Seeing Life In Pastel Shades Of Bootstraps

When I was in high school, the teachers changed the majority of their printed materials from white paper to pastel colours. This was apparently to help people with dyslexia and similar disabilities. I came home from school one day and told my dad the good news.

Dad: “Well, that’s stupid.”

Me: “What? Why?”

Dad: “Why can’t they just use normal paper? It’s a waste of resources to change the colour.”

Me: “But apparently, it helps dyslexic people to read better. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Dad: “Of course not! What do you think’s going to happen to those kids when they grow up?”

Me: “I… don’t know?”

Dad: “They’re going to go into the real world where they have to use white paper. Nobody’s going to use some coloured paper just because one of their employees can’t read on white paper.”

Me: “I guess, but—”

Dad: “Schools need to teach them how to read properly in the first place.”

Me: “Isn’t that what the coloured paper is supposed to help with?”

Dad: “No. It’s a waste of resources, and giving those kids an easy way out means they’ll just learn to rely on it and won’t be prepared for not having that in the real world.”

At that time, I believed that if my dad was talking so strongly about it, then he must be right. But nowadays, I’m thinking maybe he was wrong.