Let me tell you the story of a young person who is dear to me.
Reading was always hard. The words slid around on the page, no matter how hard she tried. The poor academic achievement never made any sense. She’s clearly bright – we’re always asking her help to figure out why we can’t get the tv to work. The educational psychologists agreed. “Learning difficulties but a high IQ – with help she’ll get there!” In spite of everyone’s best efforts, especially hers, with many more hours put in than any contemporaries – including those with spectacular results – limping out of the school system, just scraping by. I remember my old school motto “To the diligent, nothing is difficult”. I never questioned it then, but what a kick in the teeth for those for whom it remained hard, no matter the effort.
University still seemed achievable. Learning institutions are far more advanced these days, they can take account of the trouble some people have with learning. Help was asked for, repeatedly, but again, hard work was not rewarded. Hours and hours of study while others were out socializing. And still, during labs and lectures, so much incomprehensible gibberish. Just scraping through labs and quizzes. How long can you continue banging your head against a brick wall? Ready for a time out, a chance to press pause after the exams and re evaluate. Fate had other ideas. The flat is an icebox. The rent is cheap with a gentleman’s understanding that the ‘healthy homes’ initiative doesn’t apply. The broken window from two months ago remains unfixed. You can see your breath. There’s ice on the duvet in the morning. No surprises, colds are rampant in the flat. In the morning of the exam, her nose is running, she’s coughing and sneezing, and her ears hurt. In these COVID times, she’s turned away from the exam and sent to the doctor. She has a COVID swab and is sent home. She’s not allowed to sit any of her exams as they’re all in the window before her swab result will be back. Fair enough, but here’s the kicker – she won’t qualify for an aggregate assessment. The university are clamping down on that sort of thing. Student health say they can’t help. She leaves university, possibly for the last time, with a handful of scraped passes after 2 1/2 years of study. Clearly for those who think and learn differently, there is no place for you here. Low paid, entry level ‘women’s work’ beckons.