“I'll keep this world from draggin' me down. Gonna stand my ground. And I won't back down. "I Won’t Back Down” – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

It has been quite a while since I have posted on this blog. Much has happened since November 2022. The best is that Victoria graduated in May 2024 with her Bachelor of Elementary Education. She excelled in her program and was on the Dean’s List with First Class Honours.

When Victoria was little, about 6-8 years old, she would play “school” in our basement. She had an old student’s desk where she would put her “students” which were her stuffed animals and dolls. She would use a sharpie or white board markers to write out her lesson plans to her student on the metal furnace return duct. Her school bell was there to call her students to class. It was her dream to be an elementary school teacher.

During her junior and high school years she would change her plans for post-secondary. At one time she wanted to be a marine biologist, film maker, or a social worker.

Then came high school. What she had to go through is in earlier posts in this blog. That’s when she stopped talking about what she wanted to take in university and what she wanted to pursue for her career. She was told to switch to applied courses which would eliminate her path to university. The school expressed low expectations for Victoria which likely stemmed from their ignorance of dyslexia and belief that kids with dyslexia have intellectual disabilities and therefore unable to attend university or even college.

The bright light was Victoria being able to attend grades 11 and 12 at The Gow School. She excelled and graduated with honours. She applied to 6 universities including one in Ontario. She was accepted at 5 of the universities, all with scholarship offers. Then came the rejection from the Ontario university. When Victoria and I spoke with a lady from the admissions office we were told Victoria did not qualify for admission. Because she did not score high enough on her ACT test (similar to SATs) and that she received accommodations for high school and the ACT test, she was rejected. She had to take the ACTs because she attended high school in the US. Canadians do not take ACTs or SATs for admission to university in Canada. So, it was a double discrimination. She had to go to the US to receive the remediations and education she required and then was rejected by a Canadian university because of attending high school in the US. We told her that Victoria was already accepted at 5 other universities with scholarships, she said “She is not scholarship material. I was stunned and heartbroken that Victoria had to hear this.

I wanted to file yet another Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario complaint. Victoria was not willing to go through the process yet again. In addition, our son was going to be applying to a program at the same university in a couple of years. I worried that he could be refused admission as retaliation for any legal action we might take. So, we let it go. Later on, Victoria’s lawyer said it was smart we did not file a complaint. Reprisal all too possible when advocating and pursuing legal solutions to help your children.

Victoria attended a university in Atlantic Canada, with a scholarship. She struggled a bit in her first year and went on to graduate with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Political Science. This would not have been possible if we took the advice of the staff at her grade 9 and 10 high school.

She then attended a university in Nova Scotia for her Bachelor of Elementary Education, starting in September 2022. She started substitute teaching while in her second year. Her students love her as I expected they would. When she was growing up, we would call her little Mother Goose because the younger kids would want to play with her and follow her around. After graduation she taught a Grade 4 class for the remainder of the school year.

Victoria is now a teacher at a local Halifax school. She loves teaching. It is busy, challenging and sometimes exhausting. Her students have a teacher that knows what it is  like to struggle in school. She can empathize with them as she has been there. She will be a great elementary teacher. My husband and I and her brother are so incredibly proud of her.

She has achieved her dream.

Well, I know what's right

I got just one life

In a world that keeps on pushin' me around

But I'll stand my ground

And I won't back down