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The Flunking Freshman At one of the breaks I went over to talk to him. He told me that this was his last chance. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked him what he meant and he told me his story. He flunked his freshman year of high school and his parents held him back and here it was in the middle of the first semester during his repeat year and he was still flunking. This young man seemed completely discouraged. He wasn't a lazy kid. He studied but he just wasn't learning. I took this as a personal challenge. I told him that we would find a way to turn this situation around. During the workshop he took the two self evaluations that make up the backbone of the YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK book. We then very carefully planned a strategy for using this information. I remember he was Auditory, Logical, Body Kinesthetic and talented in Knowing Others. He was an avid sportsman and so I decided to use this as the center piece of his new learning strategy. I asked him to organize everything he had to learn into a simple logical format. He was then instructed to put this information on to a tape player. At the same time he was asked to personalize as much of the material as he could and put those thoughts on his tape too. Finally he was instructed to go outside and kick his soccer ball against the garage door while listening to this tape. I called him two weeks later and he was ecstatic. His grades were all "A's" and "B's". I asked him how his folks responded and he said that his Dad had given him a hug. Nothing strange was done to get this result. I simply helped this young man discover what his brain talents were and then I showed him how to use those talents. The results? Success. He was smart. He just didn't know how to tap into his native intelligence and the YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK! learning system helped him with that. | Return to Top |
The Adult Learner Frustrated, she asked one of the nursing instructors if there was anything she could do. She was instructed to call me and learn about the YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK! program. I met with her a few days later. During our session she took the two self evaluations that are a part of the YASTYT book and then we began the process of designing a learning plan that would tap into her native intelligence. A few weeks later she retook, for the third time, the entrance exam having studied the way the YASTYT book suggested. This time she not only passed the exam but she got the highest score that anyone had ever received. Betty went on to pass her nursing course work and today she is a nurse in good standing in a major California hospital. | Return to Top |
She Knew Everything One of the first new ideas thrown at me was the YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK! program, which showed me what I thought I already knew: Yes, I am an Auditory Experiential Learner. Bearing in mind that I didn't learn anything new from this, I continued to study the way I always had. Every day after school and on the weekends, I reread my notes over and over for hours. I received a low 80 on my first test and was shocked to get a 73 on my final. I was upset because I had always been a B+ or A student. So, what happened? History began to repeat itself during the next semester. When I received a low-80s grade on a test, I realized that I had to do something. It was obvious that information was not staying in my long-term memory. I despised taping classes (How can I remember to bring the tape recorder? Do I have enough tapes and working batteries? When am I ever going to have time to listen to this? Is it really going to work?), but I gave in. I have now taped several weeks of classes and have listened to the tapes the same night. It takes far less time to listen to the tapes than to reread. I have retained much more information. I feel much more confident participating in discussions with other students - a strategy which also helps to move information to my long-term memory! My next step is to increase my time spent in the Nursing Arts Laboratory to use my Experiential learning style! If you have the same attitude I had about study habits and not getting anything out of YASTYT, I hope that my story will help push you in the right direction. I am a great skeptic and difficult to change, but I found that the program helped me a great deal. Good luck. | Return to Top |
The Graduate Student His career demanded that he go back for his masters degree. He enrolled into a local program. He approached his studying the way he had always approached it. And on the first test he was shocked to discover that his memorizing was not going to work. The test asked him to analyze the material that he had "learned". His rote memory left him totally unprepared to do any analyzing. Concerned, he talked to a friend who fortunately had heard about the YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK! book. Berry picked up a copy of the book and discovered that he had been learning in short-term memory all these years and now something more in-depth was required. He followed the prescription as outlined in the YASTYT book and he began learning the material faster than he had ever been able to memorize it. He was delighted to discover how on the next test he could answer each question fully and completely. The whole experience changed his perception about himself. He felt as though for the first time he was truly manifesting his native intelligence. At the end of the semester his grades reflected this new found intelligence. He also noticed that his study time had been reduced significantly. Finally he celebrated the fact that what he was learning was staying with him long after the class was over. | Return to Top |
Renée
Mollan-Masters, M.A.
Copyright © 2003-2010 Reality Productions |
I
was leading a YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK! Workshop about
11 years ago and I looked out over the audience and I noticed a
young man who looked to be about 16. He seemed depressed yet earnest
and I noticed he had a Sports Illustrated magazine on his desk and
he read it every time we had a break.
Betty,
a Licensed Vocational Nurse, upon the insistence of her hospital
supervisor, decided to go back to school to be become a registered
nurse. Never feeling much like a student, she reluctantly took the
nursing entrance exam at the local community college. As expected,
she failed this exam miserably. Undaunted she studied even harder
and a few weeks later she retook the entrance exam. This time she
failed even worse.
My
name is Debbie Gallagher. I want to share an experience with you
in hopes that it may enlighten you as it did me. I tend to be a
fairly strong "Type A" personality and find change to be difficult
at times. Please don't throw any new ideas at me! It will change
my whole schedule!
Berry
had always done well in school. He worked hard for his grades but
he just accepted that as his fate. He knew that he was as smart
as anyone as long as he had the time to learn what everyone else
seemed to get almost immediately.