Secrets

Sue Torr

Description

If a child slips through the net and leaves school without being able to read and write, that child will be starting a life sentence - embarrassment, rage, isolation, fear, torment. I know. I've been there and so have thousands of others. It should never be allowed! Sue Torr is the authentic voice of someone who has struggled with the skills most adults take for granted. Her story is an inspiration to the many adults faced with similar challenges in an ever more complex and demanding world.

Sujets

• Literacy

Informations

• Publié par: Gatehouse Media Ltd
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781842312902
• Langue: English

Extrait

Secrets
Sue Torr MBE





Secrets
Sue Torr MBE




Secrets
Text copyright © Sue Torr MBE 2006
Edited by Catherine White
Photograph of the author by Catherine White
Other photographs from Sue Torr’s collection
Illustrations by Year 6 Pupils at Mount Wise Primary School, Plymouth and by Jasmine, Sue Torr’s granddaughter
Published by Gatehouse Media Limited, PO Box 965, Warrington, WA4 9DE, UK
www.gatehousebooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publishers.
ISBN: 978-1-84231-279-7 (EPUB)
ISBN: 978-1-84231-290-2 (Paperback)



5



We have planned the book
so that the left-hand pages
tell my full story.
The right-hand pages
tell my story too,
but in a shorter way.



6


I used to think that people who can read are gifted.
They can do anything, be anything,
go anywhere in the world.
If you can’t read, you can’t do it.
If you can’t write and spell, you can’t do it.
You can’t write a shopping list.
You can’t send letters to school.
You can’t help your children with their homework.
You can’t fill out forms,
find your way around,
write cheques,
write for help
or read recipes.
You can’t write letters to your family or friends.
You don’t buy books, newspapers or magazines.
It’s like you are blind.
You’ve got no self-esteem.
You can’t be yourself.
You’re always putting yourself down.
You’re always walking away from opportunities.
And so it goes on and on and on.


Shout It Out
If you can’t read you can’t do it!



7



If you can’t read
there are so many things in life
that you can’t do.
It’s like you are blind.
You’ve got no self-esteem.
You always put yourself down.



8


Yes, I went to school.
Everybody goes to school.
I was there.
So were the others.
They learnt.
I didn’t.
I was good at sport.
Everybody knew that.
But nobody knew that I couldn’t read or write.
That was my secret.
Every day of my life was frustration,
fear, anger, isolation,
embarrassment and rage.
Dunce, dumbo and bird-brain
were just some of the names I was called.
The day my children started school,
I knew my life would be a nightmare.
I couldn’t help them.
Then my life changed.
Sue Torr MBE



9



I could not read.
I could not write or spell very well.
It made life hard for me.
Nobody knew.
That was my secret.
Then my life changed.




10


Growing Up
I went to school every day, just like everyone else. I never liked school much. It was always the same people putting their hands up to answer questions.
The teacher only asked the bright kids to do things. If you were slow or shy, you were ignored. It was too much trouble for them to waste time on someone like me. I was always the one looking around, gazing out of the windows and watching the clock. I never thought of school as being important. You just had to be there.
I know one thing I was good at and that was sport.
I loved square ball, netball, rounders - just anything to do with sport outside the classroom. I was so keen on sport that sometimes I would play without plimsolls, just in bare feet. I put all my energy into it. It was great.
My parents had eight children - five boys and three girls - and my mother had to work to support us.
She was a home-help and my father was a painter and decorator. When they got home from work, there wasn’t time for either of them to sit and read to us.
We never talked about school work.