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    • Life Skills Learned at University

    While it is true that University is not for everyone and that those with dyslexia will find it more difficult than those that don’t have the condition, I don’t think enough is made of the invaluable life skills a university education can teach you, particularly in light of some of the problems dyslexics are known to experience.  Given recent research, (ironically published by Disney to mark the release of Monsters University) that compiled a list of fifty life skills that University teaches people, the benefits are clear, as can be seen from the list below: BUDGETS, BOLOGNESE AND BLAGGING: THE 50 LIFE SKILLS LEARNED AT UNI
    1.             Budgeting and prioritising 26.          Writing footnotes
    2.             Living with others 27.          Looking for a job
    3.             Doing a weekly food shop 28.          Setting up the internet
    4.             Paying bills 29.          Blagging essays
    5.             Studying independently 30.          Being a good team player
    6.             Managing money 31.          That fridges don’t clean themselves
    7.             Making friends 32.          Using fridge space effectively
    8.             Navigate your way around 33.          Making sure the house is locked
    9.             House / flat hunting 34.          Playing pool / pub games
    10.          Socialising with all sorts of people 35.          Saving energy
    11.          Registering at the doctor or dentist 36.          Blagging ‘group discussions’
    12.          Turning up to lectures at the right time 37.          Getting to lectures off campus
    13.          Appreciating home 38.          Using top up gas or electric key
    14.          Supermarket shopping 39.          General DIY
    15.          Coping without mum and dad 40.          How to use the bus
    16.          Skim reading long books 41.          Setting up a television
    17.          Pulling an all-night study session 42.          Which dishes aren’t microwaveable
    18.          Being considerate to housemates 43.          Sorting out the boiler
    19.          Using a washing machine 44.          Sorting recycling
    20.          Going three nights with no sleep 45.          Building flat-pack furniture
    21.          Making spaghetti Bolognese 46.          Making scrambled egg
    22.          Using the library 47.          Fire safety
    23.          Socialising in big groups 48.          How to re-use takeaway containers
    24.          Cleaning 49.          How to turn on the cooker or grill
    25.          The effectiveness of a good nap 50.          You can’t eat mould
    Source: www. dailymail.co.uk While some of these so-called skills are merely common sense (is it not obvious eating mould is a bad idea?), others are invaluable lessons that help people in their daily lives.  Learning to be a team player, for example, means that in the world of employment you are not going to struggle to work as part of a team.  It is also true that you don’t have to go to University in order to gain knowledge about the things on the above list, and indeed can and should learn them in other circumstances. However, University, due to the nature of academic institutions and often there distance from family, means that it is uniquely placed to embed some of the more practical and work-orientated aspects of the list into the skill-set of participants.  Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to ask for a bit of parental help when faced with problems in their flat, whether those concern cooking, the washing machine or some other calamity that seems like the end of the world at the time?  And while socialising with different kinds of people does not seem to be a hardship to most people, it might be that things like learning to skim read, timekeeping and prioritising tasks are arduous things for someone with dyslexia. Whatever the specific issues an individual with dyslexia encounters, there is one thing University guarantees, particularly for those who choose to live away from home: you are forced to be independent like you never have been before and potentially face demons that you would not have been given the chance to face so completely were it not for the University environment.  Although it’s scary, it’s also liberating (once you get over the fear). While it isn’t for everyone, there is no denying that it is a very particular situation, given the focus placed on independent study and self-reliance in general.  At home, you have parents or guardians, while at school you have teachers and in the workplace colleagues who are on hand should any problems arise.  Conversely, within the structure of the University environment, you are essentially on your own unless otherwise directed, be it by a lecturer or to a seminar.  But I think that needs to be embraced.  Because with self-reliance comes resilience, the likes of which I believe you cannot know unless you are forced to stand on your own two feet.  In my opinion at least, nothing forces you to do that like University does.