Three Cheers for Good Morning America

There was an amazing segment on Good Morning America this morning. The National Geographic channel is doing a documentary on Ben Kilham and his unique study of bears. This is very interesting but the part that really drew me in was that he attributes his ability to understand the bears to the unique way his brain functions.

Kilham is dyslexic. According to his website, BenKilham.com, he reads at a third grade level. As a child, his dreams of studying animal behavior were crushed. It was much later in his life that he was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. He also learned that his IQ is among the top 1 percent of the human population!

As soon as he discovered that he was intelligent, he knew that he could do anything. Although the way in which his brain functions did not allow him to be a great reader, it gave him other phenomenal strength that allowed him to succeed wildly in his dream field. He learned to tap into his special abilities and use those to his advantage.

This approach to dyslexia is exactly what I want for my son and his generation. I feel that every child should be allowed to embrace their interests and not let the concept of formal education stand in their way. In our school system, we determine what the child’s weaknesses are and focus on that. I wonder what would happen if we focused on the strengths and allowed the children to soar with their gifts.