young and dyslexic? you've got it going on - zepheniah

• Purpose of Young and Dyslexic

  • To highlight the challenges but also the strengths of dyslexia that have helped Zephaniah in life
• What Zephaniah thinks and feels

  • The education system is restrictive
  • He is a creative and self-assured person
  • There is nothing wrong with being dyslexic
  • Dyslexic people develop valuable and different thinking skills
• Zephaniah's opening emotive language

  Builds pathos (sadness and pity) for his difficult childhood experiences with the education system
• Zephaniah quickly shifts from emotive language to a more positive, celebratory tone
• The discrimination the speaker faced was about race and low expectations due to his race
• The speaker also suggests the discrimination was about classism
• The discrimination took the form of low expectations, such as being told he would be good at sports like football
• The speaker is examining the intersectionality between his dyslexia and other forms of discrimination he faced
• Despite the discrimination, the speaker was creative and self-assured, even as a child
• The speaker had poems in his head even as a child, showing his creativity
• The speaker could read very basically and would give up, with his sister having to write down his poems
• Creativity and intellect are not defined by hard skills like reading and writing


  They are defined by soft skills like creativity, self-assuredness, and critical thinking
• Being a "rude boy"

  Part of a Jamaican youth subculture dealing with hardship, poverty, racism, and poor housing, but also having an incredible culture of music, fashion, and community