Copyright 2007 Joan M. Azarva,Ms.ED, Expert College Learning Specialist
It might help you to know that Richard Branson, founder of
Virgin Records and Virgin Airways, was not very successful in school. According to www.beingdyslexic.co.uk,
"Richard didn't breeze through
school. It wasn't just a challenge for him, it was a nightmare. His dyslexia embarrassed him as he had to
memorize and recite word for word in public. He was sure he did terribly on
the standard IQ tests...these are tests that measure abilities
where he is weak. In the end, it was
the tests that failed. They totally missed his ability and passion for sports.
They had no means to identify ambition, the fire inside that drives people to
find a path to success that zigzags around the maze of standard doors that
won't open. They never identified the most important talent of all. It's the
ability to connect with people, mind to mind, soul to soul.* It's that rare
power to energize the ambitions of others so that they, too, rise to the level
of their dreams."
If you went through the K-12 public
school system with a learning disability and/or ADD, it's easy to understand
why you doubt your
intellectual capacity. After all, when it takes longer to learn and remember academic
principles, you might start to believe that you really aren't smart. The
stigmatizing "Special Ed" label (in some schools, a "catch-all"
phrase for borderline-IQ or emotionally-disturbed), isolation in a separate
classroom, and/or attendance in the resource room for individualized tutoring serve
to broaden your doubt. The fact that the
curriculum is often "watered down" for students with disabilities,
and you don't get much homework, add to your questions. Finally, in your senior year, a "transition
specialist" analyzes your weaknesses and determines that you probably
couldn't make it in college and best look at trade schools. No wonder you're filled with self-doubt and frightened
about the next step!
Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko's, and Charles Schwab, the
billionaire head of the stock brokerage firm, have painful school memories too. How did these three (and trust me, there are
millions more), considered school "failures", end up being so
accomplished? How did they prevent
school from destroying them?
Well, for one, Richard Branson's parents were
always setting
challenges –not academic, but physical -- for him and his siblings when
they
were young. Soon Richard began setting his own. He learned persistence
at an early age. His parents treated Richard and his two sisters as
equals, whose
opinions were as valid as theirs.
Charles Schwab learned to cope with his deficits by
schmoozing – it was evident from the start he was highly personable. To get through classic novels in school,
Charles fudged it by reading the comic book versions. School noticed his reading and writing
difficulties, yet his parents seemed to ignore them.
Paul Orfalea credits his supportive parents for much of his
success in life. Despite the fact that by third grade the only word Paul could
identify was "the", his parents were never demeaning. His mother
refused to believe that
Paul was, as one teacher put it, "as dumb as a
stone".
What do all three of these extraordinary men have in
common? Branson, Schwab, and Orfalea all
knew they had major weaknesses, but they
didn't let their deficits define them. They discovered what they did well and played to their strengths. What does that mean for you?
It means that having a learning disability doesn't mean a
doomed future. Recognizing your assets is the way you build a life. You may not excel in English or math, but
those are just two types of intelligence. In 1983, Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard,
developed the theory of multiple intelligences that suggests our traditional
notion of intelligence is too narrow. Gardner identified nine different intelligences that account for a
broader range of human potential in children and adults. People think and learn
in many ways, most of which are not measured by report cards. Was Schwab given a grade for "personality"
in school? Of course not, but relating
well to people certainly played a major role in his success. Each brain has areas
that are more developed than others, and ultimately, it's your strengths that define you and determine how you earn a
living.
Students with learning disabilities feel validated when they
take Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Inventory and find they have intelligences
they never realized. Like Branson, Schwab,
and Orfalea, these may be strengths that were hidden in school. You can take Gardner's
inventory online at MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES INVENTORY. Once you know your strongest intelligences, go
to PROFESSIONS and see which careers suit you. Gardner's theory just might open up a whole slew
of possibilities for you!
(By the way, both Charles Schwab and Paul Orfalea attended
college. Richard Branson did not – he
says he is very inquisitive and sees his life as one long university education
he never had.)
(* This author's emphasis )
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