Ever feel like society puts too much pressure on us all to pass exams? Well, a teacher at one school reached out to a special student to make sure he understood that test results aren’t everything.
Ruth Clarkson, assistant headteacher at the Lansbury Bridge School for children with complex learning difficulties in St Helens, Merseyside, UK, was determined to show 11-year-old student Ben Twist that he had many talents above and beyond what his SATS exams could demonstrate.
Despite putting in his best effort, Ben, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of five and struggles with social interaction and communication, was disappointed with his exam results.
Then Ms. Clarkson sent him a letter.
‘A very important piece of information I want you to understand is that these tests only measure a little bit of you and your abilities.” the teacher wrote.
‘They are important and you have done so well, but Ben Twist is made up of many other skills and talents that we at Lansbury Bridge see and measure in other ways.’
Ms. Clarkson then went on to list Ben’s many and varied talents and skills, a gesture his mum Gail said moved her to tears for her ‘kind and funny’ boy.
Gail Twist posted the letter on Twitter, where it has since been shared more than 10,000 times.
In tears. A letter to my 11 yr old autistic son from his school. “These tests only measure a little bit of you” pic.twitter.com/e9OPECidxX
— Gail Twist (@gailtwist) July 9, 2016
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Main image: twitter.com/gailtwist
