The ABC OF CHILD WHISPERING L is for limiting thoughts and beliefs

New mindset new results motivational phrase sign on old wood with blurred background
New mindset new results motivational phrase sign on old wood with blurred background

Yesterday I was talking to a bunch of young people at our centre- upper primary and secondary.

They were talking about how scary the forthcoming NAPLAN tests are for them. One of the students was very worried about a test she had coming up at school today.

I suddenly realised I was confronting a dense smog of self-limiting beliefs and that it was worth taking some time away from our writing lesson to help the children see what they were doing.

I reminded them that repeating these negative affirmations was just making the likelihood of failure more likely!

We looked at how simply worrying about NAPLAN could ruin the forthcoming holidays and not help one iota. We then examined how taking a positive attitude and using positive affirmations would be likely to lead to higher marks. (Along with some judicious practice and well applied study skills!)

We discussed the pointlessness of obsessively worrying about the questions that MIGHT occur. It is a far better strategy to write down the questions that would be most difficult and then write answers.

Playing WORST QUESTIONS EVER is actually a very positive strategy where children together write the hardest questions they can think of and then collaboratively set out to answer them!

Chances are that they will actually get easier questions and even if they don’t- they will not have spent days or weeks worrying themselves into a negative wormhole!

The limiting thoughts and beliefs we carry from childhood have a massive impact on our adult lives and in turn get visited on our loved ones.

Common examples are I AM HOPELESS AT MATHS, I AM NOT SMART, I WILL NEVER HAVE ANY MONEY, I WILL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL, PEOPLE DON’T LIKE ME, I DON’T HAVE MANY FRIENDS, I WILL NEVER PASS THE EXAM…………

We deal with these negative self-beliefs within all our learning sessions and in particular during our evidence-based EQ4KIDZ course.

Children need to be helped to squash these thoughts and place them under a “microscope” to see how damaging they really are. Then they need to be shown how to use positive affirmations that can be immediately substituted for negative thoughts.

Children and teenagers CAN be empowered to overcome these self-limiting beliefs. It just takes time, sensitive, deep listening and a willingness to demonstrate and scaffold thinking techniques that need to be applied. Our young people are often very stressed and worried at this PRE-NAPLAN time and they need our calm support!

 

EFFECTIVE STUDY SKILLS

Of course the internet and social media have forever changed the landscape of the way students study and in order to acquire effective study skills, students need to know their way around media, the internet and to be able to think flexibly, problem solve and develop effective study habits.

When we first started teaching STUDY SKILLS the course was relatively stable with only minor tweaks being added each year. Now it needs to change slightly each time to reflect new understandings of social media and information gathering. This makes the course very dynamic and very “now” and ensures students are actively involved and engaged.

We have an excellent record with these courses with many students achieving very high results and many totally creative, disorganised kids learning to work WITH their learning style and become motivated and organised.

Now we devote far more time to organisation, time management and using digital media and internet resources.

We teach students to identify their own learning style, profile their multiple intelligences and learn to work with their specific learning style and intelligence cocktail.

Self motivation is a very large part of the course and our teachers spend a large amount of time helping students formulate goals and identify ways to attain these. If students are not motivated to succeed and give of their best, no amount of study skills coaching will work. This is the most essential part of the workshop.

All students want to do well, but unfortunately many have not had a great deal of success so give themselves negative messages. We work hard to show students how to build positive tracks in their mind and adopt a more optimistic outlook.

Often we need to help students improve essay writing skills and learn to edit their work to a high standard. Planning and drafting are essential components of the essay writing process.

Students are taught to identify and avoid procrastination and timeline and use tried and proven time management techniques. Many parents and students report the course helps them in ALL areas of their lives as it is essentially about organisation, motivation and achieving goals.

The course runs for 15 hours and is run all through terms 1,2,3 and also during school holiday periods. We also visit schools to present these courses to students.

Please call ICE on 92714200 to enquire or email us on victoriacarlton@iinet.net.au to chat to us about this program. It will also be available online from the beginning of March.

 

 

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