Despite learning difficulties, Dirmeik’s on the right track

For Cape Town Torah High matriculant Kaylee Dirmeik, matric seemed like an impossible task. However not only did she complete it, she’s able to attend university.

Throughout her school career, Dirmeik had the assistance of a facilitator who would help her conquer comprehension and processing issues. “The main issue is that I struggled with understanding instructions. When I’m in class, it takes me a bit longer to understand what it is that we have to do,” she says.

Dirmeik had a facilitator from Grade 3 up until matric, and said that she couldn’t have completed school without their help.

It was a lifeline as most of her schooling had to be done independently because of the way the syllabus at Cape Town Torah High is structured. “I had to have a bit more discipline than the other girls because of my learning difficulties,” says Dirmeik, “But the facilitator helped me to get through the workload and exams.”

Similarly, the syllabus at Cape Town Torah High allowed her to flourish as she wasn’t confined to one way of learning. Doing an American matric also helped Dirmeik, as she was able to do her lessons at a pace that suited her as a lot of them were done online.

“The school was able to personalise the curriculum for me, and it made it doable,” she says.

Dirmeik was able to drop maths and replace it with another subject so that she could get the credits needed to complete matric.

“Maths was the biggest challenge,” she says. “It was so confusing – having to know all the formulas and understanding the questions was especially difficult. Once I was exempt from maths, it was like a huge weight was taken off of my shoulders, and I was able to breathe.”

Though she didn’t study the mainstream curriculum, she was able to complete a course which allows her to get into university.

“The school suggested a track that would limit what I could do in the future. I wouldn’t be able to go to university, and I did not want that. I went to the principal and said that I wanted to do the bachelor’s track, which is a step down from the main track, but I would still be able to go to university,” says Dirmeik.

Although she had many facilitators over the years, she says each made an impact on her and helped her get to a place where she was able to complete matric. “My facilitators made school way more manageable for me, and I couldn’t have gone through this experience without them.”

Dirmeik’s matric highlight was taking health science and finance courses because she got to learn interesting things in a way that was interesting to her.

She says she didn’t just learn from the curriculum, but from the other girls in the year with her. Though they weren’t doing the same subjects, they were able to motivate each other to achieve the best results they could.

Dirmeik hasn’t set anything in stone about what she wants to do in the future, but she knows she wants to travel to the United States to do a Jewish summer camp and eventually become a teacher.