My Educational Journey, Mark Daly

James

Mark’s story of achievement from a diagnosis of dyscalculia and lack of support in school to becoming an advocate for adult education. 


“This is a film about my journey in education. It connects my past to my present, from primary school to secondary school to third level and all the challenges I faced in the Irish education system without educational support and the difficulties of finding a job. My unhappiness at home and how I returned to education as an adult and became an ambassador for lifelong learning.”

Mark Daly, ambassador for lifelong learning.

Dyscalculia on Twitch – Interview with @JJlass1

James

@JJlass1 tweeted at us the announcement of their Twitch proposal to include Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia in the newly launched release of new tags. We thought this was a brilliant idea and wanted to share this interview with JJlass1 to raise awareness, interest and the reasons why this is important.


Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash
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What Have Eyes Got To Do With Dyscalculia?

James

About a decade ago, a groundbreaking study found that eye pupils detect more than just light. New research by the School of Psychology of the University of Sydney in collaboration with the Universities of Pisa and Florence has revealed that eye pupils can also detect quantity and perceive the number of objects in a person’s field of vision.


Photo by v2osk on Unsplash

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Educational Associated Anxiety by Mark Daly

James

Nobody really discusses educational-associated anxiety. This is separate from my more general anxiety. My mother would ask or try to ask me how my was school today and just did not want to talk about it. There were no school counsellors when I went to school. The secondary school I attended was academically very strict. We were there to open our books face the front of the class, and shut up. 


Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
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Research On Dyscalculia Is Still Growing

James

Ok, so maybe it’s a slow grower, but since we started this blog, there have been some leaps in research, and overall there is a little higher general awareness of dyscalculia. We thought we would give you a little rundown of the latest research related to dyscalculia over the last years, and perhaps this will help us see what the future may hold for dyscalculics the world over!


Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash

Back in 2018, some researchers at the University of Bonn were up to some, quite frankly, mind-boggling stuff. So we are born with the ability to count, and shortly after birth, babies can estimate the number of events and even perform simple calculations. But what exactly happens in the brain? And do we process abstract numbers differently from concrete quantities? To answer these questions, the researchers measured the reaction of individual nerve cells to quantities and demonstrated that certain nerve cells fired in response to very specific quantities. With the possibility of studying the individual nerve cells of the brain and the discovery that counting is done on such a scale, the researchers hope that their results will contribute to a better understanding of dyscalculia.

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Dyscalculia… A Logic Challenge?

James

Guest article by Kevin Wiltshire

To make sense of my thoughts as a potentially dyscalculic adult – who faces specific challenges with logical thinking – I probably need to start with some context. 


Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Early Challenges

At primary school, long division took me years to master, and there were always strange little things I just didn’t get or couldn’t do what others found easy (despite me apparently starting off well ahead in intellectual maturity and reading age)… I also always lost at Monopoly! Nevertheless, apart from a few uncomfortable wobbles and blocks, I could keep up well into secondary school, even taking some exams early. 

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Maths Anxiety By Mark Daly

James
Photo by Dustin Belt on Unsplash

It’s the 1980s. I am sitting at a desk in primary school. It’s senior infants. Although I was an easy-going kid, I would get frustrated that I could not do maths and got upset about that. 

There were five of us at the desk. The teacher is handing out copybooks. we were doing maths work. She asked us who had finished the and they all put up their hands, and then she asked who had not finished the work, and I put up my hand. The teacher said that they would wait until Mark is finished. 

It took me some time to finish the work, and the rest of the class sat there and waited until I was finished. We were all getting ready to go home when one of my classmates turned to me and said, “I know you are not very good at maths Mark, but If I am late for football practice, I won’t forgive you”. I said, “I thought we were friends,” and he replied, “Just because we are classmates doesn’t mean that we are friends”. 

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The Inability to Read a Clock Because of My Learning Disability

James

A guest article from Michelle Steiner – first published and edited on The Mighty

Photo by Moritz Kindler on Unsplash

My math learning disability presents a variety of challenges, but the most difficult one is not being able to read the face of a clock. Many people don’t understand that I can’t do this. I have had generous people gift me with beautiful antique analogue clocks. But I am unable to read what time it is, and other than decoration, they serve little purpose for me.

I struggled with learning how to read a clock in elementary school. I can remember learning to tell time to the hour, but anything beyond that never made sense. I dreaded the worksheets that I had to tell what time it was, but I loved the colourful clock that you could move the handles.

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