Clenton Farquarson: No Encouragement

Transcript

So everyone in my group did nothing. So we didn’t really learn and the teachers didn’t try and encourage us to learn. I remember a teacher – the first teacher said everyone in our class would either be in prison or, you know, do a labouring – low skilled jobs. They didn’t try and help us to gain, you know, our aspirations or anything like that. That was the first issue – that I felt that I was different from everyone.

No teacher at that time spotted I had Dyslexia. And that’s what is the most bitter and annoying thing about the education system. I was, you know, I was put out – I was put out and stopped to really get my life chances, you know. And it stopped my progression, you know, my aspirations, because I didn’t even have an aspiration, because I thought you would be too – what’s the point in dreaming or hoping you can do something when it’s been crushed? ‘Cause at the time I was told I would never amount to anything so the best thing you should do is be a labourer. So I didn’t realise you could even think about being more than you could be, so that was a real eye-opener.

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