I was recently at a school meeting, and being discussed was how to improve student performance and thus the school grade. At one point, in frustration, the principal says, " I don't understand where the disconnect is. The teacher are working hard, and so are many of the students, but the results just aren't coming." Yes, teachers, most anyway, work VERY hard, as do, in my opinion, most students. So where, indeed, is that disconnect?
In my opinion, it is internal. In this demographic of students (this is an urban school), the challenges, as I see them are:
1) Identity : The "Who Am I" level of thought, the self-image. In the estimation of many of these students, who they are doesn't do well in school. There parents maybe didn't graduate high school, most friends and family haven't, and they have adapted that identity as well. The Identity is the next to the top level of what NLP calls the "Logical Levels". They influence from the top down, in theory, so what "disconnects" are happening at the upper levels influence all the others.
2) Beliefs: The next level down has to do with beliefs, in this case, negative beliefs. More and more peer reviewed research is showing the correlation between negative beliefs and low academic performance. As the old adage goes, "Whether you believe you can, or believe you can't, you're right. "
3) Capability: This is the "how". Question, when you were in school, I'm sure you were told by more than one teachers, "Go home and study such and such". Do you remember any teacher teaching you HOW to study? Or HOW to learn the subject material? I sure don't! The educational process largely stands on assumption...it ASSUMES the student knows HOW to learn! As we can see from the data, many students do not.
So, students work hard trying to learn the material, without knowing exactly how. This is not to mention any other factors getting in the way. (i.e.-stress. More and more peer reviewed research in this area as well show correlations between stress and low academic performance.) Teachers do their best to hit benchmark and other criteria. However, the most fundamental factors, as I have thumbnailed above, is a crucial missing piece. Since I work at those levels when working with clients, it is why I see the improved academic results I do.
For more of a deeper explanation, be sure to get my free report available on the front page of my website, www.easeoflearning.com. Until next time....
