Underachievement is an oft quoted but little explained term, my understanding is that it is achieving less than you were capable of.  I underachieved at school, that is I achieved less than I should have.  Looking back I know full well that I did not get what I could have but did get what I should have.  This isn’t a weans parents looking for a couple of extra marks to go from a ‘B’ to an ‘A’.  Underachievement is not reaching the basic / necessary standards of numeracy and literacy.  That sounds a bit formal, but what it means is : can you read well enough, spell well enough, and count well enough to get through life.

Underachievement isn’t important if you can bypass the system, that is you step straight into the family business, or inherit a pile of filthy lucre, or you make it as a professional athlete, or you have the ability to be an entrepreneur, you’ve circled the mountain, well done.  This doesn’t happen for most people, but because these are the interesting stories, you get to hear them. 

Why does underachievement matter?  Underachievement matters because of what flows from it, the most obvious consequence is lack of qualification.  A few years ago I was part of an interview panel, this was the first time I really understood the process.  There was a meeting with a HR type person who walked us through the process.  Anyhow, the bit that really struck me was that any application not meeting the required qualifications or experience was eliminated.  The process was clear, fair and transparent.  It was only when I saw this with my own eyes that I truly comprehended what I already knew, not having the right qualifications is a shut door! 

I have walked the path, I look back and see, I see the ground travelled, the pitfalls, the ones fallen into, the ones avoided, the ones missed, the ones never seen but stepped over.  For me there was the dyslexia, but there were other factors, I’m not sure it would have been a great deal better even if it was taken from the mix.  There are others starting their path, a path eerily similar to mine, they are teetering on some precipice or other, totally flattened, flailing around in confusion or anger.  We need to raise our hand and say, there’s a problem!