October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and on Wednesday, October 21st, Senior School students and staff at Trinity College School showed their support by participating in the School’s first “Mark it Read for Dyslexia” Day.
Promoted by the Senior School library and led by library assistant Viola Lyons, the day was a chance for our school community to learn more about dyslexia. “Mark it Read” is a response to the experience people with dyslexia have all too often, seeing their work covered in red marks indicating errors. By “marking it read instead of red,” the campaign seeks to shift focus from red pens to reading success.
It is estimated that between 15% and 20% of the population experiences some degree of dyslexia. In a school the size of TCS, this would equal as many as 165 people having some difficulty with written language. Dyslexia is unrelated to intelligence. The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity notes, “In fact, dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often, paradoxically, are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.”
While there is no “cure” for dyslexia, there are many strategies which can help those with dyslexia to read and write successfully. One of the most important strategies is emotional support.
The Senior School library created a special display in honour of Mark it Read Day, and had treats to hand out on Wednesday and Thursday. Students and staff wore the colour red to show their support, and also helped to raise awareness through social media posts. In advisor meetings, students watched a video (click here to view) and discussed aspects of dyslexia and advocacy. Senior School houses competed for a prize offered by the library and students were also encouraged to take part in the national contest hosted by Dyslexia Canada throughout the month of October.
Ms. Lyons notes that support for the first-ever Mark it Read Day at TCS was very inspiring.
