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A day in the life of Darren Batey
Darren was President of Liverpool Hope Students' Union in 2007/08
When you're studying and thinking ‘yes’, I am really happy with this essay and then you receive the grade and it reads ‘E’, you begin to stop believing in yourself. I am fine with the knowledge, can argue my points and understand my subject, but why can't I put it to paper?
Well…
In my second year, my lecturer sat down with me and asked me to read through one of my essays and that was it; I was hit with a huge shock: what I was reading was totally different to the way it was written. After tests, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
People would say to me ‘don’t worry, it means nothing’ but it wasn’t nothing to me. It was a realisation of why for so long I felt like a failure, but didn’t really understand; I still don’t today. What’s more, in my job as President of Liverpool Hope University Students’ Union, it does play a role; it does get to me, and it definitely frustrates me.
Passion
Senior management, on the whole, don’t see my ability or passion, but find it easier to pick up and dismantle my reports, from the tiniest spelling mistake, to laughing at the paragraphs I've written.
It hurts to see my passion and commitment dismissed because of a few mistakes; to be judged by a piece of paper which offers grades that they feel are ‘unsuitable’. To be looked down upon instead of listened to is wrong.
It’s good to see young people being educated on the subject of disability but what about senior management – older lecturers? Students have a right to study and if they are happy with the outcome, that is what’s important, its not anyone’s but ours. If we are happy why shouldn’t others be?
My day does need some structure, especially when it comes to reading papers for meetings, given that no one has explained the terminology, the layout, the reasoning. It takes me a long time to read and fully understand the material, but I do succeed until the meetings themselves that is, when often, the points are rushed and you have no time to keep up with the constant ‘point five, appendix six’, followed by ‘second paragraph, page eight, point one'. Sometimes, by the time I find the section in question, decisions have already been made, but I don’t let it deter me; I am now confident enough to ask people to slow down, show respect and to take a little more time.
The university wonders why disabled students don’t always disclose disability. Perhaps a long look at its methods would provide an answer?
Frustration
How do I overcome the frustration? The answer is simple: I don’t allow it to bother me; I fight for students rights in meetings, discussion forums and as much as possible outside of the meetings held within university. Can it be achieved? Well, we have managed it this year, so I am confident it can be managed next year too.
I don’t want to scream about my disability from a roof top – I certainly don’t want sympathy for my diagnosis. I simply want the respect and tolerance I believe we can offer everyone.
I don’t write this article for sympathy, or for the ‘that’s terrible!’ of it all. I write because people need to realise that no matter what the disability or the difficulty, with some support and certainly respect, barriers can be dismantled within institutions.
It may take time, but I am a strong believer in educating the uneducated, always respecting the fact that they may simply not understand.