John Rodrigues
High School Dropout to Harvard:
My Life with Dyslexia
Bio:
John is a Content Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education, Professional Ice Sculptor and advocate for people with Learning Disabilities (LD). Author of the book High School Dropout to Harvard John D Rodrigues was born in Fullerton, California. He received his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and spent a year as a visiting scholar at Harvard University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education and is NCLB compliant in Math and History. He has managed his own classroom, written curriculum and programs for schools across the country and has experience teaching children of all ages.
My Teaching Philosophy: Every child can learn and we are all capable of obtaining success. It is our job as educators to discover the individual needs of each student and foster a love of learning.
Description:
Through humor and sharp observation, John Rodrigues will share a story that is half biography and half musing on the nature of success. He suggests a think-different-succeed-different approach to students with LD. He insists on doing what people tell him is impossible.
Against-the-Odds Story of Author’s Path to Ivy League, “High School Dropout to Harvard” Highlights Problem of One-Size-Fits-All Teaching, suggests Think Different, Succeed Different Approach. What recourse is there for students who fall through the cracks of the traditional school system? His teachers said he could not read. Author John Rodrigues defies the odds in this charming, inspiring story about failure as a path to success.
Statistics abound about the limited prospects of students who fail in school and our communities grapple with how to improve the quality of education in the United States. Until now, parents and students who struggle to stay afloat have asked: If a child has deficiencies, how can they still be successful?
Self-proclaimed bad student and person with a learning disability, author John Rodrigues answers this question in his book, High School Dropout to Harvard.
For years Rodrigues struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability he shares with great innovators like Steve Jobs, and Steven Spielberg. The condition is both the reason for the failure in his early education and the driving force behind his achievements as an artist, entrepreneur, and ultimately, Ivy League student.
Rodrigues opens a cache of memories and events leading up to his failure and an array of unusual professions and travels abroad, whilst sharing insights and strategies that led him to creative solutions and unlikely success. Refusing to dwell on how his brain was “broken,” he instead exploits the strengths of his condition. The author describes his greatest asset, “non-linear, visual thinking,” and suggests that thinking different is the key to big results.
Objectives:
Participants will:
- Re-frame dyslexia as a learning difference
- Be informed about strategies to use in transitioning from High School to college or career (especially for students with dyslexia)
- Learn five strategies for success in college (especially for students with dyslexia)