Hi there, I'm Joan and here's my story..

The Full Story

 

I grew up on a tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Living without electricity and running water was the norm in my remote village. School was a privilege and not a right. To be honest, I do not know how I learned to read and write since I did not have access to books at home. Growing up in my great aunt's three-bedroom house with 11 cousins and two brothers was tight.  You would think that there would be tons of books lying around or stacked on shelves everywhere. The reality is that there was not a single copy in sight. Survival was the name of the game and education was the 3rd runner up. The top priority was to ensure that water was available for drinking, bathing, and cooking. School came in third after food. 

​

 After my chores were completed for the day, I would tidy up and put on my blue and white uniform then go to my great aunt Iris. The look on her face spoke loud and clear. If there was not any lunch to come home to, she would shake her head signifying I could not go to school. It would not make sense to walk to school barefooted on the hot tar road, walk home for lunch, and walk back to school.

 

 I accepted my fate but dreamt of reading and writing all day, every day. I did not have much knowledge of the outside world, but I wanted to travel. My father lived overseas, and I wished to visit him someday. As luck would have it, I moved to Canada while I was in the 5th grade. I did not struggle with reading or writing, they just occurred. Speaking, on the other hand, required a lot of attention. I was self-conscious of the way I pronounced certain words; I knew I needed to learn how to communicate better. It wasn't a huge deal because many foreigners were living in Toronto. In fact, my best friend had recently moved from El Salvador. I told her I would help her learn English, she could help me learn Spanish, and we could learn French together, then we laughed. 

 

 Fast forward one year. I completed elementary school and junior high was in full gear. My father and stepmother informed me that we were moving to the United States. It felt as if my world had come to an end, but since we were moving to be closer to my grandmother and the rest of my family, my sadness turned into joy.

 

 Being the new kid in middle school in a new country and city was not easy. When a feisty 7th grader asked "Y'all Kin?" I had no idea what she was talking about. I found out later that she wanted to know if I was related to my brother.

 

I must have made an impression with Miss Armstrong, my Language Art teacher because she awarded me the teacher's helper award at the end of the school year. I did well enough throughout middle school and made the honor roll in high school. Once again, I have no idea how since I have little memory of actually going to school the majority of the school year while growing up in Jamaica. My childhood dream was to become a teacher, but I did not know how that dream would come to fruition. I felt I had some gaps in my education (reading), but I proceeded.

 

 I attended Broward Community College straight out of high school. After earning my Associates’ Degree, I joined the United States Army because I wanted to serve my country while exploring the world and continue in my education. While serving in the Republic of South Korea, I had the opportunity to tour the country. Kind of like a field trip for soldiers. I had a blast! The best part of my tour was getting to interact with a group of children who were on their field trip. I knew right then that I really wanted to become a teacher. 

 

After completing my service, I left the army, and completed my Bachelor's Degree at Excelsior College. I went to my first interview in August of 2002. It was for a kindergarten teaching position. My heart was set on teaching Second grade, but I accepted the job. Being a kindergarten teacher turned out to be very fulfilling to the extent that I spent 7 years teaching hundreds of "little" people how to read and write. To be honest, during that time, I learned a thing or two myself. Kindergarten was the perfect place to be.

 

 I did not want to remain stagnant, so I asked to teach pre-kindergarten since I knew what skills students would need to be successful in kindergarten. I also taught First Grade because I wanted to see how much growth would take place in one school year. I discovered that First Grade was one of the toughest grades because there was a huge gap between students who grasped the concept of reading and those who struggled to read.

 

My two sons

 

 Fast forward a few years, my husband and I received a phone call from our 8th grader's English teacher. She stated, "I think your son is dyslexic." No, I don't think so,” was my reply. He went to school with me for five years and he passed all his classes and state testing. He was tested and sure enough, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Life went on; he attended the dyslexia lab daily and did fine in school.

 My youngest son was in second grade, and I noticed that homework would take “forever” to complete. He was frustrated, angry and mad at himself because it would take him a long time to figure out the words he was supposed to be reading.  

 

 Since his spelling tests were on Fridays, Thursday nights were the worst for him. As an experienced elementary teacher who has helped hundreds of children read and write successfully, I couldn't understand why my son was having such a hard time remembering letters and words. He was calling out words, instead of reading fluently. I would tell him “Stop word calling and read fluently."  By the look on his face, I could tell that he was discouraged. 

I worked with him trying to figure out how to get the letters, sounds and words to stick.

 

 His teacher informed me that he was struggling in his reading groups and may need to be tested. She stated that his comprehension is great when I read out loud, but when he reads, it takes him a long time compared to his classmates. She suggested that he may be a student who could benefit from a special education program. After allowing our son to get tested, he was identified as a student with dyslexic characteristics.  He received instruction from the Wilson Reading System (WRS) and he improved his reading over time. He was no longer "word-calling," but was using the strategies he had learned to read better. A few years later, we decided to homeschool our children.  I continued to work with our youngest son and provided the necessary accommodations for reading and writing assignments. His spelling was a challenge, but we practiced daily. I know at times, he was hard on himself because he saw how his younger sister was reading chapter books with ease and anything she could get her hands on. He was challenged. 

 

Our daughter has been in the gifted and talented classes since kindergarten, and I know he wished he could read as well as she does. The following year, all three children attended private school. Dyslexia service was not available at the school even though I had given my youngest son's 504 Plan to the school's administrators. I continued to work with my son and gave him his accommodations. His reading continued to improve. At the end of his ninth-grade year in public school, he said he wanted to get out of his dyslexia class because it's for kids who really, need it. He opted to take a foreign language since he needs it for college.

 

Javon is a junior and in his second year of Spanish. He's a running back on his school's varsity football team. He wants to save the world by performing skits and writing and singing songs.  He wants to be a videographer and travel the world and make people laugh. Javon is so proud of himself, and I couldn't be more proud of him. He and his sister wrote their first book to help children stay engaged during the pandemic.

 

Becoming  a Dyslexia Teacher

After earning my Master's Degree, the opportunity to work with dyslexic students presented itself and I jumped on it. I received the Wilson Reading System (WRS) training and have been working with dyslexic students in the classroom and online. I have witnessed tremendous growth and progress from my students, but I am blown away because I realize that my online students have made just as much progress as my face to face students. It is a joy knowing that I can make a difference inside and outside of the classroom.