I teach English at a school, where students have failed the Primary School Leaving Examination. Bottom 200 children of the cohort. Where 12-year-old kids come to me, not knowing how to spell words like family, friend and nervous.

It’s a testament to my passion for English because I am determined to make them remember how to spell these 3 words. I don’t care if there is speech-to-text software around. I can’t imagine anyone going through life not knowing how to spell these words.

But my good intentions must be substantiated by sound knowledge. The greatest takeaway I gain from this book is that traumatic events release too much of the stress hormone, cortisol, which impairs one’s brain from remembering things. I think of the boy in my class who chooses to live with his grandparents because he doesn’t like his stepfather. To what extent is his dyslexia compounded by this stress factor? No one will know exactly.

There are interesting pointers on managing dyslexic children with ADHD, particularly the idea of giving them inflatable cushions. This will appeal to their need for movement, I guess, and sounds more fun than the stress ball. But I hesitate to bring inflatable cushions up with my Head of Department because knowing teens and their attention spans, they will regard the cushions as a fleeting fad. I don’t want to deal with complaints about them having pillow fights with each other!

The American education system doesn’t often receive rave reviews about quality education, but one thing it seems to have done right is its focus on an Individualised Education Plan for a dyslexic student. I mean, in Singapore, we make accommodations in the form of access arrangements, but I doubt teaching professionals come together to discuss a child’s strengths and strategise how to leverage his strengths to achieve personalised learning outcomes. I may know that my students have dyslexia, but I’m unaware as to how it is manifested in them and affects their learning. I also don’t know their preferred learning style because multiple intelligences are inevitably sidelined in favour of verbal intelligence (to pass national exams).

In all, this book made me reflect! I hope my students will learn a lot from me this year. But there will be things that cannot be measured by exam results: enhanced memory prowess, increased ability to handle stress, and better awareness of preferred learning style. And maybe advance to next year, knowing how to spell family, friends and nervous.