Excerpts from a Graduation Speech
by Dylan Redford
Looking back at my middle-school years, I realize that compassion and acceptance define so many of my memories. From my teachers to my fellow students, all three years were kind to me in many ways.
There were a lot of examples of acceptance in the Middle School. One Halloween, Jack showed up as Captain Underpants…in underpants. For the fifth grade trials, Max arrived with his hair slicked back in a three-piece suit. Our classmates laughed, but with them, not at them.
Of course, the Middle School teachers were responsible for a lot of this compassion. In 3rd grade, Katherine (Perrine) Austin was the center of my universe. She was a great teacher: funny and even-tempered. She made everyone in the room feel like they were her favorite student. Of course I thought I was the favorite favorite. One day, I wrote a note to her, saying that she was the best teacher ever. And just as I was building up the courage to give it to her, she took me outside to meet a special visitor…her fiancé. I was crushed. How could she do this to me? After all we had been through together?
Well, I moved on to 4th grade, where my teacher Lori Piser had a very important role to play in my school life. You see, I am dyslexic. Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes things like reading and writing and spelling very difficult. So, by 4th grade, everything was hard and school was a bummer for me. It got so bad that my parents and teachers started to wonder if I should stay at MCDS. Diane Snelling, the learning specialist, convinced us to try a special reading program, but it required me to be out of the classroom all morning. I couldn’t figure out a sneaky way of doing this, so I decided to take the bull by the horns and explain my situation to the class.
I can still remember getting up in front of the class to deliver my explanation that I had carefully rehearsed with Lori. It was amazing. Not only did my classmates applaud and support my choice, but also the conversation turned into an “I can top that” discussion of every challenge and special need in the room. My friends who needed glasses told me about that; others told me about their sleep problems, broken bones, and family issues. Looking back, I realize that Lori had planned this discussion all along. She made a difficult conversation reassuring. More than that, her plan was kind.
By fifth grade I had finally learned to read, but school was still very hard. That is when Mary Katherine Menikheim came to my rescue. As important as reading, writing and math skills are, she showed me that a student’s greatness also can be measured by research, collaboration and developing original ideas. She showed this with the special projects she created: the Passion Project, the Trials, and the Biographies.
This level of support from teachers was not unique to me. Throughout Middle School, there were always people in the wings nurturing our class.
Marin Country Day School is an academically rigorous K-8 independent school in Marin County. It does not specialize in language-based learning differences. My journey to understand and appreciate my own unique learning style took place within a school that was just learning how to teach children like me. Everyone learned a lot along the way. 
