I learn Best IF
Dear mummy & papa
You want me to score high marks. You want me to come first in class. You want me to excel in studies. I know and understand your desire for my success. It’s for my own good,
I have been told. Even I would like it, but maybe ... in a different way. I want to learn, know, do, make and understand lots of things. Just not always the ways studies are dished out to me.
Mummy, if you made one dish for dinner and it turned out "bad", will you be asked to do it ten times - so that you do not get it "wrong" the next time? How will you feel? Or if you’re cooking is compared to Grandma's. Or you are sent to cooking tuitions. Can you cook better next time if you are stressed; you are made to feel 'less' or even made to feel 'bad' by a 'red' mark?
Just so,
If I am weak in math - an extra hour of math will make me more stressed.
If I cannot concentrate while reading - more reading or comparison with others will give me signals I am less than others.
If I am not remembering my lesson - mugging and demand for more revision will make me hate learning.
If I misspell - writing more and more mechanically will stop me venturing into any other writing or reading events.
Think:
I am weak in Math but I like cricket - Can I count, add, multiply, or do fraction with my favorite cricket team - My interests are taken care - Now I am even ready to explore why pitches need a particular type of sand? How sedimentary rocks are made? And so on.
If I cannot concentrate on the reading book - but I like watching TV - Can I read how cartoons are made? Can I read how TV works? Can I write about my favorite characters, or what was the best I liked from that show?
I may not be remembering the lesson - but I have a good imagination and can visualize a lot - Can I make symbols and story for the entire history lesson I need to remember. Since visual memory is more reliable and efficient, can I draw big picture collages of the whole lesson and enjoy it while remembering it for the exam.
I misspell few words, not all - can we see how these words are made, can you show me another strategy to learn spelling or play some game on dictionary so I develop love for words.
As a child I want to excel. I want to see you (my parents) happy and proud of me. But few things are not in my hand. I am not aware of other ways of learning. I have few areas which needs improvement. But I do not know where to start. Standard methods seem not to work with me (possibly did not work with you also). Pressure, push and stress do not make me motivated to work on my weaknesses.
One uncle said, "The world is full of stress. So we should stress the children so that when they grow up they can handle and prosper in the
I would also like to tell you when I enjoy learning. (I am sure the same applies to you also as a learner). If you keep this in mind, I will be more happy, more successful and more motivated to learn.
1. I learn best when I enjoy what is to be learned when it is interesting. Just as you add so many spices and cook my dinner in various ways - you make it so yummy! Can you make my studies yummy too!
2. Just as you cook the same potato in many different ways, can the same subject or concept be presented to me in different ways?
3. Don't I eat most voraciously the food which I like most? Since every child's taste buds (read learning preferences) are different, I wish you could always cook as per my preferences. (more about this in the next newsletter)
4. Just as hunger is natural to my tummy, so is learning natural to my brain. I want to learn all the time.
>> Only I want to be stimulated instead of instructed.
>> I want to be encouraged instead of compared.
>> I want to be challenged instead of forced.
5. I eat best when you eat with me, not feed me. Similarly I learn best when I see you as a co-learner not a teacher.
Let me leave with a simple quote by Winston Chirchill, "I may not like being taught, but I am always ready to learn.
By Ratnesh & Aditi Mathur
For www.geniekids.com
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