FirstNews ISSUE 275

14 FirstNews ISSUE 275 9 – 15 SEPTEMBER 2011MY WAY CAMPAIGNWith thanks toFIRST NEWS has been running a campaign for a year called My Way! It’s aboutgetting people to understand that everybody learns in their own way. For somepeople school is easy but, for others, it might be harder. The important thing wewant everybody to understand is that the way you learn has nothing to do withhow smart you are. Around six children in each class have learning challenges butthat doesn’t mean that they won’t be fantastically successful in whatever theychoose to do. As My Way! champion, Hank Zipzer author Henry Winkler, says: “Everychild has brilliance inside them. Their job is to dig it out and give it to the world.”FIRST NEWS is on the road again in October withHenry Winkler as part of the My Way! campaign saying:“HOW you learn is just asimportant as WHAT you learn!”HENRY Winkler is a huge Hollywood actor, producer and director. He’s most famous for a TV show called Happy Days but, now, he is the author ofthe best-selling children’s books Hank Zipzer, the World’s Greatest Underachiever. Hank, like Henry, is dyslexic and the books show how he uses hiscreativity and imagination to get round his learning challenges.Henry and First News editor, Nicky Cox, will be doing their fourth tour of UK schools in October as part of their My Way! campaign, spreading theword that “HOW you learn is just as important as WHAT you learn.”Why did you decide to write books for children?When I was first asked to write books for children I said: “No,I can’t, because I’m dyslexic.” I have learning challenges. I wastold I was stupid, lazy and not living up to my potential mostof my life. And, when you’re younger and you’re told that, youbelieve it. It’s part of your self image. But I was introducedto Lin Oliver and, together, we hatched Hank Zipzer. “Hank”comes from my name, Henry, and “Zipzer” is a woman wholives on the fourth floor of the building that I grew up in. Ithought it was zippy. I find it hard to write down the words soI walk round Lin’s rug and talk while she sits at the typewriter.And that’s how we write. If you find something hard, there isalways someone who can help you out.The books are funny. Where did you get your senseof humour?I don’t know. From God. Lin isalso funny. And, my childrenhave learning challengesbecause it’s passed on, andLin has a son who has alearning challenge. So wetook the experience fromeverything that we knew.Hey, one out of five kidshas some sort of learningchallenge, right?So this kid is funny and he’s so smart and creative. In thefirst book he couldn’t write an essay about his summervacation to the Niagara Falls so he made a model of itinstead. You see, there is always more than one way to dosomething!Like Horrid Henry, we think Hank Zipzer would make agreat movie.Well, you know, that would be terrific. The books certainlymake kids laugh in the UK and in America.What was it like for you at school growing upwith dyslexia?I am in the bottom 3% in the country of America inacademics. That’s why the second book is called I got a D inSalami because I got a bad grade in everything but lunch.I was great at lunch! School was unbelievably hard for me.Teachers didn’t know what dyslexia was at that time. So Iwas labelled a trouble maker. I was the class clown.They didn’t let me be in the school play because I had tohave extra maths lessons. And I became an actor anyway!It’s so important that kids are allowed to find out whatthey’re good at and not treated all the same.What would you say to children sufferingwith dyslexia or other learning difficulties atschool nowadays?All of you reading this have greatness inside you. And, it isyour job to figure out what your particular gift is. Dig it outand give it to the world. Everybody has to understand thatthey DO have greatness in them. And the way that we learn– if we learn slowly, if it’s difficult – has no relation to ourintelligence. Just because we learn differently, that does notmean that we are not incredibly smart human beings. That’ssomething I need every child to understand. Some peopleare academic, some are sporty, some are creative, some canact, some are good with their hands. All of these thingsshould be celebrated equally.As a young actor, was it difficult for you to readlines at auditions and learn lines?Yes. It was not only difficult for me as a young actor,it’s difficult for me as an actor today. Reading is veryhard. My eyes, somehow, don’t track the page reallywell. Reading out loud, especially in auditions, was likeclimbing Mount Everest with no clothes on!Can’t you get those coloured sheets that go over thewords to make it easier?Do you know what? Those sheets didn’t exist when I wasat school – they’re like different colours, right? There are somany things now that are helpful but, when I auditioned, Iused to improvise. I would read it, instantly memorise it – oras much of it as I could – and I would make up the rest.Are you looking forward to your next My Way! tour inOctober and where are you going?I can’t wait. We have the best time. This will be the fourthtime I’ve visited schools across the UK. We’ve been toEngland, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.This time I think we’re going south and west because we’venot been down towards Devon and Cornwall yet. And, youknow what, kids in Britain are the same as those in America.The only thing that is different is some of the words theyuse and their accent. But, from what I have seen from thechildren in the UK, every one of you is spectacular. Everyone of you is different and, yet, we are all the same.uDraw are the sponsors of your My Way! tour with FirstNews. How did that come about?uDraw is the perfect partner for us. Firstly, they’re very lovelypeople. But, secondly, uDraw is exactly the sort of thing I’mtalking about. It’s a new way of discovering the creativity insideyou. I have a great friend, Alfie,who is 11 who has dyslexia.Alfie has been very involvedin the My Way! campaign inBritain. So he’s got a uDrawand, although he finds it hardto write, you should see thecreative stuff he’s done with auDraw in his hands. It workswith a Nintendo Wii and I thinkthere are new versions comingout for other consoles verysoon. If you draw somethingyou don’t like, you can justclick to undo your last stroke.And, when you’re finished, youcan watch your wholedrawing being createdfrom start to finish like avideo. It’s just great.Want to share your My Way! story? Find out how online at www.firstnews.co.uk and click My Way!