Tamara Prima

Twenty-five years ago, I first came face to face with a paradox I had no answer for. And I was already a professional, a speech therapist who prepared children for school. It happened with my own child. She was clearly bright and intensely creative. She could invent things day and night, stage little performances with her sister, and draw endlessly.

A child may know a letter, a rule, or the correct answer and still not have stable access to that knowledge while completing a task. From the outside, it may look as if the child forgot, is not looking carefully, or is guessing. But what if, in that moment, it is not the knowledge that changes, but the state of perception itself?

I’ve been talking with the mother of a boy, and she put into words exactly what worries her most. Not the individual mistakes. Not the grades. Not even reading itself. What worries her is the gap between what her child actually knows and can do, and what he is able to show. And therefore, what other people are able to see in him. I think this is one of the most painful realities for bright children who struggle with reading or other academic skills. Because at home, parents often know a very...