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WEEK4 - Like Stars On Earth

Ishaan is an 8-year-old boy who struggles in school and is believed to have a learning disability. He finds a passion for art but his talents are overlooked. A new art teacher, Mr. Nikumbh, recognizes Ishaan's skills and that he likely has dyslexia, making it difficult for him to read and write. Mr. Nikumbh works individually with Ishaan using techniques for dyslexia and Ishaan's grades and love of learning improve. At a school art fair, Ishaan's creative piece wins first place, showing his abilities. Ishaan's parents are amazed at his transformation under Mr. Nikumbh's guidance.

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NICK DULIN
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258 views5 pages

WEEK4 - Like Stars On Earth

Ishaan is an 8-year-old boy who struggles in school and is believed to have a learning disability. He finds a passion for art but his talents are overlooked. A new art teacher, Mr. Nikumbh, recognizes Ishaan's skills and that he likely has dyslexia, making it difficult for him to read and write. Mr. Nikumbh works individually with Ishaan using techniques for dyslexia and Ishaan's grades and love of learning improve. At a school art fair, Ishaan's creative piece wins first place, showing his abilities. Ishaan's parents are amazed at his transformation under Mr. Nikumbh's guidance.

Uploaded by

NICK DULIN
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WEEK 4: LIKE STARS ON EARTH BY ZAINAB LAKHANI

dyslexia

noun

any of various reading disorders associated with


difficulty decoding written language and integrating
auditory and visual information, such as the
association of phonemes with letter combinations in
spelling
Ishaan Awasthi is an 8-year-old boy who hates school and learning, as
he finds all the subjects difficult and is frequently belittled and disliked by
both his teachers and his classmates. His imagination, creativity and
talent for art and painting are often disregarded or unnoticed. His father,
Nandkishore Awasthi, is a successful executive who expects his children
to excel, and his mother, Maya Awasthi, is a housewife frustrated by her
inability to educate Ishaan. Ishaan's elder brother, Yohaan Awasthi, is an
exemplary student and athlete whose merits Ishaan is often ashamed of.
After receiving a particularly poor academic report, Ishaan's parents send him to a boarding school. There he
rapidly sinks into a state of fear, anxiety and depression, despite being befriended by Rajan Damodharan,
a physically disabled boy who is one of the top students in the class. Ishaan is anguished due to missing his
parents, the boarding school teachers being even more abusive than the previous school's, and starting to feel
that he genuinely was a failure. Ishaan contemplates suicide, climbing up the fence on a terrace, but Rajan
intervenes, saving him.
Ishaan's condition changes when a new art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a cheerful and optimistic
instructor at the Tulips School for young children with developmental disabilities, joins the school. Nikumbh's
teaching style is markedly different from that of his strict and abusive predecessor, and he quickly observes
Ishaan's unhappiness and impassive participation in class activities. He reviews Ishaan's work and concludes
that his academic shortcomings are indicative of dyslexia, a condition suppressing his artistic capabilities. One
day he sets off to Mumbai to visit Ishaan's parents where he is surprised to discover Ishaan's hidden interest in
art after finding some of his drawings. Upset, he asks Nandkishore why he sent the child to a boarding school
in the first place and shows Mrs. Awasthi her son's notebooks giving an analysis of his struggles. He explains
how Ishaan has severe difficulty in understanding letters and words due to dyslexia even though Nandkishore,
labeling it as mental retardation, dismisses it as a mere excuse for laziness. Frustrated by his crude and
inaccurate explanation of Ishaan's condition, Nikumbh leaves. Nandkishore finally feels guilty for his
mistreatment of Ishaan.
Nikumbh returns and subsequently brings up the topic of dyslexia in a class by offering a list of famous people
who were dyslexic. Afterwards, he comforts Ishaan by telling him how he struggled as a child as well by facing
similar problems. Nikumbh then visits the school's principal and obtains his permission to become
Ishaan's tutor. With gradual care, he attempts to improve Ishaan's reading and writing by using remedial
techniques developed by dyslexia specialists. Ishaan soon develops an interest in his studies and eventually
his grades improve.
Towards the end of the school year, Nikumbh organizes an art fair for the staff and students. The competition
is judged by artist Lalita Lajmi. Ishaan, with his strikingly creative style, is declared the winner and Nikumbh,
who paints Ishaan's portrait, is declared the runner-up. The principal announces that Nikumbh has been hired
as the school's permanent art teacher. When Ishaan's parents meet his teachers on the last day of school,
they are left speechless by the transformation they see in him. Overcome with emotion, Mr. Awasthi thanks
Nikumbh. As Ishaan gets into the car to leave with his parents for summer vacation, he turns around and runs
toward Nikumbh, who hugs him and tells him to return next year.

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