To say Lochie wasn't excited about high school was an understatement. But, he did already have a lot of friends there and was happy to have the opportunity to be back in touch with some older people. Socially Lochie was a little above people of his age and needed a bit more stimulating conversation.
His two older brothers were there as well, so he was going into a fairly comfortable environment, except of course, for the classroom.
The first problem we faced was that learning a second language was compulsory. Not only did the written words in English seem like a second language to him, but now he was going to have to cope with learning Geman.
His German teacher was a large German woman. She was quite loud and very serious about her teaching. She favoured the high achieving students. Lochie was not one of them.
To say Lochie had personality would be an understatement. He was funny, entertaining, popular, good looking and generally liked by everyone. Everyone except his German teacher. Even the other teachers who became frustrated at his behaviour still liked him so we could work on that. But the German teacher...well...she didn't hide the fact that she detested him.
From Lochie's recollection, most days he had German, he ended up sitting on the steps outside the portable. Not that it bothered him. He actually planned it. He knew how to get kicked out and some days it was as simple as smiling at the teacher. He was quite proud of the fact that one day, while filing into the classroom with the other kids, he smiled at the teacher and she straightaway told him to not bother coming in. Now you might be thinking it was a creepy smile...no...it was just a smile. On that particular day, he remembers feeling really happy. He had just had a chat with his new girlfriend, Bec, and was thinking about footy training that night.
Being thown out of class before he even got there did little to quash his mood and he began dancing outside the window. Yes, it was to distract people and get attention. Naughty Lochie. Most of the class laughed with him and the teacher came out ready to explode. Not many things are more amusing than a large German woman with a bright red face waving her arms around in a frenzy. Needless to say, I was called up to the school.
Meeting with the welfare coordinator, year level coordinator and German teacher was going to be a good chance for me to explain more about Lochie and hopefully develop a little more understanding from the school. I was also talking to Lochie about appropriate behaviour and better ways to deal with things too...I'm not one sided. It is not ok for him to be distracting.
We started with the German teacher standing up at the table expressing her disgust in Lochie with her bright red face and spittle flying across the table. I patiently waited for her to finish and asked if she had looked at his file.
" No", she replied, "I have many students."
"Are all you students as troublesome as Lochie?" I asked.
"None", she replied.
"So wouldn't it have made sense to have a look if there was a reason for his behaviour".
I explained about his dyslexia and his other occupational therapy issues. I gave her copies of his reports and evaluations which she turned upside down and didn't even glance over. I asked if she could understand how hard it would be for a child to learn a new language when he couldn't easily read English.
"He isn't stupid!", she said. "He is clever".
"Yes," I agreed, "but dyslexia makes communicating with writing extremely hard".
She had no intention of listening to anymore and demanded the welfare coordinator suspend him.
The welfare coordinator had a little more idea of what was going on. He suggested that Lochie do his assessment orally. She said no.
After much back and forthing, I simply said that he was to be taken out of German class.
The German teacher was horrified! "This cuts down his chances of having a career! What if he wants to go to Germany when he is older? So many things you are taking away from him."
So, as the terrible mother I am, I persisted and now have cut down his ability to go to uni and become a German teacher. Oh well. I guess if he ever does decide to visit Germany, he will need an translator, or manage to communicate without speaking German.
The teacher just didn't get it. So caught up in her own world that her country was so extremely special that everyone should visit and that nobody could possibly have any successful career without having a language to help them get into uni course. She didn't understand that I had a child suffering anxiety and that had to be the highest level of concern. Until the anxiety was reduced, Lochie would never thrive.
Many teachers just dont understand. University isn't the aim of every person. Nor do I believe that people with higher education are of higher value than anyone else. Many people I hold in high regard have never been to university, but they make a valuable contribution to society and make the world a better place.
High school continued to be a struggle for Lochie and over the next year, he spoke openly about suicide. Something that chills any mother to the core.
My next blog will tell the story of Lochies struggle with his inner demons.
If you have read my blog and are interested in hearing more, please post a quick comment or email me at tracy@nutsup.com.au and Ill keep you informed on the progress of the book. If I hear nothing, I will still write but probaby wont publish. I am so excited that Lochie is going to work with me. He says even though books make him feel sick to his stomach, he will do it in the hope that other kids wont have to feel so alone as he felt. If we can stop one child feeling like he would rather lay on railroad tracks than face another day in school, it is worth it. 
For me, I'm hoping to offer support to the parents who are supporting dyslexic children. It is so incredibly hard and the feeling of being a failure and letting your kids down is so intense. I'm wanting to let you know that you aren't alone and there are things you can learn from Lochie's story that will ease you and your child's suffering at school. 
