LD Blog

It is the season of graduations from high schools and colleges, and with them will come a rash of stories about individuals with Learning Disabilities reaching those milestones in education. I came upon one of them in John Schumacher’s story, “Payne’s basketball dream now a reality:The former Sac State player will graduate today, against some tall odds,” that appeared in the Sacramento (CA) Bee. This graduation story, however, raises questions about the competence of educators.

James Payne lost his mom to murder at age 6, 16 days of his life to jail at 21 and his dad to lung cancer at 22.

He slept on his friends’ couches and the floors of their houses for two years in junior college, often not knowing what he’d eat for his next meal. And he struggled for years to overcome a learning disability that wasn’t diagnosed until last year.

Payne almost lost his way, but he never lost his dream: a college diploma.

Mr. Schumacher reported that Mr. Payne will receive a diploma from Sacramento State University. Some students and their families may find Mr. Payne’s accomplishment inspiring.

For my part, I congratulate Mr. Payne. And, I really have to wonder why he didn’t receive help earlier. Why didn’t someone in his primary, elementary, or secondary schools realize he was having difficulty with reading and do something about it? Were there no efforts to assess his performance systematically? Why didn’t the legally required child-find efforts reveal his problems? Were educators in Mr. Payne’s schools asleep?

I bet someone (or many) among his teachers and administrators during his schooling said Mr. Payne wasn’t trying, that he was just slow. These are not credible reasons to deny students services they need. Let’s not overlook these students. Please do not shirk the duty to serve these students.

Read Mr. Schumacher’s article.