Days into the coronavirus crisis, young people throughout the UK learned that they wouldn’t be sitting their exams this year. Many were distraught with the potential impact that would have on their future career.
No sweat, I thought; exam results are just one part of what makes your career. That’s true for everyone. The Dyslexia Scotland Career Development Service Holistic Strengths Daisy demonstrates exactly this.
When I shared this diagram via a LinkedIn post, the image quickly began trending as hundreds of other career educators picked it up and shared it with their networks. Parents got in touch to express relief, and young people found a sense of perspective about what really matters; be that during times of crisis or times of calm.
These weren’t dyslexic people. These were people from all backgrounds and situations. All affected in the same way.
This model, originally designed for dyslexic people to recognise, understand and value holistic strengths suddenly became of significance to the other 90% of the learning community.
In the worst way imaginable, this global crisis has levelled the playing field. Every one of us has a unique suite of skills, abilities, talents, knowledge, capacity to learn and adapt, and character strengths to be the best we can be, for ourselves and others. And together, the whole of these are greater than the sum of their parts. We all now have a significant part to play in making the world a better place for everyone.
The young generation, anxious this year about the effect their exam results will have on their future needn’t worry, as they will be judged not on their academic attainment of 2020, but on how they handled a crisis, and what learning they have taken in to their futures.
Dyslexic strengths, in particular, are of great value to ourselves, families and communities and society. Make the best of yours. Help others make the best of theirs.
Learning points:
- We are more than our exam results
- We each have a unique blend of strengths
- Dyslexic strengths are of great value
- We can make the world a better place together
Please see our news page which has a statement from the Scottish Government about exams and dyslexia: https://www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk/news
Blog by Katie Carmichael, Career Coach
A life less ordinary 