Hypnosis, Attention and Learning

Just last night, I read the story of a school in Bloomfield, Missouri (Middle School) that is planning to initiate a new plan; their new policy will virtually eliminate homework-or at least come close. This makes good sense for many reasons.

The goal, according to Superintendent Nick Thiele is to cut down on lecture time and up the time spent doing hands on activities. With this plan in place the students will have the opportunity to do what used to be done at home (homework) at school. As with any change with how things have been done,not everyone agrees.

According to Patty Yoxall, a spokeswoman for the National Parent-Teacher’s Organization, studies show that children should have roughly 10 minutes of homework for every grade level. 1st graders would get 10 minutes per night, 2nd graders 20 minutes etc. This would culminate with a senior in high school having 2 hours of homework per night.

Sylvia Seidel of the National Educators Association say’s “Children are bombarded with information during their school day, and it’s a lot to process; that’s one on the benefits of homework-to review what was not understood and prepare for the next day.”

Seidel is right about one thing; children are bombarded with a lot of information each day, and that’s exactly the point the Bloomfield, Missouri Middle School is addressing. Rather than saying “We need them to work MORE each evening so they can keep up and process what we are throwing at them during the day” they chose to ask “Is the way we have been teaching the most effective and efficient way to teach?” and “What could we do to streamline this process?”

I am a minimalist. I tossed taking “pride” in how long or hard I was working a long time ago. Many great mentors have taught me to ask “How can I meet the objective with the least amount of effort and energy?” I learned to eliminate phobias, for example, in an hour, rather than the months or years of therapy many of my clients had endured, but still had their phobia.

Sometimes there is no way around it; some things DO require long hours and hard work, but not nearly as many as some would like us to think.

While in Guam, I was invited to lunch by two local psychologists who were amazed that, one of their patients with a phobia of dogs who they had worked with-unsuccessfully- for 24 months, had become phobia free after one 60 minute session with me. “We just want to pick your brain” I was told.

After enjoying a wonderful lunch at one of Guam’s luxury hotels, I demonstrated for them, with one of their patients (another patient with a phobia of elevators) how quickly and easily my method worked. To say they were stunned would be an understatement. We all laughed and smiled as we rode up and down an elevator at the hotel; this patient had not been able to even step inside one for 6 years, even after 9 months of therapy. Weeks later, however, they still were not using the method.

When I asked (over another nice lunch) why they had not incorporated the method into their practice, Dr. Smith (not her real name) lowered her voice and said ‘Vince, what we saw you do was mind boggling; however, curing phobias in 1 hour, as opposed to 2 -3 sessions a week for many months is just not feasible from a financial standpoint. We have house payments and car payments to make, and seeing patients only one time would put us out of business!”

This was in 1999; it was my introduction to the world as it is, rather than the world as I’d like it to be. The methods they were using were not used because they were the most effective; they used them because they made the most money using the methods that they used. (I should note, this is not the case with ALL therapists, and some of them do use this method)

Dr. Richard Bandler taught me that “If the way you are doing something is very hard and arduous, it only means there is a better and more efficient way to do it-so find it!” While time will tell, I believe the Bloomfield Middle School has found it-or has at least taken an important step.

At this point, my experience with the R9 school district in Trenton, Missouri has been positive. My daughter is in the 1st grade and does not have what I would call a “burdensome” amount of homework, and what little she does have, she seems to enjoy. But in my travels across the United States ( and I must admit, I’ve heard some “horror” stories locally, regarding homework, but I cannot personally validate these complaints) I am often shocked to discover the homework load many elementary students have each evening.

Over the years, seminar attendees have frequently commented on my ability to hold their attention for 6 hours of training. It’s no accident; I work very strategically and methodically to keep adults-many who have been sent by their company and don’t want to be there in the first place-entertained and learning at the same time. Some of the most useful advice given to me years ago was “People love to be entertained, but few love to be educated. If you can entertain while you educate, you’ll do great!”

In truth, I do not “hold the attention” of adults for 6 hours; I captivate them for 20 minutes at a time…for six hours. To think you can keep the attention of an adult well enough for them to learn effectively for over an hour at a time is foolish, and research supports the “foolishness” of such an idea. Young children, as I’m sure you know, have MUCH shorter attention spans. Yet, we apply many “adult” time parameters to them.

8 am to 2:55 pm …almost 7 hours, is a LONG time for a 1st-4th grade student. In my book, “The Productivity Epiphany” in chapter 37, titled “Why Does Time Go Faster Each Year?” I present a formula for how children process time, when compared to adults.

When you and I were 10 years old, 1 year represented 1/10 of our entire life. At the age of 50, 1 year represents, and is experienced as 1/50th of our life. Using this formula, at the age of 6, summer vacation was experienced as being 27 weeks long. You’ve no doubt noticed how “quickly” summers go by as an adult, and how LONG they seemed as a child?!

This was great for summers full of fun and activity. But when it comes to sitting in a chair in a room with 15-25 other kids for 7 hours…well, the subjectivity of time can work in reverse.
Because of the tendency of human beings to think “Well when I was in school…” and then make the leap that the way they did things is the way things should still be, I’m sure the Bloomfield Middle School will experience some resistance from some people. And this means they are probably on the right track. We resist things that are different…at least initially. Administrators in Bloomfield noticed that each New year, more students were failing.

One belief that can bring a great deal of transformation is “If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else.” The idea that “There’s no such thing as failure, only feedback” is useful as well. Einstein stated that insanity was doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

The jury is still out in Bloomfield; in fact, the plan hasn’t been officially introduced as of yet. We won’t know for some time whether their plan will work as anticipated. We do know, however, that the plan they had been using, had not. My hunch is that it will yield significant improvements in many areas. At the very least, I tip my hat to the Bloomfield Middle School for being willing to ditch tradition and do something innovative, incorporating recent research in this area (which, by the way, powerfully supports the changes they are making.)

What can we learn from this? That many times we are doing the things we are, only because that’s what those before us have done. Social pressure often “punishes” those who are bold enough to ask “Why do we do or think this way?” The pressure is often all it takes; the naturally curious and pioneering man, woman or child is taught to “toe the line” and “don’t make waves.” Thanks goodness for those who are willing to “make waves” and forge new and better ways of doing and thinking. And, in this case, thank goodness for the administrators at the Bloomfield Middle School in southeast Missouri!

Vincent Harris

http://www.PhobiaGuru.com

© Copyright 2009-Vincent Harris-All Rights Reserved.