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Meet Shneur Silverstein  "Thanks to Bramson ORT, I am now finishing an EMT course with plans of becoming a medic and studying pre-med." My name is ShnuerZalman Silverstein and I am 18 years old and proud to be graduating with an associate’s degree from Bramson ORT College as a medical assistant. I am the fourth child of seven kids. I was raised in a 2 bedroom apartment and spent my childhood sharing clothing, beds and food. I have four brothers and two sisters. Education was very important in my household. But, since I have a severe reading disorder called a visual-sequencing-disorder, education was always an extreme challenge! I also have a convergence problem which means my eyes do not converge together when I read which makes it almost impossible to track the words on the page. Doctors also believe that I have a delayed neurological response from seeing the letter on the page to the message my brain receives. I can read small bits of information like driving directions or a restaurant menu, but I have trouble with the small print in textbooks, and I suffer from headaches if I try to read for an extended period of time. To my benefit, and I assume to compensate for my reading problems, I have been blessed with a wonderful memory and the ability to memorize everything I hear with my ears. So how was I able to not only graduate Bramson ORT but also get a wonderful GPA? Well, it has taken a lot of effort and determination on my part. First off, I made it my business never to miss a class. I knew that if I heard the lesson taught I would be able to recall the information for a test. Also, through the board of education, I received a P3 which allowed me 5 days a week of tutoring. My tutor never had to teach me the information, just read aloud to me any reading assignment that I had. I also was fortunate to have tutoring available to me through Bramson ORT which really helped me when I felt overwhelmed. I remember as a child being so frustrated in school because I knew I was as smart, if not smarter, than all the kids in my class, but was unable to read like the other kids. My parents took me to tons of reading programs that promised success but usually failed. I went to eye clinics where the doctors make me do painful eye exercises to try to get my eyes to converge; they also tried to teach me tricks so I would be able to keep my place on the page. I tried different kinds of glasses. Colored glasses and glasses where the glass would ‘angle inward’ trying to compensate for my lack of convergence, but they never really made a difference. All the programs were frustrating and gave me a headache. As a child, my mother would read everything aloud to me. She even read the entire Harry Potter series aloud so I could understand what everyone in school was talking about. I remember as a young child that my teachers did not understand how I could be so smart and not be able to read. It was even more difficult for me because I was being educated in an Orthodox Jewish school where my morning program was taught in the Hebrew language which was even more difficult for me to read due to the shapes of the letters and the vowels. Today, reading problems are better understood, but my teachers used to think I was lazy and just not trying hard enough. But that was not true, I was trying hard, and the harder I tried the more my eyes would hurt. I have learned in life that everyone has challenges. As a young boy, I thought it was only me which made me feel insecure, awkward and different. Now that I have completed my GED and am getting my Associates degree, I feel proud, strong and accomplished. I would like to thank Bramson ORT for putting their faith in me and allowing me to have this opportunity to be able to use the intelligence I have to succeed. Special thanks to Yair Rosen who was patient and spoke to each teacher explaining my personal challenge. Thanks to Bramson ORT, I am now finishing an EMT course and plan to become a medic with the goal of becoming pre-med.
Help students like Shneur realize their educational goals. |
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