i learned to read before i started going to school i knew i could read and my parents knew i could read my kindergarten teacher did not she thought that i was somehow faking it perhaps reciting kids books that i had memorized -- never mind that thats actually part of how kids learn to read my dads great line after one of these discussions you mean he memorized todays newspaper but when she asked me to read something from the board i couldnt what neither my teacher nor my parents knew was that i was pretty severely nearsighted  i was about a year from getting my first pair of glasses and a few years away from getting an adhd diagnosis but the experience had its lasting effects it was the first of many bad relationships with teachers which lead to a bad attitude about school in general which persisted well into college my kindergarten teacher helped ruin more than a decade of schooling for me despite the fact that i was not only not falling behind but was ahead of the class in most respects  i know that she didnt know what she didnt know and i know its unreasonable to expect her to know and understand every nuanced medical issue that might come through her classroom but i wish it had been different