Designs on success: Tommy Hilfiger rises above a reading problem. (Who's In The News).

Tommy Hilfiger is known for his clothing. He has made millions of dollars as a fashion designer. He is world famous.

And to think, he almost quit high school.

Hilfiger didn't like to read. He also hated math. In fact, he admits that he was not a good student at all.

Learning was hard for him. "I felt bad about myself in school when I couldn't get the work," he said. Hilfiger made jokes instead of doing schoolwork. Often, he skipped class.

Hilfiger got poor grades, but teachers knew he wasn't a problem child. He was just a child with a problem. That problem was dyslexia (dis-LEK-see-uh).

Not a Disease

Dyslexia is not a disease. It is a condition that makes it hard for a person to use words.

People with dyslexia have trouble when they try to read. Letters and words may seem out of order. A letter d might look like a letter b. The word dog might look like bog.

A young child with dyslexia can have a hard time learning the ABC's. An older child may not be able to make sense of a word.

Hilfiger struggled with numbers and letters. "I didn't know what was wrong," he said. "Everybody thought I was a screw-up."

To cover up his reading problem, Hilfiger turned into a class clown. He told jokes. His parents, though, didn't laugh. "It was scary when I brought my report card home," he said. "I had to repeat tenth grade."

Into Business

At 18, Hilfiger and two friends had a plan. They drove three hours to New York City. They bought lots of bell-bottom pants. The pants were very popular in the late 1960s. They returned home and sold the pants to friends in their small hometown.

Hilfiger and his friends made money. They opened a store called People's Place. They sold clothes, candles, and other items.

"We called it a boutique (boo-TEEK)," Hilfiger said. "It was very successful. It was like a hangout, but it was a serious business."

A Good Fit

Hilfiger coped with his condition. He graduated from high school "by the skin of my teeth," he said.

He kept running his shop. He soon opened three more stores. He liked selling clothes. "Then I started thinking, `I really want to design the clothes,'" he said.

Hilfiger told clothing makers about his design ideas. A couple of people gave him breaks. Self-taught, Hilfiger designed clothes people could not find anywhere else. Word spread about him. That was more than 20 years ago. Today, people around the world wear his clothing.

Hilfiger, now 50, tells others about dyslexia. He doesn't want anyone to stop learning. Doctors are learning more about the condition and how to treat it. They are learning why smart people like Hilfiger have a hard time learning to read.

Think About It

How would dyslexia get in the way of learning?

BEFORE READING

* Vocabulary: condition, struggled, boutique

* Tap Prior Knowledge: What kinds of things can make it difficult to read a word or a sentence? Why is knowing how to read important in life?

* Invite Predictions: How did becoming the class clown help Tommy Hilfiger hide his dyslexia? What kind of store did he open with friends when he was 18?

* Check students' predictions after they have read the story.

NOTES BEHIND THE NEWS

* Dyslexia is not a disease, but it is a lifelong problem that presents daily challenges. With proper diagnosis, appropriate education, and hard work--and support. from family, friends, teachers, and others--people who are dyslexic lead successful and productive lives. To compensate for their condition, dyslexic people are often visual, creative thinkers who excel at hands-on learning.

* Other famous people with dyslexia included Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.

EXTEND

Have each student interview parents, neighbors, and/or relatives and make a list of their ideas regarding the contributions of the dyslexic persons listed above. (NCTE/IRA Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with different audiences for a variety of purposes.)