A Quick Share

   

     Things have been very busy in my work these days, and the results I am getting with students is, well, amazing.  For example, regarding a college student I worked with Saturday... felt MUCH BETTER on her tests today! She thought it was "wierd" that her auditory track was no longer self-defeating. Told her it would stick :)  Tapped tonight on test anxiety directly, now that I cleared the other aspects (negative self-talk). The best was, though she was sick tonight, she didnt want to reschedule, because for the first time, she tried something that actually worked!

     SAT jumps of 300 points, passing standardized tests, and so much more... I couldn't be happier these students are getting the help the need.   

The Mission

 

      I was reading some interesting facts the other day about illiteracy. One that stood out was that 2/3 of those who don't read at grade level by 4th grade will either be on welfare or in jail.  After all, over 60% of inmates are illiterate.  This was mind blowing to me.  How do students even get so far behind? In a system in one of the most advanced countries in the world, we still have MILLIONS who are illiterate.  I don't understand it.

     Then I went on to read about stress, anxiety, and negative beliefs, and their negative impacts on academic performance.  I have to admit, I was upset. I was upset because countless students are literally suffering in their school experience. Oh, sure, there is always a new method or curriculum du jour that promises the next academic miracle, yet none address these core issues.  Budget cuts always hit the "non-academic" areas first: school psychologists, guidance counselors, SAFE co-ordinators and the like.  Yet, these are perhaps the MOST academic, in that they play vital roles at foundational levels.

     After reading things like the above, my passion, my mission, stirs even more inside of me.  I want to shout from the rooftops that I KNOW how to address these things, I use tools and techniques that can make all of the difference!  I can teach people how to read in just 2 1/2 hours with the awesome Universal Reading Method.  I can help students transform at the core level with a synthesis of techniques I call Academic Alchemy.  I want to help them ALL!  I want to change lives, and change the world in the process.

     For all of you who have supported my work, THANK YOU!  For all of those with whom I have worked with, THANK YOU for letting me have the honor of doing so.  For those of you who have a child who is struggling, or maybe you are a college student struggling yourself,  contact me, let me help!

The "Disconnect"

   

     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....