to help me
And that is why to this day
I don't know how to do long division
I don't know how to write cursive
I don't know my times tables
I don't know how to multiply fractions
I don't know how to multiply without a calculator
I don't know how to divide without a calculator
I don't know basic math skills
Because my teachers couldn't teacher a learning disabled child
So why is it like this?
Why are kids who need help left in the dirt
Simply because their brains work differently
I will never understand
YOU ARE READING
Growing Up With Learning Disabilities
PoetryWhen I was a kid I didn't get what I needed from my teachers in school. This led to me, at 19 years old, not knowing basically skills that children normally learn in elementary school.
