UAE counselor encourages parents, students to embrace self-worth beyond grades – News

Students and their parents must remember that grades are an assessment of academic work and not a final conclusion

As the job market evolves, employers increasingly value skills acquired outside of traditional academic settings.

As a result, students must prioritize acquiring a variety of competencies that go beyond traditional academic achievement, say counselors in the UAE.

This guidance is especially important in view of the recent announcement of results from CBSE, ISC and ICSE over the weekend. While some students may exceed their expectations, many others may be disappointed.

Meanwhile, with some students across the country starting their GCSEs, A levels and AS levels, experts stress that students and their parents must remember that results are an assessment of academics and not final.

According to Dr Nada Elbashir, a consultant psychiatrist at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, “Students must understand that academic performance is not the only indicator of success or intelligence, especially if they do not do as well in their exams as they planned. Focus on Personal development, not grades. Explore your interests, explore hobbies, and learn key skills. Remember, education is more than academic achievement. Set achievable goals related to your strengths and interests. To make progress over time, place major Break goals into smaller, doable activities. Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small it may seem.”

Parents are advised to create a supportive environment at home so their children can talk about their struggles and goals without fear of being judged. Children should be encouraged to have an open dialogue and comforted with achievements and failures.

Girish Hemnani, a life coach and energy healer based in Dubai, said: “These results are an assessment of academics, not a conclusive conclusion. It is important to remember that academic performance is not the only indicator of a person’s intelligence or worth. Different People have different strengths and areas of interest that may not always align with traditional scoring systems. One of the most common pitfalls that lead to frustration is comparison.”

Experts stress that academic achievement is not the only indicator of success or intelligence.

“Comparing ourselves to others is one of the main causes of low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority. When we compare ourselves to others, we lose sight of our own unique worth and contributions. Therefore, create an encouraging environment and A heightened focus on our own needs, values ​​and long-term goals is critical,” he added.

Psychologists emphasize that difficult times are opportunities for parents to bond with their children on a deeper level. Using judgmental words, criticism, and comparisons defeats the purpose of making children empathetic, resilient, independent, and capable.

Divya Salian Amin, Clinical Psychologist at Modern Family Clinic, said: “Talking with parents (the expectations of the child) should be done even before the exam. Many times, high-achieving students may not be able to perform at their best due to stress. This may be due to Anxiety attacks, or due to many sleepless nights. This can lead to information processing issues such as what they learn and how it is retained in the brain and how it is retrieved. So, sometimes there is a lot of blockage. Best to talk to parents before the exam Talking to them, and talking to them later (after the results are out) has less impact. But managing internalized behavior requires giving parents some support to let them go and see that the academic part is not the only thing that determines the future of the child (or the child is good at it) Factors. So, parents and children need to understand that there are many people who are not doing well academically, but are also doing well in life. This will give them hope for the future of their children.

“Parents need to understand and pay attention to their child’s situation when their child is under such stress. That’s because the child will eventually go home, and if things are not going well at home, the treatment won’t work. So it has to start with family intervention. Every Individuals need to accept it (results), be hopeful and know that academic performance is not the ultimate goal in life,” she added.

Counselors point out that understanding life’s purpose goes far beyond grades.

“Give yourself time to heal gracefully and prepare to take on new challenges with enthusiasm and a positive spirit. Life presents you with wonderful opportunities to explore previously untested territory. Look at unconventional and promising career aspects, these Aspects are different from the way traditional and orthodox careers are viewed. Look at your core competencies and think about what the disruptive path is,” asserts Dr. Ameya Ghanekar, Strengths Coach at Gallup Dubai.