Banking on the future but with interest
Keith Gray is the Honorary Life Governor of the Royal Canadian Golf Association. Now retired, he had a successful career as a banking executive; starting at the bottom as a bank messenger/junior clerk and steadily moving up the career ladder. During his time working for a bank, he was known for getting things done and was famous for being one of the main characters in the book called ‘Banking on America’. But from an early age, he hit the ‘rough’. He can still clearly remember as a schoolchild, getting the strap for not being able to read or remember things in class in rural Canada and being called ‘stupid’.
Although this happened over 70 years ago, for Keith Gray these memories have largely not been forgotten. In fact, very much what he experienced then, is still happening now on a daily basis in Canada. The legacy of the past has clearly not changed where children with dyslexia are not afforded the opportunity or chance to excel in school, due to a lack of proper understanding of dyslexia in Canada.
Keith believes unlike most modern economises the Canadian government is failing to recognise dyslexia, failing to give teachers the tools to teach children with dyslexia and failing to change the education curriculum. This is ultimately failing 10-15% of the population and setting them up for a future life of misery. Because dyslexia can be inherited, this can also mean generations of families growing up in a culture of failing and excepting this as the norm.
According to Keith when the rest of the world decided to change and to adopt new thinking on how best to support children with dyslexia, Canada resolutely stood still. It still maintains that they can’t afford to recognise dyslexia and will not recognise the word dyslexia. Compared with other developed nations, this might be seen as a draconian and short-sighted approach to take about supporting children with dyslexia in education, as this would ultimately increase the cost of education. He was told by the Deputy Minister of Education for Ontario, the largest province in Canada, the reason why they don’t and won’t officially recognise or use the word dyslexia is because of “money”.
That is why Keith got together four years ago with a number of support networks across Canada to establish Dyslexia Canada. So, no child in Canada with dyslexia will be denied the support he was denied at a similar age.
When Keith’s career started off in the banking industry, they saw potential in him, even though he was a school dropout and failed at high school. The bank still stood by him and decided to send him to Harvard Business School. At that time, he knew that he was having difficulties in reading, writing and spelling and a doctor friend suggested he got tested for dyslexia. So at 35 years old, not only did he learn for the very first time that he was dyslexic, but he didn’t even know what the word meant. He was advised to try and keep up with everyone else at university and not tell his employer because, in those days, something like this would have been recorded on your employment record and would have been a “taboo”.
But although Keith was fortunate to rise above his challenges from an early age and to carve out an eventual successful career in banking, he still finds it a challenge today.
In setting up Dyslexia Canada, Keith is challenging the Canadian authorities for the sake of the nation and in line with other forward-thinking nations, to recognise the importance supporting children with dyslexia now and more importantly for the future generations to come.
Written by Guest Blogger, Ross Duncan