S3E4: From Playing School to Becoming the Teacher I Never Had - Colleen’s Dyslexia Story

Do you want to discover a college experience that goes beyond the norm, without feeling labeled or limited? I've got the solution for you to explore a whole new world of possibilities. Get ready to break free from the ordinary and dive into a college experience that's all about empowerment and growth.

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Discover effective dyslexia support strategies for your child's education.
• Explore valuable tips for selecting colleges that cater to students with dyslexia.
• Gain insight into the experiences of teachers who have dyslexia and how they navigate their roles.
• Learn about the unique challenges and resources available for dyslexic students in New York City.
• Understand the impact of social environments on learning disabilities and how to create supportive spaces for your child.

My special guest is Colleen Coppola.

Colleen Coppola, a passionate educator and dyslexia advocate, joins Juliet Hahn and Brent Sopel as a special guest on this episode. Having navigated her own dyslexia journey from a young age, Colleen brings a unique perspective to the conversation. Her experiences as a teacher with dyslexia and her insights into the impact of the social environment on learning disabilities provide valuable knowledge and support strategies for parents of children with dyslexia. With a warm and engaging personality, Colleen's journey and expertise promise to shed light on the challenges and triumphs of living with dyslexia, offering practical and heartfelt advice for families on a similar path.

Transcript:

00:00:02
Welcome back to word blindness, dyslexia exposed. I am Juliet Hahn, here with my co host, Brent Sopol. How are you? Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. The branches on the tree go shake, shake, shake.

00:00:17
And now you're hitting. Yeah. Remember, this is coming out after Christmas. But. So we are.

00:00:22
Yes, we are recording before Christmas. And we have another special guest, Colleen Coppola. How are you? Good. How are you?

00:00:30
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. I know. So. Can't believe she got up this early just for us.

00:00:35
I know. So we are. We are recording Christmas Eve, which is. Which is big. But Connolly, we have as.

00:00:42
We'll dive into this. There's so many different tentacles and octopus legs and whatever you want to say here. I just gave. Not the best scenario, but I want to kind of preface because Connie and I were connected. Don't Italians do like the 12 fishes?

00:00:58
That is. Actually, I never did that before, but that is on my bucket list for when I have a family of my own. Families are overrated. Trust me. I'm sorry.

00:01:08
Families are overrated. Nothing but drama. Drunk and the gay uncle in the corner.

00:01:17
I have to say another thing that we. I know we just talked about Hahn Hahn being the most amazing human. He actually does Christmas Eve and he does the seven fishes. Oh, he does. It's not the.

00:01:28
It's not the 12 fishes. It's the seven fishes. But. And what are the seven fishes you can make? It's whatever fishes you want, I think.

00:01:37
But maybe not well. So here's the. I'm going to preference again. Is it fish or fishes? Fishes.

00:01:43
Seven fishes. How. How do you spell that? More than one fish. We're not having a spelling bee here.

00:01:50
The other thing is. Is that Hahn grew up in the Bronx in a neighborhood that it was very Italian. So we call him a fake Italian because he's German Irish. And my mom was like, you do the seven fishes. But because of it.

00:02:02
Where. But my mom is half Italian, so. And we didn't. And you're Jewish, and we didn't really do. People will ask me.

00:02:10
I'm like, no, I'm Christian. Yes. We're a hodgepodge of everything. Anyways. Are you a gypsy too?

00:02:17
I probably am a gypsy. That's right. There's a. There's a lot of stuff in there. Right?

00:02:23
Brent is in rare form as we can. We can all feel. And poor, poor Colleen. But she's been listening to the podcast since it came out because again, we were connected years and years ago. I don't remember how.

00:02:36
I know it was our Friend Colleen connected us. And then we were talking about something, and I think I said, oh, don't mind my spelling. I'm dyslexic. And you're like, wait, I'm dyslexic? And then it was kind of this whole, oh, my gosh.

00:02:48
And I was in it with Montgomery. Yes. And it was before I even had, you know, met Brent. But. But you have been one of the people that I've said I wanted to get on the podcast because I watched you through your journey at High Point.

00:03:01
And then Brent was always. And he says this on the podcast a lot. I've never really met a teacher with dyslexia with the five Ds that goes into teaching. And I was like, oh, my God. No, wait, I have apologize, because, you know, I rip on teachers a lot.

00:03:18
But, you know, because there's not many teachers with a specific learning disability, and there's not many teachers who understand what is. What it's like to have dyslexia, to have adhd, to have anxiety, depression, to have all those things. There's not many teachers like that. I think I only had one teacher throughout my whole education experience that had dyslexia, and that was. Her name was Ms.

00:03:42
Krile. She taught at Winston Prep. She was an alum of Winston Prep, and she had dyslexia. So how many teachers do you, since you're young, in your path that, you know, obviously you just said you had one, but any. Do you know of anyone that you're working with now or that you went to school with during your journey that is dyslexic, too?

00:04:03
That's a very good question. I had one student in my class at a High Point. He was dyslexic, and he went into teaching. But as I'm thinking about it, I don't. I don't think so.

00:04:14
I have many friends who went into teaching who they had. They thought they had a reading disability, or they say they're dyslexic, but they're really not. Oh, yeah. And then, you know, and that's when I cringe, too, because it's. And it's like, no, you're not.

00:04:28
Like, don't make it as an excuse. Like, just because you, you know, you read, you miss a word in a sentence, doesn't automatically mean, boom, I'm dyslexic. But it's like, no, you have to have a. You know, you have to go through the process. You have to, you know, have a, you know, neuropsych.

00:04:42
Evaluation. You have to do all of that before you say, boom, I'm dyslexic. Because the accommodations are not just not handed to you. They're not and they shouldn't be. You have to go through the process like everybody else.

00:04:54
So, Colleen, I. I mean, I think it's. There's so much. So much that we want to kind of dive in with you. I mean, one, the fact that you went into teaching, we're going to go down that path.

00:05:05
But if you can take us through a little bit of when you were diagnosed and that path, like, if you remember struggling early because, I mean, you were young. So how old are you now? Before we. Let's preface. I'm 24.

00:05:17
I just turned 24 on December 8th. That's right. Happy birthday. That's not Capricorn, is it? I'm a Sagittarius.

00:05:25
I got my birthday in two weeks. So her not your birthday. Her and I are the same people.

00:05:33
I like Capricorns, though. I think I'm a Capricorn moon. I have the @ co star. Oh, I love that. Here you go.

00:05:41
Because I love all stuff. I love all this. I love all this and I always will. Send. We got magnetic force coming from Iepo.

00:05:50
Do you do over there? So this is going on in the universe. I'm like, I don't know. I do. If he's having a bad.

00:05:55
I'll be like, oh, I just want to tell you there's a lot of stuff happening in the universe right now. And he's like, I don't care. There's some science behind that, though. 100%. Yeah.

00:06:04
And I think, you know, to me. Is I have a hard enough time in my life outside myself, then you. Don'T want to know what's going on. Yeah, I can't figure anything else out. So, yeah, leave it up to Juliet.

00:06:19
Right. I'll send them those little clips. So we'll rein everyone back in. When did you get diagnosed and do you have, like, kind of recollections of that? Why teaching?

00:06:33
So I was diagnosed at the age of 6 years old when I was at a Yonkers public school. And I was in a, I believe it's an ICT class where there was the general education teacher and the special education teacher and the special education teacher that I had at the time. Her name was Mrs. Weinstein. She was, you know, an older lady, but she had a lot of knowledge and passion.

00:06:54
She didn't come across like that, to be honest with you. But I remember her telling My parents or my parents telling me that, you know, there's something wrong. What was an ICS class? An ICT class? The.

00:07:08
The special education teacher and the general education teacher. It's a New York term. Okay. That's why I said. It'S a New York.

00:07:17
You guys are on a whole different island there. Yeah, I know. Yeah. It's integrated class, but, yeah. So it can be in Illinois now.

00:07:25
I don't know about Canada. So these. A lot of these. Some of these terms and yo. And this kind of preface, you know, I don't mean to.

00:07:31
Is that a lot of these states have different terms. Yeah. So that's why I asked that explanation, because this might be a different term in South Carolina or in Alaska or whoever, wherever they might be listening so that they have an understanding of what those ICT words are. Yeah, no, I totally get that, because when I was studying in North Carolina, their turns were different than New York. So then I was like, oh, wait, this is like, kind of the same thing.

00:07:57
Yeah, it's very interesting. So I was in the ICT class, and they said to my parents, like, look, she needs to be tested. You know, I had a hard time focusing in class. You know, I. I could never spell.

00:08:09
It was just. I had a hard time reading. I. I was always on the lowest reading level you can imagine. So my parents were like, okay, you know, she needs to go be tested.

00:08:18
So I was tested at the age of six, and, you know, they found out I was dyslexic. And that was through Mrs. Silverstein. She was like a education. I guess she was an education, like psychologist or something.

00:08:32
So she tested me, but anytime I would go there, she would give me candy at the end. So I remember being like, oh, wait, she's fun. Like, she would give me these weird evaluations and these weird tests, but I got candy at the end. I was kind of, like, looking forward to it, in a sense, because I got candy at the end. Right.

00:08:48
I still try and find that candy at the end now, too. So I remember going to her office in Scarsdale, and I remember being tested a couple of times, but I never understood. He has so much candy.

00:09:03
I love it. And I remember going to her office in Scarsdale, and I remember, you know, being tested and all this other stuff. And then I wanted. But, like, it's funny, my parents never really told me when I was dyslexic. That's a.

00:09:16
That's a story that should be said. But I was second grade. I was in the same type of classroom, ict. And then it was in the third grade. The Yonkers Public School District, they did away with the ICT classrooms.

00:09:30
So now everybody was in general ed and I was in the classroom with, like 28 people. And my. It just didn't work out for the year. It was an awful year. The teachers really didn't understand me because there was so many kids, you know, there was.

00:09:44
They got rid of the special ed teacher, you know, in that ict.

00:09:49
So I had to be pulled out now. So now I had this special teacher coming in. She was pulling me in and out. Okay. And that really wasn't great for my learning style.

00:09:58
And my parents were like, oh, my goodness, she needs to go find another school. And then I was searching for the school process in Westchester County. It was kind of awful because there was not many private schools for students with learning differences at the time. And there was only one, and it was called the Windward School. They're in.

00:10:16
They're now in the city now they're in White Plains and all this other. Not Garden City.

00:10:24
I lived in Garden City. So. Yeah, no, there was no. But, yeah, I mean, that's a win word, right? There's.

00:10:29
It's in White Plains and in the city. And that was, right, one of the. The kind of first ones that were just strictly for dyslexia. I remember touring the school, but unfortunately they told me that I was, quote, unquote, too dyslexic to go there. And they said that they couldn't.

00:10:47
Yeah, and they said that I couldn't really learn from there or keep up with their academics. And then looking back, what they told my parents and as a teacher now. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Your school for kids with dyslexia? And now you're saying that I'm too dyslexic to go there?

00:11:04
Like, they don't give us. Now let me go on my right. They don't give a fuck. They didn't give a fuck about you, Colleen. You had to fit to their mold to make their money.

00:11:13
And this is where I get mad. Where the teachers. I get mad at teachers. We all deserve it. We're too dyslexic because we don't meet your business plan.

00:11:21
You don't give a fuck about us. Yeah, speaking of money, the school back then cost like I45 to 50,000, which is outrageous. Back in 2009. That's a, you know, a shit ton of money. And my parents, you know, they were obviously going to sue the Yonkers public school districts.

00:11:36
And then my mom and I were just Having this conversation when I was looking at teaching jobs and Windward was one of the applicants. And then, you know, they were like, oh, like, you know, Boeing back. Like, they didn't think Yonkers was going to pay them and like, all this other stuff, because a lot of people that went to that fancy dyslexia school were from Greenwich, they were from Rye, they were from Bronxville, they were, you know, from these very wealthy areas in Westchester. You know, why couldn't you help somebody from Yonkers who is, you know, just, you know, dyslexic, who, you know, it just, like, it just all didn't make sense. And it's obviously these schools, at the end of the day, they are very greedy.

00:12:12
They cost them, you know, so much money to go there. And then you're saying that you can't even help a child who's too dyslexic to go there. Like, that's. If your mission is to help those with dyslexia, then why are you not. Like, it just.

00:12:24
It just doesn't add up. It doesn't add up, you know, And Colleen and I don't know if I ever shared the story with you, because that was one of the schools that we looked at for Montgomery when we were in Connecticut. Oh, really? And he. Because of his disc, his dyscalcula, they're like, we don't have a space for him.

00:12:39
And I was like, okay, what are you talking about? Like, it's supposed to be a learning. And. And so. And then he got into the Southport School, and he actually much rather the Southport School because he liked.

00:12:48
It was. It was just more free and it wasn't as, like, structured. He had a number of friends that went to Windward, though, because where we were in Connecticut, it was like, oh, Windward's like the Harvard. Why wouldn't you go there? And I was like.

00:13:01
I was like, no, I'm not going to go to a place that says, okay, they don't have a space for all of his learning disabilities. It doesn't make any sense. And then later they were like, oh, we found a space. And we were like, no, forget it. Like, it's like, Connecticut has a lot of schools, too.

00:13:15
You have Eagle Hill. You have. I forget there's another one, but. Yeah, well, so Southport School used to be called Eagle. Eagle Hill.

00:13:22
So Eagle Hill and Greenwich, but they're not the same school. It was very confusing. So Southport is a very small. It's like only 100 kids all together, but. And it's not Just dyslexia.

00:13:34
It's also adhd. So there was. It's mixed like with Windward it was like you only had to. But they still don't. They don't have behavior problems.

00:13:41
It's. It's really just strictly learning. It's if someone learns differently when we're. I mean Eagle Hill and Greenwich, they took also kids that maybe had some like learning but also some behavior stuff. And so we actually decided to go to Southport because it was smaller and Montgomery didn't have behavior stuff and it just made sense.

00:14:01
And when we're didn't have any sports, that's the other thing is like Southport had sports. Oh really? Yeah, they didn't have any sports. So you like. There was no like that camaraderie.

00:14:10
And I didn't know I just say that it's so much camaraderie. I can't say that word. Yeah. So much bullshit that when it comes to this, you know, to your point is. So how many of those schools are ran by non dyslexics?

00:14:23
You know, Juliet talked to. We talked to some parents from. It was a Prep school. So 95,000. Boarding school.

00:14:35
$95,000. It was. Yeah. Was that mess. No, that was New York.

00:14:42
New York. It was New York. Yeah.

00:14:46
It was upstate. But that wasn't strictly dyslexia. But yes, that was a boarding school. Prep school or whatever you. Whatever.

00:14:55
Whatever that right. Terminology is for learning disorders ran by a non dyslexic. So we got in touch them. They pulled the hockey program. No self esteem.

00:15:04
Right. You know, you talk about there. The other thing to add to that. There's no high school. Right.

00:15:09
None of these schools have high school. They don't give a about your kid because they don't want to deal with. The story behind that too. That I would like to unwrap. Yeah.

00:15:18
Oh please. We unwrap all day long. And this is. I get these calls all the time. Yeah.

00:15:23
What I do, you know, I got my kids. Let's just use. You know, as in a Southport. Now do I put him back in public school? I got.

00:15:30
Where do I go? What do I do? He's just getting comfortable. Then I got to take him away. But you go ahead.

00:15:35
Yeah. So Windward didn't work out. So my parents were like, oh my goodness, we gotta find another school. So I don't know how we found out about this. It's like a whole different story.

00:15:45
So my mom's friend at the time belonged to St. Joe's in Bronxville and she Saw an ad for the John Carnell O'Connor School in Irvington. It's a private Catholic school for students with learning differences. So my parents, they applied. You know, we went, I toured, and they're like, we'll take her.

00:16:05
So obviously, the Oncos public schools weren't working out. I'm Catholic. I didn't have to go to CCD in the afternoon. So my parents were like, great, we'll send her there, right? So in the fourth grade, I started at John Connell Connor School.

00:16:18
And it was. I really didn't want to go there because when you're at a public school From K to 3, all your friends are there. Change is hard. And, like, I really didn't want to go, but in order to meet my learning style, I had to go. And by the time of this, I didn't know I was dyslexic.

00:16:33
I had no idea. My parents didn't tell me. Like, I didn't even know why I was changing schools. They just didn't tell you? No.

00:16:41
What did they say? What was the terminology that they used to you? That. Why, like, did you. You just learn differently or you're just different or what?

00:16:49
What would they say? Because of the class sizes were too big and which they were. So I was kind of, like, going along with it. I was like, oh, okay, I'm gonna. Listen to mom and dad.

00:17:03
Yeah. Because I had to. Anyway, so I was in the fourth grade there, and, you know, it was, like, rough because there was, like, bullying was going on, and there was a lot of, like, you know, these new. These girls that were treating the new girl like shit, and it was just, like. It was awful.

00:17:18
Absolutely awful. And. But anyway, things just got better. And then I went to fif grade, sixth grade, seventh grade. But throughout those years at JCOs, it was kind of like, a lot of friends, like, come in and out of my life, and then I never really had a steady friend group.

00:17:35
So here's the time when it comes to applying to high schools. So obviously, in Westchester county, it's very clicky. It's very, like. Especially with the private schools, too. Especially with the private Catholic schools, might I add.

00:17:48
Like, if you want to, like, you know, apply to these private schools, you have a little social click, so you automatically have that. And that's something I didn't have at de Charo PSA, and I didn't have that at John Colin O'Connor. So great. I get to rebrand myself when I apply to all these Catholic high schools. I applied to Ursuline Which I really didn't like.

00:18:10
It's a newer show. It's, you know, I was not really sold on it. My sister in law went there. Yeah. Oh, really?

00:18:16
And then I applied to Holy Child where Colleen rent. And I fell in love with the school. It was small class sizes, just like this cool clique. It was an all girls school. I was looking to make friends because I didn't have a lot of friends at the time.

00:18:29
And I remember going to their seventh grade. Look ahead and you know, they had a learning support program and they had all these things and it went great. I went for an interview and the, the person who interviewed me was an alum, she knew Colleen. And it just felt like, it felt great. Like, it felt like I could go here.

00:18:47
Even though it was this college prep school, they had the help. She told me she could see me in the halls of Holy Child and like all this other stuff. And then like, I didn't get it because I couldn't keep up with their academics. You know, it's like they kind of like big promised me in a sense, because it was like they had said all these things. They said they could see me in the halls, you know, we didn't need financial assistance.

00:19:10
Like, it was just like all these things and it just. I was like heartbroken for the, the whole year. Heartbroken because I struggled to make friends. My freshman year of high school, it was, it was just like a rough time. And like, I thought this place was going to be so great, fit me.

00:19:25
I was gonna make friends. I was gonna get along with the boys from Fordham Prep. I was gonna, you know, be part of this social clique that I never had. And I was just feeling so disappointed. So then my parents were like, shit, we have to find you a high school.

00:19:37
Because John Con O'Connor only went up to eighth grade. And it's like, what the hell do you do? So then that's how Winston Prep came along, where I went into the city. I didn't want to commute into the city. It was, it was rough.

00:19:48
I had to take the metro north from Bronxville. Then I had to get on a subway. You're asking a 14 year old to get on a New York City subway whose only I knew was Westchester County. Like, it's like, it's a lot and like I was still so young. And I remember thinking, like, I don't know how the hell I'm going to do this, but I just had to.

00:20:05
Because the Yonkers Public School district couldn't help Me, I didn't get into Holy Child. It was like. This was, like, my last home, and, like, I kind of fell into it, and I kind of had to do it because this is. This is what I have to do because of my. What age did your parents tell you?

00:20:17
The dyslexia portion. Oh, so they told me. So this is gonna be funny. So I was a big Disney kid growing up. I don't know if you've ever seen the commercials for, like, Bella Thorne and how she says she's dyslexic.

00:20:28
Okay. No, I don't think I do. Did Montgomery ever watch Shake It Off? Shake It Up? No.

00:20:34
Shake It Up? No. Yeah, we were pbs. We weren't Disney. Your kids watch that?

00:20:39
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we weren't Disney. There was, like, this commercial about Bella Thorne saying that she was dyslexic.

00:20:44
And then I just asked my mom one day, am I dyslexic? And she was like, yes. And I was like, what.

00:20:52
Now? Because. So I'm not. Because I'm loving where this is going, but are either of your parents dyslexic? That's the funny thing.

00:20:59
So my mom says she is, but she was never tested. My dad, he says, like, I was. I love Taylor Swift. And I went to her concert back in Boston, and I. It said, taylor Swift, the ERAS Tour.

00:21:10
And she. My dad goes, oh, Taylor Swift, the ERAS tour. And I'm like, no, it's eras. Like, some of the things he says, I'm like, I think you're dyslexic, dad. And it's also.

00:21:18
It's more common in males than it is in females. So I kind of think he is. But then my mom says, she is. Right. I hear that every once in a while, it's more common in females.

00:21:31
Males. And there are still males and females, you know. Do you know what that percentage is? Because I don't see it. I think it's equal now.

00:21:39
Honestly. Yeah, I think it's. I think it's misdiagnosed. Just like ADHD with. That's where I was gonna go with it.

00:21:46
And I think females just fall under the radar. They. You know, unless you present. You guys have an attitude. You're just mean, and you're just being the mean girls and.

00:21:55
Right. No, see, Colleen and I were not mean, mean girls. That's the thing. I was never a. I was never mean.

00:21:59
I didn't have that in my body. And, no, I was never a mean girl either. I was. I was nice to everyone. I didn't really like you.

00:22:07
I was still kind to you, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't. Yeah, I didn't. Cause I didn't.

00:22:11
Cause. And I was actually very fortunate. I had a group of girls that were very similar to me that we kind of just. We all played sports and hung out and were nice to really everyone. And so we were.

00:22:20
We kind of like, were just there. But. But with that being said. So that's how you found out. And it was like.

00:22:27
Was it like, what was your thoughts? I gotta look up this commercial. Yeah, it was. Yeah. I found out.

00:22:33
I was like, oh. Like, I am. Like, I didn't really think of it as, you know, I was like, oh, like, I wish somebody told me it was very. An emotional experience. Right.

00:22:43
Because that's in the fourth grade. I started this new school and it was truly. I was like, it kind of like a light bulb went off in a sense, but it was also very emotional. Hard for me to digest that I have the learning issue and it's not fixed. It's just going to be a part of me for the rest of my life.

00:23:01
No matter how much tutoring I do, how much schools those private schools I went to, no matter how many accommodations I get, this is going to be with me for the rest of my life. And that's what I couldn't digest. Yeah. Now, if you look back, you know, obviously the process of picking school, finding schools, because I always say knowledge is powerful. You know, everybody talks.

00:23:26
I don't want get my kid tested. The label. The label. I'm like, no, it's a road map for your kid's life. So your knowledge.

00:23:33
Do you think if you had heard the word earlier than you know when you did, you know, grade two, grade three would have been. Would that process started earlier, would have been a little bit easier for you, knowing that you had. That you were diagnosed, your parents weren't fully coming out. Do you think it would have been a little bit easier knowing that at a younger age to digest it quicker, earlier? I think so, but I feel like I wouldn't understand, like, what it was like.

00:24:01
I feel like it would be hard for me to process, too. But then as I started getting my early years on and my later years on at John Cardinal Connor, I remember my mom came in during my recess time to go over the math homework with my math teacher. And my mom's like, don't worry, Colleen. I have this. And this being dyslexia.

00:24:18
But it's like, no, lady, you don't. You weren't diagnosed. You don't understand. Like, you know, here you are at my recess time, coming in to go over math. Meanwhile, a couple more hours, we're gonna sit in the dining room table for an hour and a half with my dad going over the math homework.

00:24:33
Like, Right. That's hard. We've got a little checklist, you know, Julian. How many of the fake dyslexics come out? Yeah.

00:24:43
You know, as we, you know, as we talk, as we do events or we're talking with people. Like our list just. Oh, yeah, I'm dyslexic. No, you're not. Like, I have proof.

00:24:55
I have everything. I have a neurological. What is it? Evaluation. I went to Winston Prep.

00:25:02
Like, I'm the definition of dyslexic. You just look it up like Google images. My face comes up and then it's Juliet's. And then it's pretty. Right.

00:25:11
I just laugh. Because you, you know, for me is. I can tell, you know, how they say things or they do certain things. I know you're dyslexic. I can see you miles away.

00:25:21
So I don't need. I don't need. You don't even have to give me your Neil, I don't need your neuro psych. Because you don't have one. Because, you know, it's.

00:25:27
Yeah, we operate differently. That's it. Plain and simple. No, it's interesting. We did, right?

00:25:32
100%. Okay. So then you, Winston Prep came about. Yes. And how did that.

00:25:38
Yeah, So I was, you know, I really didn't want to go in the beginning because yet again, it's a. This constant, this label of a school for kids with learning, learning differences. When you look it up on Google, that's, you know, that's where I went. And that's what I had a hard time swallowing, that if I went to Holy Child, I would have been seen like everybody else. I would have been in an all girls school with a cute little skirt.

00:25:59
I would have, you know, just like, you know, I just would have. Like, this is how shallow I was back then. Like, I just, you know, I would have fit the mold. And then when I went to Winston Prep, I didn't, you know, come, you know, I wouldn't fit, you know, the mold. Like, here I am back, you know, back to a school with learning differences.

00:26:17
They're gonna see me as somebody that's dyslexic and all this other stuff. And I just was like, no. Like, I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do the commute. There was a lot of kids from the city, barely anybody from Westchester.

00:26:29
They would, like, make fun of me in the sense because I'm not a New Yorker, because apparently I didn't live in the five boroughs. Like, I take the subway every day, but I'm still not a New Yorker. Right, Right. Totally. It's such a thing.

00:26:42
It's so true. And I didn't realize that growing up from Westchester that you're really not considered a New Yorker. Right. You're fake. So anyway, the first year went by, and I made a couple of friends and I hung out with a couple of girls, but it was never, like, I didn't go to start going to high school parties.

00:27:03
I didn't go to one after my whole high school career. My first actual kind of party party was my freshman year in college at High Point. So, you know, I just felt so behind. I still felt like I was just this girl with the learning differences with my whole life in high school for that whole four years. Did you always call it learning differences or disorders?

00:27:24
I say learning difference because you just learn differently. See, Brent says disorder because he likes to get people to stop. Because when you say disorder because there's so many. I mean, there's so many terms, right? I think, Colleen, I shared with you.

00:27:37
Like, we call it the 5Ds because, like, neurodiversity makes me twitch when people say that. I'm like, okay, not that there's anything wrong with neurodiversity, but, like, it's not. We're dyslexic. It's. It's a very different thing.

00:27:49
And so there are so many things. But Brent always. He loves to say disorders because people will stop and be like, wait, I thought it was a learning difference. I say learning difference as well, because I'm like, you learn different. I think it makes.

00:28:00
And you're right, we do learn differently. I just say disorders because that gets people to stop, and we don't get enough attention brought to us. That's why, you know, I'm a neurodivergent. You know, if you Google that, it was obviously found by a lady from autistic 1999, Julie Springer. She's an activist, autism activist.

00:28:24
So she. She, you know, tagged the line, right? Autism gets all the attention. Every attention. They've got the money, they get all this.

00:28:31
We don't. So why are we falling under the same umbrella? I don't want to fall on the same umbrella. We don't get enough attention. So I do a lot of my Stuff for yes, my funny.

00:28:40
Am I crazy? I'm six going on seven here. I'm turning seven in January. But it's. I get people to stop because.

00:28:46
How do you get people to stop and listen to you? How do you know if I say learning, you know, difference, it doesn't stop people, unfortunately. This is the way the world is, and so that's why I do it. So I was just, you know, again, I was just curious why you, you know, why you said, you know, difference rather than disorder. Yeah, because I don't like to say disability either.

00:29:07
Because then it's like, you're not disabled to learn. Because I am learning. I'm. Every day I'm learning. Even from the minute I was diagnosed, before I was diagnosed, I was always still learning, you know, and so that first year of Winston Prep, it was an adjustment.

00:29:23
The commute, like, the commute itself was like a science, you know? And how long does that take? How many hours? And take an hour? It took me an hour and a half.

00:29:32
So I would. Yeah, so I would get up. I would take the 7:23 train from Bronxville, and then I would take the four of the five. Downtown Union Square, so. And, you know, the city in itself, like, I just couldn't believe I was going to school in New York City.

00:29:48
You're making a 14 year old, like. But it also. It taught me a lot about independence. I was gonna say probably. I was gonna say it probably really gave you.

00:29:56
I mean, that's one of the things. Things with dyslexia, I think in general, we are just more with it when it comes to figuring things out, because you have to figure everything out. But, like, Montgomery took the train when he was in fourth grade, you know, four stops up to. I think it was three stops, but. And he went up by himself because I had two young kids that were sleeping.

00:30:18
So, like, he would get, you know, I would rush him out when the other kids were sleeping to the train station, drop him off, and then get back home because Hahn was already in the city. You just opened a can of worms. You left your kids at home. I did. By themselves.

00:30:30
Wait, where was this? Was this in. This is when we were in Connecticut. It was right up the street. But, yeah, I was like, I.

00:30:36
In the beginning. Wow. So they were. So if Montgomery was in fourth, Truman. Was in second mta, the Red Line.

00:30:44
So he took. No, he took whatever. The Connecticut train. I want to say maybe it's the metro. I'm actually like, blanket.

00:30:53
Yeah, I think it's a Metro north. In the fourth grade. So he took it by himself. Yeah. So.

00:30:57
And. But the thing that was crazy. I remember one time he came home, and he's like, mom, I saw someone do cocaine. And I was like, I'm sorry. I was like, okay, I have a lot of questions here.

00:31:12
How do you know what cocaine was? Well, that. I go, how do you know that that was cocaine? This is probably when he was, like, in fifth grade, and he's like, well, I saw him doing something up his nose, and I asked Ryan because all the kids were older. So.

00:31:23
And. And this was a. It was like, a lot of the prep stool kids took this. So there was a lot. Basically, there was.

00:31:29
And I'm not going to name the prep school, but there was a group that did a lot of drugs before they went to high school. I know. I know he would love this, but. And. And so he.

00:31:42
The things that he was sometimes. And he'd be like, mom, I learned this. And I'd be like. Like, oh, my God. Okay, Hahn, can you have a conversation with them?

00:31:48
Because he just told me, like, a sex term that he learned on the train. So there is. But I was also like, okay, this. I knew this was gonna happen a lot of times on the bus, right? School bus.

00:31:57
Kids come home that are with older kids. You learn this thing. So we would have conversations about it, though. Like, I would make sure one of my things was. Because that was, like, early phones.

00:32:06
He only had a flip phone because we weren't getting him a phone earlier. I actually was like, no, he'll just. When I'll call the school. And Hahn's like, like, okay, you're gonna just put him on the train and then call the school to make sure he got there. And I was like, I mean, back in the day, we didn't have phones.

00:32:19
I wasn't like, I'm not a helicopter. I trusted that he would be able to get there. But it was very. It was, like, really interesting because we're like, okay, we'll get Hahn's like, can you. We'll get him a flip phone.

00:32:29
But I would say to him, like, I don't want you sitting. I'm not getting you. Like, the kids are all on the phone on their phones. Like, you guys need to talk. Like, you know, so it.

00:32:36
Like, there was a lot of things that was. Back then. It's even worse now. Oh, it was. Yeah, totally.

00:32:41
The kids would all be. I mean, that's one thing he said. He's like, mom, I'm so glad I had a flip Phone. Because I made the other kids be like, no, don't get on the phone. I have no one to talk to.

00:32:49
So he would just, like, talk to the older kids. I mean, and then, you know, witness. So, yeah, the school actually got involved because I was like, I think I feel like I need to tell someone that, yeah, there was kids doing cocaine on the train. You told. No, I didn't tell.

00:33:03
I told the school. I said, I think that there was. Some drugs in Connecticut. As I'm thinking back. Yeah.

00:33:11
So then they. So we told our kids they can't go in the same car as the kids doing the cocaine.

00:33:19
Is this like at 8am earlier, he had. He. He discriminate. Yeah. No, I mean, yeah, there.

00:33:27
And I know. And right. I mean. And these were prep school kids that were going, yeah. And I won't.

00:33:33
I don't even actually. I know that the school's name. Yeah. It was an interesting thing. But I did.

00:33:37
I called Southport because they actually had asked, like, if the kids are ever going, you just need to keep us in the loop. So I did. I was like, so I feel like I'm not going to name any names because we didn't know who the kids were. But there, our kids had to go. They're like, don't go on car four.

00:33:53
Go on. You know the other. But Montgomery had to wear a suit. Like, he had to wear a suit to school. With the tie.

00:33:59
Did you have a zipper tie? No, no. Zipper tie, no. Playing hockey? Old zipper ties?

00:34:06
No, no. Hahn actually had all. He would put all the ties because I didn't. I still can't do a tie. And he would hang them on Montgomery's, like, door handle.

00:34:15
But yeah, we were like, in the beginning, I'm like, I. I have to leave the kids. I mean, it was a little stressful, but they'd be sleeping. It was literally two minutes down the road. And I would go, but if, like, you know, people would park in the middle.

00:34:28
I used to get into fights. Parking lot at the train station. Because I'm like, hey, your car's parked right in the middle. I can't get out. Guess what?

00:34:34
The world doesn't revolve around you, you asshole. Jump out in my pajamas. And I would yell at people, I have to get home to my kids. I have kids sleeping. And they would sleep.

00:34:43
I'm an asshole mom, so move your car. But it's. It's amazing. Like, my dyslexic daughter, I would have dropped her off. I mean, I'm in Chicago o'hara airport when she was 6.

00:34:55
I would have dropped her off at the curb and I would have driven off and I wouldn't even second guess that she wouldn't get on that plane. Yeah, you didn't do this. But you were saying if you did. No, I didn't do this. Right.

00:35:07
I would have no problem. Right then I've got my, you know Jake, who I think I was walking him hand in hand when he's 17, non dyslexic. He couldn't get it. You know, he's 17, he's got a car license, he's driving a car. I wouldn't drop him off at the curb.

00:35:25
Yeah, you know, 18, I wouldn't have dropped off. Curves, I don't think. Because he wouldn't have found it. So it's, it's, it's, it's quite amazing how creative we are in finding ways around things. Independence.

00:35:39
Clearly not book smart, but you know, street smart. Savvy. Understand feelings and emotions and, and where to go and what to do. It's pretty crazy how different we are in that aspect compared to a non dyslexic. Yeah, but that is, and, and so I know we just went on a whole rampage on that, but it is, you learn so much independence and that you can figure it.

00:36:02
I mean I'm sure you confidence in yourself figuring out how to get into the city and do that commute. So an hour and a half and then you would get to school and I'm sure there's times where the train was delayed. I know there was so many times that Montgomery would be delayed. One time he got off and they got off at the wrong stop or something because they weren't paying attention. I mean there's a bunch of attention deficit kids.

00:36:22
They got off at the wrong stop or. No, the train broke down and they had to get off at the wrong stop. He calls, he's like, we're fine. And I was like, all right. Like I, I, I trusted in his ability to figure it out.

00:36:32
And I'm like, I can't get there and do it. So was there any times that you can remember that were like a shit show that you had to figure it out on your own? Yes. So actually my, so in the beginning part, when I went to school my freshman year in the city, my uncle came with me to the city. And because he was born and raised in the city, it's my mom's uncle, so it's my grandma's brother in law.

00:36:58
So he was like my great uncle at the Time. So he grew up in Manhattan, and he took me around on the subway. So he did that from September to, like, mid October. And, like, I was, like, 14. Like, I was a teenager at the time.

00:37:10
So, like, I didn't want my uncle coming with me no more to, like, the commute. Like, I want to do this by myself. Like, I have, like, some kids, you know, bullying me because I'm not a New Yorker. And I'm like, let me just. You know, that's all about the dyslexic.

00:37:23
I love to prove people wrong. So I'm like, you know what? I don't need him. I'm fine. Let me do this on my own.

00:37:28
So my mom's like, okay. So I did my first. First commute on my own, taking the Metro north, like, from. From Bronxville to Grand Central. That's easy.

00:37:38
But then getting on the subway, I got on the subway and then. But the 14th stop, it wasn't stopping there. The express was going, and it was my first time, so I was like, oh, shoot. And then I had to take the local, and I got off at the wrong stop. I never forget.

00:37:52
It's like, oh, my goodness, this is not my stop, or whatever. But I saw a girl that I was familiar with that in high school. I was like, oh, Michelle. Like, oh, my goodness. You go to Wisdom Prep?

00:38:01
She's like, yeah. She's like, there's so many problems at the Union Square station. It wasn't the express. It was like. I was, like, freaking out.

00:38:07
She's like, no, Colleen, we'll walk to school together. It's fine. I mean, meanwhile, we were late. I was like, oh, my goodness. Like, here I am, a new student.

00:38:13
I'm going to be late. You know, this is my first time going to the commute. She's like, no, Colleen, I'm here to help you. So, you know, that was like a. I got to see a friendly face, and I was familiar with it, but that was my first time going to the city by myself.

00:38:26
And of course, the subways were like, all. You know, you have all the homeless people around you. You have, like, so many former and all this other stuff, and it was like, I'll never forget that. But, you know, I had to figure it out. I had to do this on my own.

00:38:39
Like, you know, and then, luckily, I saw a familiar face that I went to school with. And luckily, the beauty of wind suppressed the prep that it was small. So you were familiar with everyone. So let's just say, you know, you were on the subway Hey, I know that person from Sewing, you know, so. Yeah, you know, New Yorkers no, like, see a farm as far away with no running water.

00:39:05
That's where you find me. That's what he loves. And I respect that, though. That's refreshing. That really is.

00:39:13
Yeah. But I grew up, you know, again, you know, I grew up in Canada, you know, and that's where, you know a lot of this, you know, I didn't find out. I was a selector, So I was 32, never heard. I never heard. And I didn't hear the word.

00:39:23
That was the first time I've ever heard the word. You know, I shouldn't say that. You know, I probably heard it somewhere else, but never processed it. Never. Like it wasn't at school.

00:39:34
So maybe. Maybe, you know, a Bell Thorne commercial. I probably heard, you know, right. I probably heard you're gonna look it up, right? You're gonna look it up and be.

00:39:42
Like, holy shit, my kids. Yo, you can't find it, I'll send. It to you, all right? No, I. I gotta check this out.

00:39:49
Because they definitely watch that. But I didn't know what. I didn't even process the word. Didn't even know what is in here. I want to know.

00:39:56
So where I came from, where I grew up, there was no understanding. And there's still. There still isn't in Canada. The one lady I knew, she got. She was gonna get tested through the school.

00:40:08
They said it'd be five years. Yeah. So she was in. I want to say it was grade two. So, you know, wait five years.

00:40:17
So she's going to be in grade seven before you test her. Oh, my God. At that point, they're in high school. Right, right, right. It's.

00:40:26
Yeah, that. That in itself, I mean, that's why it's, you know, the foundation and just bringing awareness and then all of the different aspects of once you get diagnosed, like, what is the next step? How do you get diagnosed? All this education. So y.

00:40:40
How. Why'd you pick educa. You know, why'd you pick education? After all this, you know, drama that's gone through trying to find schools and find that group and find, you know, find that. Why?

00:40:52
Why education? Okay. So in the kindergarten, I wanted to become a dentist. I don't know why. And also with just my dyslexia too, I was very sensory orientated.

00:41:01
So I went through so many dentists in my life, I was out of a couple of dentists with my. I. Because I just couldn't handle it in. The chair for three hours. Yesterday we got a red one.

00:41:13
Poor thing. Yeah, that's why we. That's why we were supposed to do it yesterday when everybody's like, yeah, that. Was my fault, because I. You know, again, I.

00:41:19
No, I got no teeth that are real. They're all, you know, hockey and. Yeah, it's a. It's actually, you know, all my fillings. I had every filling in every teeth, too.

00:41:30
Back in the day, it was all the silver. Once I changed, the doctor's dentist said I should change it all to the. And what. Matching the white. Ever since then, my teeth.

00:41:38
All my teeth are broken, so I've got bridges. And so. Yeah, that was yesterday. So I apologize for not being around yesterday. And that's why.

00:41:45
Oh, no, you're fine. You're fine. Bringing up the dentist, right? Trauma. Yeah.

00:41:52
And, like, I wanted to be the dentist that I never had and, like, you know, to be, like, you know, more sensory, you know, focus and stuff like that. But anyway, I didn't want to do that. Then in the second grade, I started to play school. I loved playing school. I would come home.

00:42:07
I didn't really like school, but I would play it because I love being front and center. I love telling people what to do. I had all my American Girl dolls lined up. It was like, American Girl dolls. They would all, like, have a book by themselves.

00:42:20
They all get assigned homework. And I just love that teaching, that you could just be front and center and tell other people what to do. I love that. So it's. It's got nothing to do with teaching.

00:42:32
You're just gonna be listening to me. I'm your boss. Yeah. I'm gonna boss you around all day? Basically, yes.

00:42:38
And I loved, like, showing videos, being my creative. My own lessons. And I honestly played school up until. This is so embarrassing. But I did it up until, like, freshman year of high school.

00:42:49
Right. But that's so interesting that what you. But you got, obviously, a good feel out of it. Because it's interesting. Brent and I will talk about, like, I still, you know, having to go into the school for even, like.

00:43:04
Like, basketball games or we had a meeting for. With Penelope with a biology teacher. And I still get, like, sweaty and, like, uncomfortable, like, entering the doors. Like, I'm like, yeah, just any school. School.

00:43:18
I asked you a question. What did I ask you last week? Something about school? No, you said to me, and I did. I tweaked.

00:43:25
Oh, yeah, Tweaked. You said, could you ever teach or coach or something? It was something that I was like, oh. And I Was like, I don't like kids. I love kids.

00:43:39
But I, Yeah, no, I, it is, it's, it's still very, like, it brings me back to, like, not knowing things. Yeah. And not being able to get out of things that I didn't know, even though I got out of so much. There was, like, clearly things that, like, just made me feel so dumb. Means me learning.

00:44:01
People always ask, what are you doing to further yourself? I'm like, absolutely nothing. Meaning a school portion. I'm not going to go back and learn. No.

00:44:10
I just, you know, the thought of it. So I'm not gonna leave Juliet on an island on, on the tweaking part. I, I'm still that way, too. Yeah. Yeah.

00:44:20
It really, it's even, like, going on college campus. But it's interesting because there is that, like, we, we talk about this a lot on the podcast. Like, I did get excited for, like, the beginning of school, and it really was to be with friends. Like, right. To be with friends and to play sports there.

00:44:38
But there was, like, the beginning of September as a kid. I got, like, excited now as an adult, like, and it's funny because he's. Brent has seen it, but, like, and Hahn will be like, yeah, you're an insane person. I, My anxiety starts going up, and I, I, I know that it's because, like, there's so much to do before school, but there's so much more of it for me. The anxiety of, like, oh, my God, I just want this kid.

00:45:03
Like, especially when Montgomery was in school, I was like, I just want him to have a good year. I don't want anyone to with him. Like, I just want it to be okay. And that was a lot of it. But then when he went to college, I was like, oh, I'm going to be fine.

00:45:13
This is going to be fine. Like, But I didn't have any friends either. No calling. So I want the same, Same thing as you. Yeah.

00:45:20
You know, obviously, I talk a lot, talk of this. You know, play pro for 18 years. I left with no friends, so I had that friend. Thing was, I hated school and I didn't have the friends. I, it was, it was miserable.

00:45:33
I didn't connect with anybody. It was, you know, so I know exactly when you're talking about that stuff. You know, I was just cringing over here. Right. Right.

00:45:43
And so, but so, and it is, there's so many aspects of, like, why you get that good feeling or not good feeling. And so it's like this weird thing for me because it's like, okay, there was some. There was some good things. Like, I remember being with my friends, and I liked that. But then everything else was such a shit show.

00:45:59
So the fact that you, like, even there was something in you that wanted to learn, but also be able to, as you said, you wanted to kind of be in front. But I think it probably was a little bit more of like, you like to learn. Where's your hat? Hat. I need attention.

00:46:15
My husband got. No, it's. I like attention. Oh. My husband got me a hat on one of his trips.

00:46:21
I like attention. She wears it every day.

00:46:26
I don't need to wear it. Extremely. I don't need to wear it because everyone knows my kids will still be. Ma, it's not about you. How did this come back to you?

00:46:37
Everything's always about me. But Montgomery is the same way. I freaking something Truman was doing yesterday. Well, that's a dyslexic trait, like you find, you know, like my wife's her. Her childhood crush.

00:46:51
You know, love her life. She want to, you know, you got trade plays hockey. Jeremy Ronick, you know, he's the most insecure human. But you'd never know that because look at me, you know, the dyslexic side of me here, right?

00:47:08
But we do certain things for a reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No laughing. If you see over here, you're not asking what's in here, right? Well, that right there is that joke.

00:47:18
Like the class clowns and stuff like that. 100. Yeah, 100. Okay. So you knew in eighth grade you kind of were like I.

00:47:26
Or ninth, whatever. Like, you started shifting that you wanted to be a teacher because you said to me that you definitely wanted to be a teacher, like for a long time. And it was. And is it. Is it, as you also said, you're someone that, like, you want to prove people wrong.

00:47:41
Was it some of that? More like take us down that a little bit. Yeah. So it was also. I also wanted to become a teacher.

00:47:49
Mostly because I always want to be the teacher I never had. Like, I want my students to come to me when they feel lost, when they feel sad, and I want them to tell me about their goals. Not just academic, but also like social, Emotional too, because that plays a huge part in learning. Like in college, like, when I started to have friends and I was in my, you know, my sorority group and I was doing all of that, my grades started to go up. Like, everything.

00:48:14
Like, my self esteem started to empower. Like, I started to, you know, find out who I really was. And when I was in high school. My grades are very good because I focused a lot of academics because I didn't really had that social portion, you know, because all you could focus on is academics. And my goal for the four years of high school was to just basically get through it and find.

00:48:35
Find a great college and rebrand myself, basically. And to rewrite that story and to, you know, college was like a big door that opened for me. It really was. And I was so picky about my college experience of where I wanted to go, because I needed to rebrand myself and I needed to find that girl group that I never had, and I just needed to start, like, this brand new chapter in my life, because if I can't fall down the same mental rabbit hole that I was back in high school. Yeah.

00:49:04
And so take us through, like, a little bit of High Point. You know, I know that's. I met you. Was it your sophomore year? It was my freshman.

00:49:12
It was during COVID when. Successful freshman year. I'll never forget it. And then, like, the pandemic hit. And then hpu, they're so funny.

00:49:21
They're very like. Like, they don't like to follow the technical, like, college norm. I said, watch. HPU is gonna be the only school that's open. All the other schools are getting closed.

00:49:30
And because I didn't realize Covid was until, you know, it started to happen. Right. So anyway, so we met. It was when Covid hit. Right, okay, Right, right, right, right.

00:49:42
And I had such. Such a successful freshman year and all this other stuff. But anyway, so we found out about High Point through. It was through, like, an education, like, consultant that worked with students with learning differences. And she was kind of like.

00:49:59
But it was also, like, a very. I think according to my mom, she kind of also kicked me out because I was. And I was like, we're not going to like, this college and that college. Because a lot of the college also Winston Prep recommended, they were colleges specifically for kids with learning differences, because that's. Yet again, that's all Winston Prep knew.

00:50:17
They all curry about Dean Landmark College. Like, you probably have heard of these schools, too. Like, it's the same. It's the same shit, different day. Like, it's all these schools, and I'm like, I'm not going to another college where there's a whole bunch of dyslexics in the room.

00:50:32
Like, no. Like, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's like, I don't want to feel labeled again. Like, I can't have this label over My head. And I'm too confident. I'm too stubborn.

00:50:42
I'm too like, there has to be more. There's just more than this. So that's when they. She recommended a high point university. And you know, I really didn't like it at first because, you know, it was very overwhelming.

00:50:58
Like, there's all the fountains everywhere. It's like our president, Nito Cubane, he's like a motivational speaker. You know, like, you could tell he was like trying to sell the school because he was a businessman. My mom really liked it. And at the time, my mom and I really didn't get along because I was a teenager and you know, like, who gets along with their mom when you're a teenager?

00:51:18
I know it's tough. I got three teenagers right now. I know, I can't imagine. But anyway, so. And I was like, mom, I don't know about this school.

00:51:27
Like, it's just like, you like it, so I'm not gonna like it. 100. That's my daughter right now. Like, Jesus Christ. Right, right.

00:51:36
So. So that. And that's hard because she probably also was like, but I know this is a good place for you. Right? Yes.

00:51:42
It had the learning support program too. And like that's another thing too. I did not want that. I was like, through my. My entire education career, I don't want to go to somebody just to check in on my academics.

00:51:52
Like, I know what I'm doing. Even when I was at Winston Prep 2, I was very organized. I always had a binder with all my academic notes in it. I had a planner. I knew when my next test was.

00:52:03
I knew when my next quiz I studied. Like, I did what I had to do. And I feel like I just will apply all that school the skills. I self advocate for myself and I'll do that in college. Like nothing.

00:52:13
Like I'm too stubborn to be changed. Like I'm doing that. Like, right, right. Anyway, so. And I was like, oh, I don't know.

00:52:20
And then I applied to another school in Massachusetts called Holy Cross. It was test optional school. And that was another thing too. I had to look for schools that were test optional because yet again, I'm not a test taker. I can't.

00:52:32
I only. I took the ACT and the sat and like, I had applied to a lot of schools that were test optional. So I went for the interview at Holy Cross. I loved it. It was like my top school.

00:52:43
Unfortunately, I didn't get in because it was also a very hard school to get into. That's a hard school. Yeah. Very hard school to get into. And because I wanted to change myself, I didn't want to, like.

00:52:54
I wanted to, like, not dyslexia to be my whole thing. Like, it's like, I'm not just a student. You're exactly my daughter. I was just gonna say. I was just gonna say I was trying to get her to go to a small D school, you know, in Wisconsin, just.

00:53:10
Just for freshman year, just to learn herself off Ohio State. She's looking at Michigan. I'm like, yeah, she. She wanted to get lost. She didn't want to be that kid.

00:53:18
Yeah. And how old is Lila? 22. Yeah. Oh, so she's the same age bracket as me.

00:53:25
Yeah. Yeah. But. But it's. It's actually really interesting because I know Brent through the years, and that's what he.

00:53:35
He would say. And it's really interesting because Montgomery, like, when going to New Newberry and having to do his, you know, his accommodations, at first he was like, no. And then he's like, oh, who am I kidding? He's like, I need all of this. He's like, I need all of it, and if I don't have it, I'm not going to be successful.

00:53:53
I know I need to do it. But his thing was, like, he needed to make sure that he had someone to support him. And it's just a very different. I mean, I think it's like a male, female. I was just gonna say, I think that, yeah, yo, you guys are stubborn.

00:54:08
And, yo, he's like, I don't need to do all this myself. I need someone to help me. I think we're more realistic. And you guys, you know, yeah, we make things more. We make things a little bit more difficult.

00:54:18
Females do. We do 100%. But also, many schools don't teach executive functioning skills. That was the thing about Winston Prep, too. That's what I loved about the school is very individualized learning.

00:54:29
And they taught executive functioning skills. And that's Southampton Beach. They should teach executive school. They should teach executive function skills. That brings back to the point of how many teachers.

00:54:41
Now I'm going to ask you that being a teacher, even know what those words mean, right? I don't think you even know really what, you know if you don't struggle with the five Ds. I really don't think or haven't found any teachers that really even understand what that word is, you know, so how do you teach something? You need to understand yourself. And that's what I talk about teachers is oh, you want to teach a reading program to a dyslexic, but you know nothing about a dyslexic.

00:55:07
How does that make sense? Yeah, it does. I have many teachers, too, that I've worked with, or I have friends that are becoming teachers, too, that they don't even want to work with special ed students. And that's what's also just heartbreaking for me. It's like, yeah, you want to be a teacher, that's great.

00:55:21
But if you don't want to work with special ed or understand who they are, then you shouldn't be a teacher in general, because we have more and more students and children coming into the education being diagnosed with something, whether it's dyslexia, whatever, it's like anxiety, depression, adhd, autism, whatever it may be, you need to understand that child. And if you're not willing to learn or to, you know, get another degree or take a class in it or something along those lines, then you shouldn't be a teacher in general because. And that stats that I've heard is, you know, 80% of people have something. Yes. So now you want to teach the 20%.

00:55:58
Right. You know, learning disorders are, you know, one in six right now. So you're talking. That's a lot. That's a lot.

00:56:04
You're, you know, in your classroom, you know, you're talking 30 to 40% of your students have learning disorders. Learning differences, calm, whatever you want. So you only. So now you want to have your cake and eat it, too. That's not how this works.

00:56:20
And this is why, to me, is why the education system is so bad right now is because they don't care to understand 30 to 40 to 50% of their kids. Yeah. So, Colleen, I would love to know, did you, in the education, like, your track, how much did you learn about learning differences, disorders, whatever, five Ds, like, how much did they bring into at High Point? So we learned, like, a lot about, like, the reading programs, and we learned a lot about, like, reading, the testing, too, of, like, what North Carolina does in order for a student to be tested with a learning difference, such like dyslexia. So I remember doing, like, a pro reading program called Dibbles is what they use in North Carolina.

00:57:11
It's like, my mom. Yeah, my mom actually knows Dibbles. I remember being a kid being like, what are you saying? Dribbles? Dibble.

00:57:17
What? Drool. What? Yeah. Okay.

00:57:20
So we learned about that, and then we learned about the writing program, the Juliet Hahn method. Hoffman method. So we learned about that as a writing program as well. And then we learned also Dibels also has a math program as well. So if a student, you know, is suspected of a learning difference, they would go through that reading and math program.

00:57:44
And then we learned a lot about like touch math too. A lot of like the math programs as well. How to use a proper like math manipulative, how to use also a reading manipulative as well, how to encode, decode. And we learned a lot of those programs, but we didn't learn, which I feel like, I mean, I still keep in touch with my professors and so I talk to my professors all the time how to help a child because I believe when you have dyslexia, there's also like a mental, like I also suffer with a lot of anxiety. Like how to help that as well.

00:58:17
Because I believe we should teach children as a whole, not just by academics. Like teach them like how to hand manage their anxiety, how to make friends, how to navigate through that whole stuff. And like, you know, that's what they don't teach too. It's not just we can't teach to a test anymore. And that's why, as Juliet says, the education system is so broken because they don't have it.

00:58:37
So they don't understand. Yeah, exactly. So to your point, that's, you know, again for the foundation, my number one thing is self esteem. I don't care about what reading program, I don't care what math program, I don't care what you have if you have no self esteem. And I don't have any self esteem when it comes to school, comes to teachers.

00:58:54
Right. Because of what you just said, you're still talking to professors. Right. They're missing a whole boat. They don't have it.

00:59:00
They don't have it. You know, so that's the portion that we don't get. That's what we talk about here on a, on a daily basis. You know, every time we record is they, there's no understanding of us. None.

00:59:12
Yeah, it's just, it just, it breaks my heart. It really does. And if you don't understand where their, the children are coming from, then you know, how are you going to create that relationship with your student? And that's, you know, that's you. When you're a teacher, you're in the front of center.

00:59:28
That's why I loved playing school, because you were front centered. You get to create those relationships with your students, you know? Yeah, no, yeah. That hat made. I love attention.

00:59:42
I, it's, I'm not a baseball hat wearer. So I have to find it because Hahn, I forgot when he gave it to me. Next podcast. You got to put it on. I'll put it on.

00:59:51
Right. I want to find one, too. I found one off of Etsy or something. Wear it. Yeah, we'll both wear it.

00:59:57
Well, but. So Colleen and I know we're up in an hour, but I want to give another, like, few minutes to this because I think it's really important and I think you came. I mean, again, we can make this a five hour podcast because there's so much to kind of unpack. I mean, first of all, because. Because we 100 understand everything that you've been through, and we're also fascinated with the college route and where you are now.

01:00:21
So, I mean, as I've said, you know, this whole year that we've been texting, like, I know that there's things for you to kind of fill in for the foundation. I know you've been saying, hey, I want, I want to be able to help. I want to be brought into helping. So let me just. Anyway.

01:00:36
Possible. Anyway. Well, and I knew that this. I knew that you guys would connect and, you know, and have, like, that familiarity. Familiarity.

01:00:45
I think that's the word. Familiarness. I can't speak today, so. But there's like, one of the things that I think the executive functioning thing, I think is huge because we've talked about that a million times. Everyone can benefit from learning executive functioning.

01:01:02
It's not like, that's not a hard thing to do. Like, that is something that really should be focused on. But then you're teaching now, so take us through a little bit of. Of that to kind of just touch on it. And how are you finding it?

01:01:16
Are you finding that you're being able to connect with those students that you like, you know, got into teaching to do? Are you finding it frustrating? Tell us a little bit about that. So I teach at a private school in the city called Academics West. It's a therapeutic special education school.

01:01:34
So I have a total of five students, and they all have a learning difference. And they also have, like, an emotional, like, whether that's anxiety, depression. That's what they also, you know, have. And I love that I can incorporate those two. Like, I could teach in a social and emotional learning program into my lessons.

01:01:54
And that's what many private schools, public schools, you can't do because you have to get through the standards and you have to get through, like, all this other baloney. And you can't teach that. And I love that I get to, you know, teach that. Like, I was teaching a lesson on self advocacy and the importance of, like, I mean, I don't believe in homework. I have to give homework because of what administration, But I don't really give a lot.

01:02:16
But I was telling my students, once, you know, if you don't understand a math question, it's so important to email me. So we did a lesson on self advocacy, how to write an email to your teacher, what to say, what, you know, and then, you know, once I applied those, all those skills, they did a practice one. And then I remember a couple days later, I got an email from my student saying, hi, Ms. Coppola, I don't understand this math homework question. Can we go over it tomorrow morning?

01:02:42
And like, once they apply those skills and you know, like, I love that that made my whole year already because, you know, I taught them something and. They did it, you know, and again, that's not 100. That's amazing. You know, it's. Knowledge is powerful.

01:02:56
They. They can advocate and that says, you know, if you can't advocate for yourself, you don't understand yourself. Yourself. Yeah, exactly. And I love that.

01:03:05
I do have a small class, so I am able to understand their needs. And you know, once I go, if I go to a public school and teach, If I have 21 kids, that's going to be hard for me to establish those relationships. And although I want. And I totally want to, and I, you know, and I will, but I love that, you know, in my early years of teaching that I have the smaller class sizes. And they're all boys too, might I add.

01:03:26
So I'm like a boy teacher. Hang on, hang on a second. So it's easier, right? A lot less drama. We punch each.

01:03:32
We punch each other in the face and it's over, right? Yeah. Or they say it at recess. Like recess is when you start seeing their. Their personalities develop.

01:03:42
When there's a basketball game. Oh, yeah. Head. And if starts like, oh, I'm gonna take you downtown, as they say. Right.

01:03:50
You know, and then, then it's over. It's done with. Like, we don't. And that's why I love to say, like, we use our words. Words if we're frustrated.

01:03:56
Guys, let's not get, you know, physical or anything. Yeah, we do the same thing. You know, boys, boys beat up boys. Boys say things, but, you know, we don't hang on to it. So in your classroom, you know, you know, obviously, do you allow.

01:04:11
Because I talk about this all the time. Kids got ADHD or whatever. If they need to stand up and spin in the corner. Are they hurting anybody? No, but he needs to stand, sit.

01:04:21
Why is he disturbing anybody? If he's disturbing someone 100%, but we have to teach him. So why not put them by the window? By. On the side.

01:04:29
They can stand up. And I have teachers argue with me all the time. He has to sit. Well, he can't. So why can't he do that?

01:04:37
Do you allow that in your classroom? I do allow a lot of movement breaks. Like, even, like, let's say we get through math, okay, like, for 10 minutes, they can have a movement break. There's also, like, there's a lot of clinicians, like social workers that I work with the school, and they're. They call them on call.

01:04:53
So what it is. If a student needs to talk to somebody, they can, you know, they could talk of what they're going through. And, you know, if there's any challenges that went on at home or at school, they could, you know, they feel free to talk to somebody. But I do a lot of movement breaks. They do.

01:05:08
They also. They love to sing and they love to Hahnce. So if they love to sing and Hahnce, why not? Like, it's topical. For me, I'm the best singer.

01:05:16
My wife told me, you know, dying raccoon. I was gonna say, I love the confidence in the singing there.

01:05:29
I mean, Colleen, I mean, I think that's one of the things. And when Brent says, like, we give teachers a hard time, it's really that the teachers are not giving the tools to be able to do what they need to do. And so it's the overall arching of the system. Right? It's like, you're not teaching, as you said, you're.

01:05:45
They're. They're teaching exactly what it is. And so when people think of learning differences or they think of kids with issues, they think of, you know, a kid that's going to be so disruptive, they're not going to be able to take, you know, so that their teachers are not being given the tools to be able to then be able to put it, especially in public school, especially with huge classes, don't want to. As you. You refer.

01:06:07
And that's the ones where I get angry, and that's the ones I hate that I always say, want to punch the ones that don't want to. Right. That go into it for that. But that is. It's.

01:06:16
It is a thing. I mean, Brent knows this. And I think, Colleen, I probably shared with You. My mom was a kindergarten teacher and one of the things, anytime I would ever go into her classroom, kids would be all over the place, but they would all be listening to what she was doing. But she didn't make them sit down.

01:06:30
Right. They're, you know, four, five and six year olds. Who wants to sit? I know. I.

01:06:36
The way I learn best is when I'm moving, you know, I. Sitting for long periods of time. No one should be doing that. Like, no one. So the fact that you acknowledge it but also because you understand and so if you could give a teacher that is going into teaching that doesn't have understanding a little bit advice of kind of grasping that, that understanding what would be like one thing that you would say to them?

01:07:01
I would say just listen to your students. Just see where they're coming from. If they're. I would say that just listen, just be an open ear. Just, you know, know that have.

01:07:14
Be the teacher that they can talk to. Whatever they feel, just listen and just see where they're coming from. If they want to get up and stretch, let them get up and stretch. You don't know what happened the day before if they didn't get enough sleep or. Because that's also.

01:07:26
That impacts a lot too. You know those. Like Juliet, when she doesn't get enough sleep. That's why I had to. I haven't gotten enough sleep the last couple days.

01:07:37
So not even a kid, a five, six, seven, eight year old kid, you know, almost a 51 year old woman. Yeah. Yeah, it does me and it's so bad. I used to be so good with no sleep and now I'm literally like a. But I love that.

01:07:51
And you know, as I said, we could go on for. On but we want to. I'm sure we're going to have you back. As I said, I know you two are going to connect and I know from here there's going to be a lot of things as the foundation is growing and we have more kind of. We know exactly where we want to go.

01:08:08
There's so many things that I can see you helping and giving knowledge. Thank you for having me. This is an honor to be on and on Christmas Eve, like it's snowing. Wow. It is a magical day.

01:08:21
It is a magical day. So thank you again for joining. Word blindness, dyslexia, exposed. And you guys, I say it every single time. BRENT GIGGLES but like rate, review and share.

01:08:32
You don't know who needs to hear this. You don't know who is in a similar situation as Colleen as a mom, as a kid, as a teacher, as an educator. This episode doesn't. You don't have to be dyslexic, you don't have to be in education. But you know someone that is going through something like this, and this episode can help.

01:08:50
So don't forget to, like, rate, review and share. Thanks again, and we'll see you next week.