Children and Learning

How would you like a way to help your child to feelstrategies that take a long time and simply do not
more successful at home, at school, with friends?work, and they struggle in school. Students need
How would you like to feel less stress in your life andstrategies for how to learn, not just what to learn so
have a better relationship with your child?they don't have to continue to struggle.
What if your child knew simple, effective strategiesThe most effective learning strategy for academics is
that will enable him to learn easily and quickly?a visual learning strategy. Tasks such as learning
It has been my experience that virtually every youngspelling words, math facts, memorizing facts and data
person that I have worked with has had the desire toand learning vocabulary words are learned more easily
do well, to be accepted by their peers, to feel prideand quickly if the student learns them visually. When
from their parents, and to feel good about themselves.students learn visually, they tend to be more interested
If they are not doing well in school or with learning, it isand learn quickly and easily. When they don't learn
not because they lack the desire to learn. The numbervisually, they tend to struggle. The very first thing to
one problem that I find children and adolescents facingaddress is the student's perception of his ability to learn
is that they don't have effective strategies for learningand use his mind effectively.
the information that is being taught to them.Once he realizes that he has the ability to use his mind
When children feel that they don't learn well, it ofteneffectively, then we can teach him precise, effective
affects their self-esteem significantly. As a result,strategies for how to learn. When he has effective
many young people will not only experience problemstools for learning, it dramatically enhances his
around learning, but also self-esteem issues, emotionalperception of his own ability to be a successful
and behavioral problems, social skills problems, anxiety,student, his performance in school, his self-esteem and
depression, or family issues. Virtually every aspect ofrelationships with friends and family, just to name a
their life is affected.few. When a young person understands (for many, for
Our public schools, unfortunately, often work from thethe first time in their lives) that he IS intelligent, that he IS
assumption that a student already knows how to learna good student, that he CAN learn easily and that
and therefore focus on teaching content rather thanthere is nothing "wrong" with him, that has a dramatic
on the process of learning. Most students learn as theyimpact on every aspect of his life! Now we can move
go along, figure out what works, and modify theiron to teaching strategies for mastering thoughts and
strategies as they go. Many, though, have neveremotions and taking action on goals.
learned effective strategies for learning; they often use