Doc Meek

Archive for June, 2010

Click to enlarge Two business men shaking hands; photo from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handshake

Wednesday, June 30, 2010: This is part (b) of the fourth (4th) article in a series of seven (7) articles designed to help us run our very own brain more easily, and to make sure our children or our students learn how to run their very own brains more easily.

If you missed the Introduction and the first three (3) articles , or part (a) of this fourth (4th) article, simply click on the titles below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

(1) Learning to run our own brain: Fear of failure

(2) Learning to run our brain: Vital need for HOPE . . . always

(3) Learning to run our brain: What are qualifications for the daily “brain coach?”

(4a) Learning to run our brain: Simple easy examples of how to proceed

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The Brain’s Initial  “Registration” (“Brain Inputs”) Example

The classic example is when we meet a new person. Oh yeah! The face may be remembered somewhat (at least how they look at that particular time and in that particular context). The name is usually “gone” in about three (3) seconds flat, eh? 😮

So what can we do consciously to register the person’s name?

Use “multiple” sensory inputs–and repetition–together:

(1) Visual (eyes–the top drawer of the brain’s vertical “filing cabinet”):

Look directly into the person’s eyes (don’t just look at them “vaguely”); and notice the rest of their face and person in your peripheral vision as well; when you depart from them, if appropriate, look unobtrusively at the whole person and register any details you wish to note for later.

What if it’s an ultra important name?

If it is supremely important that you remember this person’s name, use your imagination (your “mind’s eye”) to write their name on them somewhere; place an imaginary name tag on them or on their forehead or arm if necessary. 😮 Be goofy about this within yourself and you will remember much longer. And write the name in color with with outlandish-looking letters and it will register more strongly with your brain. The brain loves fun and foolishness. 😮 So does your mouth; this nonsense will probably add to the warmth of your smile.

(2) Auditory (ears–the middle drawer of the brain’s vertical “filing cabinet”):

“Hi” [name]; repeat: “Glad to meet you, [name].”

“How are you spelling your last name, exactly? I like to be accurate.” 😮

(3) Kinesthetic (tactile/haptic/proprioceptive, plus feelings–the bottom drawers of the brain’s vertical “filing cabinet”):

Shake their hand while saying their name; put the other hand into the clasp also, if appropriate; no “limp fish” handshakes please (unless the person’s culture requires it); register how you feel about this person and try to be charitable and compassionate. 😮

Smile. 😮

We know the adage: “There but for the grace of God go I.” We give them the benefit of the doubt, even if our “first impression” is not “first-class.”

(4) Add repetition of their name wherever/however you can:

To give yourself the chance to repeat their name [for your brain’s sake], engage the person in very brief conversation. Say something simple and quick:  “Do you live here in town, [name]?” Or, “Where do you work, [name]?”  Or, “What is your profession or line of work, [name]?” Whatever.

Maybe even a trivial, “I sure like the weather we’re having, [name].” 😮

Or how about, “Have you met my friend/colleague/spouse/hostess, [name]?”

The perfect way to learn is to teach, right? As you introduce this new person to someone nearby whom you know [or just met], you may have the chance to repeat their name many times. Good!

For registration purposes, the brain loves repetition.

And of course, it is imperative that you say, as you “exit” the introduction: “I’m pleased to meet you, [name].” Or more warmly, “I’m glad I met you, [name].” Or some other appropriate exit sentence. One last chance to repeat the name, eh?

Now . . . wasn’t that fun? 😮

Doc Meek, Wed, June 30, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. “Could you please repeat your last name again, to help me remember?” 😮

P.S.S. For additional ideas, read Dr. Arman Darini’s short article entitled, “Easy Memory Techniques for Remembering Names.” Link:  http://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/easy-memory-techniques-for-remembering-names-wpeffp.html

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC. 

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, get optimum heart health:  

Tuesday, June 29, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

The brain can be likened to a multiple-drawer steel filing cabinet

– PICTURES in the top drawer of the brain

– SOUNDS in the middle drawer of the brain

– FEELINGS (tactile) in the bottom drawers

– FEELINGS (emotions) in the bottom drawers

This is part (4a) article in a series of 7 articles, designed to help us work with our very own brain more easily, and to encourage our children or our students to learn how to work with their very own brains more easily.

If you missed the Introduction to this series of 7 articles, or the first 3 articles , simply click on the titles below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

(1) Learning to run our own brain: Fear of failure

(2) Learning to run our brain: Vital need for HOPE . . . always

(3) Learning to run our brain: What are qualifications for the daily “brain coach?”

…………………………………………………………………………………………

The brain can be likened to a vertical multiple-drawer filing cabinet

If we want to easily retrieve a specific file folder from the filing cabinet, we have to make sure we put that specific file folder securely in the filing cabinet in the first place. 😮

OK, if my brain is a “filing cabinet,” how do I get the needed stuff . . . in and out of it . . . easily . . . every day?

Well, for one thing, we might prefer a “softer,” simpler image of the brain-as-filing-cabinet analogy. How about this approach . . . this gentler image?

Our brain can be likened to a vertical 4-drawer wooden filing cabinet; photo at: hayneedle.com

To get stuff in and out of our filing cabinet (brain) easily, we need to remember two major things:

A. Our brain is immensely complex, with extensive storage capacity

B.  Our brain–despite enormous complexity–mainly does four (4) things

So what are the four (4) simple things my brain does?

(1) Our brain brings in information

(2) Our brain moves information around, organizes it

(3) Our brain stores information

(4) Our brain brings information back out, brings information to our attention

Can be more complicated in my private practice

The problem is that each of our brains is unique, and each of us does these four (4) things in thousands, perhaps millions, of different ways. 😮

However, that is my problem really, when I am working with a particular client in my private practice. Or, more accurately, it is a joint effort, a partnership between myself and my client.

As a learning specialist, when I am working with clients to help them overcome learning problems, we need to figure out, jointly and specifically, some of those thousands of ways in which their brain is working uniquely for them.

Less complicated in regular daily life

For our everyday purposes, knowing those four (4) simple things, and learning how to manage them more easily, is straightforward. Let’s check on some simple and easy things we can do with each of these four (4) processes our brain uses all the time.

(1) Our brain brings in information

Some people call this “registration.” In other words, how do we “put in” information when we first encounter it? Sometimes this is “done for us,” by the brain’s various subsystems, if the input is dramatic enough. Most of the time, however, this registration process is very much up to each of us, individually. Our personal choice entirely. All we have to do, really, is consciously think about what we want to input securely on the “first pass,” so to speak.

The classic example of remembering names will be presented in part (b) of this fourth (4th) article.

For a colorful review of ways to improve this process of “registration,” see my previous article. Just click on the title:

The learning brain needs “uprightness” for greatest efficiency

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So, now that we’ve looked at brain “registration” or brain “inputs,” let’s move on to the second (2nd) of the four (4) macro processes the brain uses.

(2) Our brain moves information around, organizes it

The brain is doing this all the time, especially at night, while you are sleeping. This is one of the most important functions of our brain. And this is why it is imperative that you get a decent night’s rest. A “sleep-deprived” brain is not just going to have problems with registration and memory, it will produce all manner of dysfunctions: mental, emotional, social, physical, spiritual, etc.

Get enough sleep deprivation, and your brain is sure to find dis-ease, and follow up with disease. Not funny.

More about this aspect of our brains in future articles.

(3) Our brain stores information

Again, our brains are doing this all the time, especially when we sleep. Get a good night’s rest, eh? 😮

More on this in future articles.

(4) Our brain brings information back out, brings information to our attention

Ah . . . retrieval of the information we need . . . the bane of our existence . . . especially as we grow older, eh?

This is the “relax . . . and it will come out a lot easier” game. You know this. When you are tense, anxious, depressed or stressed, information is not as readily available to the “surface,” as when you relax . . . take it easy . . .  and let the brain’s subsystems dive deeply and easily for important things. More on this in future articles.

To having a fun run at managing our brain more easily!

Doc Meek, Tues, June 29, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. Hey, my writer friend, Richard Paul Evans, just told me:

“Today is GratiTuesday!” This is the day we can express gratitude for all those things for which we are grateful. The thing for which I am most grateful — besides my wife Jeannette of course 😮 — is that I am able to feel gratitude. This has not always been so, so I am doubly grateful. 😮

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC. 

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, get optimum heart health:  

Photo from: http://www.workshopway.org/workshop-way.htm

Monday, June 28, 2010: This is the third (3rd) article in a series of seven (7) articles designed to help you or your child or your student run their own brain, and have fun doing it. If you missed the Introduction or the first two articles, just click on the title below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

(1) Learning to run our own brain: Fear of failure

(2) Learning to run our brain: Vital need for HOPE . . . always

What are the qualifications for the daily “brain coach?”

If you are going to be effective, you need to have a “brain coach” who will work with your child or your student (or yourself, if you are the one having fun learning how to run your very own brain). 😮

There are only 2 qualification for the “brain coach,” both crucial (not just “nice to have”):

(1) Essential: That the “brain coach” likes your child/student (or you, If you are being coached)

(2) Essential: That your child/student (or you) likes the “brain coach”

Formal credentials, training, degrees, age, gender, etc., are not relevant for purposes of being a “brain coach.” Of course it goes without saying that the “brain coach” should be responsible and trustworthy. And the logistics of being available every day are important. No one is going to drive 20 miles every day for 10  minutes of coaching. It is usually necessary to have someone close at hand.

Who can I get to help for 10 minutes each day?

A no-cost, or low-cost person is best. A neighbor? Someone from your church or club who lives nearby? An older student who is in the same school (or a school on the same block),  as the student being coached? Use your imagination. 😮

Retired people are excellent, if they have patience. Sometimes babysitters work out, if they have a good relationship with the younger one being coached, and the younger one likes them.

NRA (No Relatives Allowed) is the general rule, especially near-relatives

“Why can’t I be the brain coach? I’m here all the time,” say the mothers.

True. You are there all the time. Very handy.

“You care too much,” I tell the mothers.

Here’s the problem. Here’s why the NRA (No Relatives Allowed) rule is important for the child or student.  The relative’s “very loving and overly-concerned feelings” usually run too high, and can get seriously in the way of learning.

Usually the relative “cares too much” about the child’s or student’s responses. In sessions where the child or student is not “getting” SSS (Something So Simple) for the brain coach, the brain coach (the overly-concerned relative, remember) will often end up saying SALT (Something About Like This):

“Now, Harold, this is the tenth [or fiftieth] time we have gone over this; let’s do it again, and see if you can get it right this time, OK?” This is often said through gritted teeth hidden behind a “Hollywood” smile. Regardless of how it is said, the dire implications are crystal clear.

The translation [for the child or student] is: “I must be dumb.”

Kids have good “radar.”

A long-range radar antenna; photo from Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Brain coach broadcasting “tight tummy”=”beaten brain” for the child

The mother can easily teach the neighbor’s child. How about switching places with the mother next door for coaching/learning purposes?

What a relief! 😮

Bright brains can still need much time to “get it”

Even the brightest of  brains can take extended time to “get” some concepts. Einstein was called a “dolt” in school.

Why does it take so long to “get” some things? We do not know.

What we do know, is that every one of us has areas that we don’t “get” . . . yet . . . even far into adulthood. “Smarts” and “wisdom” don’t come easily in some areas of our lives, regardless of how intelligent and wise we are in other areas, eh?

The “brain coach” position requires high trust and easy learning strategies:

– “Chunk it down” (break everything–everything–down into small easy-to-learn segments)

– Make all the steps easier than necessary (this is easy to say, and may not be easy to do; this challenges the “brain coach.” eh?)

– Make it humorous, foolish or ridiculous if you have to, to solve the “easiness” criteria; in fact this is a good idea anytime, since the brain loves “oddball” and “far out”  as some of its best learning tools)

– Smile 😮

– Smile:o

– Smile 😮

It’s not a contest to see how much you can change the child/student (you can’t change anybody anyway, in case you haven’t noticed  . . . yet). 😮

It’s just a simple sharing of brain strategies that are fun and easy to learn. Doc Meek can teach the “brain coach” in person, over the phone, by email, or by website blogging.

Simple example of how the brain learns best . . . easy . . . hopeful

Let’s say you are teaching a child/student how to use their brain to remember the spelling of a word. In this simple example, you would teach them how to spell such words as these:

Easy, rapid, quick, bright, smart, fast, hope, intelligent, and so on. 😮

You do NOT teach words such as:

Stupid, dumb, slow, etc. (If they never learn to spell these words properly, so much the better!).

To running our own brains better! 😮

Doc Meek, Mon, June 28, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC. 

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, get optimum heart health:  

See full size image; HOPE image may be subject to copyright; image from: www.myspace.com/happy_roots

The vital priority of HOPE

This is the second (2nd) in a series of seven (7) articles on having fun learning how to run our very own brain, or if you like, learning how to manage our very own brain. If you missed the introduction or the first article, just click on the appropriate link below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

(1) Learning to run our own brain: Fear of failure

Our brain is an incredibly wondrous part of ourselves, even when it is not working optimally. Think of how it helps you every day, minute-by-minute, second-by-second (your every breath and heartbeat, literally). 😮

Out of sight to flower bright

The point of the crocus photo above, for me, is not that every flower brings color and freshness and HOPE to each of us (which it does). Rather it is that when we look at a dark (hopeless) rotten piece of soil or other dark (hopeless) space, we have no no clue (no evidence) that out of that utter and complete darkness will spring life and color and fragrance and HOPE.

When our lives present us with dark spaces, we are tempted to give up HOPE. Indeed we may actually exercise the decision, based on the unavailable evidence before us, to actually give up HOPE.

Little do we know the huge price we may pay for that HOPE-less decision, for giving up our grip on the present, and our vital lifeline to our future.

We do need concrete reminders it seems

When I am working with clients who have given up HOPE, I ask them to develop their own meaningful image of something, or someone, that epitomizes HOPE for them, HOPE in capital letters. For some it would be a picture in their mind’s eye (their powerful visual brain) of sunshine, gentle soul-warming sunshine.

If they choose a person, I advise them to make sure the HOPE symbol person is “permanent” in some way, such as a dead hero, or dead ancestor. The problem with living HOPE symbols is that they may die, and your HOPE might die with them. Unless of course, they are permanently implanted in your brain as a living being image, or a living soul, whether they die or not.

An airplane would be my image of HOPE. Which seems unusual until you know that I love flying. When I was younger I flew little airplanes. Loved it. I still love flying in various aircraft, even when I am simply traveling on a commercial airliner.

I am always astounded when the weather is black and stormy here below, and I have lost my way mentally, so to speak, and the darkness seems total, I am able to draw on my flying experience.

The plane in storm darkness here below, as it departs the ground, and gains altitude, emerges gloriously into sunlight above. I am completely refreshed mentally, physically, and spiritually in a way not easy to describe.

HOPE is knowing sunshine is always above the clouds, no matter what my circumstances are here below.

“Mornin Sun” from: http://photobucket.com/images/%22mornin%20sun%22/ ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Why don’t I remember the glorious sunlight when I am in the darkness on the ground!?

My mental image of an airplane does actually bring that remembrance to mind, to my brain’s visual centre, when I need it. I have to practice remembering the airplane image and the sun above, however, for this to be effective for me.

My friend says that the sun is not always shining above the clouds. At night, it is the stars that are always shining above the clouds. And, says my friend, “The stars shine out HOPE for me far brighter than the brightest sun.”

Yes! Whatever image you create especially for you, for your very own brain, right?

“Hey, guy, HOPE fades,” say some

“So does bathing,” says Zig Ziglar, “that’s why we recommend doing it every day.” 😮

We all need to develop some simple way to refresh our HOPE image daily. A picture of HOPE on the fridge at home? A HOPE picture taped to a mirror at home? A small simple symbol of HOPE hanging from the rear-view mirror in our car? A HOPE reminder on our desk at work? An HOPE image in our back pack for school, or multiple HOPE images in our main study materials? A simple HOPE ditty we sing to ourselves anytime?

HOPE is more secure if you use an image that is “permanent,” like sun, moon, stars, nature, music, poetry, prose quotation, powerful story, etc.

Perhaps we could use a baby or a child, provided we don’t know them. The generic innocence of infancy, if you like, as a symbol of HOPE. If we know the baby or child, and they die, there may be a real risk that our HOPE might die with them. Unless of course our HOPE is pinned irrevocably on them as an eternal being, as an eternal “child of God,” for example. If that is unquestionably permanent for you, then is might be solid for your HOPE image.

“Beaming Sunshine,” from: http://photobucket.com/images/%22beaming%20sunshine%22/ …………………………………………………………………………….

What is  your concrete image of HOPE?

Every person will have a different picture of what means real HOPE to them.

For some, it is not a visual image of HOPE alone; for some it is a song of HOPE, or a piece of inspiring music of HOPE.

For some it is a poem of HOPE.

“INVICTUS”

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

– William Ernest Henley, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus

“INVICTUS” is particularly inspiring when we remember two things:

(1) This was no “armchair” exercise for William Ernest Henley; he suffered terribly and his poem of  HOPE sustained him. Among other things he had his leg amputated below the knee. [From Wikipedia: William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).]

(2) Even though Henley doesn’t say it explicitly in the poem, we all need to keep in mind, in the reality part of our brain, that we do not need to face the horrors alone. Help is often where we least expect to find it, and even when their is no obvious source of help or HOPE, the HOPE seed is implanted within the brain and heart and soul of each of us. Our HOPE is stronger than we think.

And still, we need to nourish it constantly, like a plant, so HOPE will flourish and flower always in us.

We just simply have to hang on to HOPE for dear life, no matter what!

To hidden strengths we don’t know we have!

Doc Meek, Sun, June 27, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:

This is the first (1st) in a series of seven (7) articles on having fun learning how to manage our very own brain. – Doc Meek

Image above from Luciano Passuello: http://litemind.com/fear-failure/

If you missed the introduction to this series of seven (7) articles, just click on the title below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

What are we talking about here?

In my intro above (posted Friday, June 25, 2010), I outlined seven (7) things we can learn about how to manage our own brain:

1) Fear of failure

2) The vital need for HOPE!

3) Qualifications for our external-to-the-home “brain coach”

4) Easy success with active learning brain training (filing cabinet brain) and remembering names

5) The eyes don’t see–the brain sees

6) Tasks of the “back 90%” of our brain, and the “front 10%”

7) Where do Moms come in?

How do I get started overcoming fear of failure?

Strangely (to some), the place to get started is to take a look at our fear of failure. Whether we are a student, a parent, or a teacher, the fear of failure can stop us before we even get started.

If we want to learn to run our own brain better, we need to take time to look at, and feel, our fears about undertaking such a project. Some say that looking at our fears first and feeling them only strengthens them. We will find it to be the opposite of that, I think. If we avoid looking at our fears, they will trip us up later and we will then indeed fail–the very thing we were trying to avoid, right?

Fears are actually our friends, if we choose to feel/see them that way.

Fears are my friends!?

Yes.

They alert us, in advance, what to watch out for as we go along, a kind of distant early warning signal that prepares us for “the worst” as we forge ahead, hoping for the best.

Isn’t that contradictory?

Seems that way, doesn’t it?

In reality, direct awareness of our very real fears allows us to plan ahead more carefully and to ride out our relapses and our failures with a degree of equanimity and resilience not otherwise available to us.

Isn’t that what our friends are for? 😮

To our friends!

Doc Meek, Sat, June 26, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA (updated Oct 20, 2012)

P.S. Some extra reading–and some viewing–on how to overcome fear of failure:

(1) Article (Comprehensive):

If you want to read a comprehensive article on how to “Overcome Fear of Failure,” by Luciano Passuello, a Brazilian who lives in Curitiba, Brazil, and whose passion is the mind, just click on the title below:

Overcome Fear of Failure, Part I — Building the Right Mindset

Hi, I’m Luciano Passuello. I am a 35-year-old Brazilian, currently living in Curitiba.

It was not long ago when I realized that my deep fascination for the mind is my greatest underlying passion which, in many ways, intersects with several other interests of mine.

This website is my journey exploring that underlying passion.

To get in touch with me, please use this contact page.

Image/text above from: http://litemind.com/fear-failure/

(2) Video (2 minutes):

If you want to watch a short video on overcoming failure by Brian Tracy, a Canadian who lives in San Diego, California, USA, click on the Brian Tracy photo below.

brian tracy fear of failure
2 min – 1 Oct 2006
Uploaded by funny1968
www.youtube.com

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC. 

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:  

This is the introduction to a series of seven (7) articles on how to have fun learning to run (manage) our very own brain, more easily. This is a good idea, right? 😮

Photo from: www.workshopway.org

The “10 minutes a day” model

Just 10 minutes each day can produce miracles.

An hour or two on the weekend will NOT get the job done. 😮

Especially for kids.

Especially for kids with a short attention span (that’s all kids). 😮

And all adults too, in our “sound bite” over-scheduled culture, eh? 😮

Here are the topics I hope to start exploring in these upcoming seven (7) articles:

(1) Let’s look first at fear of failure

(2) Now let’s look at the vital need for hope

(3) What are the qualifications for your “brain coach?”

(4) Simple easy examples of how to proceed

(Hint: When teaching a child how to spell, use words like “smart” and “quick,” not words like “stupid” and “slow.”)

(5) “The eyes don’t see–the brain sees; the ears don’t hear–the brain hears.” – Doc Meek

(6) The role of the “back 90″and the “front 10”

(7) Where do the mothers come in?

Let’s hear it for the mothers!

Without them, the whole world of humankind would quickly fall apart.

Let’s face it, without them, there wouldn’t be any world of humankind. 😮

Doc Meek, Friday, June 25, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:

Human neurology thrives on color, movement, gentle music, and “uprightness” for the most efficient learning

The learning brain needs “uprightness,” in addition to color, movement and gentle music (discussed in my previous article, June 12, 2010). If you wish to review that previous article, just click on the title below:

A learning brain learns best with color, movement, and gentle music

Teacher Helping Student at Blackboard – bonniej; image from the following website:

http://teacher-mentorship.suite101.com/article.cfm/reflective-teaching-strategies-for-more-effective-k-8-instruction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What is meant by “uprightness” for most learning efficiency?

The ideal of “uprightness” occurs when the student is at a blackboard (greenboard).

The brain is so constructed neurologically that it is most efficient when the material to be learned is “above the noseline,” so to speak, as in the photograph above.

In other words, the best brain “registration” for memory occurs when the material to be learned is located above a line straight out from the students nose.

Why is “above the noseline” best?

We are not sure why. It seems that human neurology  is arranged vertically, somewhat analogously to a vertical four-drawer filing cabinet.

(1) The top drawer registers and files visual material, the pictures we see with our eyes.

(2) The second drawer down registers and files auditory material, the things we hear with our ears.

(3) The third drawer down registers and files haptic material, the tactile sensations we encounter with our hands, and the rest of our body. It also includes the proprioceptive system, the internal sensations of the muscles, joints, tendons, and inner ear, that accompany body movement.

(4) The bottom drawer registers and files affective material, the emotions we feel in our “heart,” or “gut,” if you like.

Thus, when we are presenting visual material to students, and almost all of academic learning is visual (reading for example, or math worksheets, or whatever), we need to get as close as we can to the ideal of being “upright” at the blackboard (greenboard).

Some teachers have wall-mounted “Smart Boards,” connected to their classroom computers, and these follow the ideal even more than blackboards (greenboards). The student is “upright” before the “Smart Board,” the student is moving his hands to manipulate the material appearing on the “Smart Board,” it is in color, and presumably gentle learning “baroque” music could be added as background, although I have not seen this yet.

Voila! All the best items needed for best learning:

– Color

– Movement

– “Uprightness,” to provide material “above the noseline”

– Gentle “baroque” music (about 1 beat per second, or 60 beats per minute)

– Not to mention a caring teacher close at hand 😮

Yes! Caring!

Doc Meek, Thursday, June 24, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

P.S. Now the question becomes:

“How do we approach the ideal of “uprightness” when the student is seated at his or her desk?”

This is a good topic for a future article. This would ideally include the use of fairly steeply-sloping “drafting board” type desks, or barring that, simply using clipboards propped up on a stack of textbooks, or on the student’s upraised knee. Think about this. Use your imagination–your top drawer. 😮

Photo from Workshop Way (TM): http://www.workshopway.org/faq_1-7.htm …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Previously I wrote about those yearning to change the world. If you wish to review those articles, click on the two titles below:

Sunday . . . a sunshine day? Maybe a family day?

“I wanted to change the world.” – Unknown Monk

Try Love instead

“Instead of  trying to change the world [or change others or change yourself] try loving the world instead.” – Sri Chinmoy.

See Chinmoy’s website for several quotations and poems about changing the world: http://www.shortpoems.org/blog/2010/03/06/quotes-to-change-the-world/

How does this relate to learning?

I listened to a lecture by a counselor. He was telling about a mother who was ready to commit suicide (literally) because she could not control her children. The same story could be told about teachers who are in despair because they cannot control their students.

This counselor urged us to recognize that it is not our job to change our children or our students.

This comes as a great surprise to most parents and teachers.

What is our job then, in relation to our children or students?

Our job is to love them.

Not necessarily with the “feeling state” kind of love, although that can be very effective. The problem with feelings as the only guide is that, in the heat of anger (brought on, say, by children or students who don’t perform, or who flout rules), feelings of love are often lost. Certainly the child or student has difficulty feeling them when our anger is boiling and our words are accusatory or mean or even just unkind.

Our job is to care about them enough to respect them, specifically and especially when they don’t deserve our respect.

Kids have pretty good “personal radar.” They know when we respect them, despite our satisfaction or lack of it in the moment.

It’s a cinch to love a kid who is performing and obedient to rules

Being loving (caring) when someone is doing what we want, or what we say, is pretty straight forward.

Being loving (caring) when someone is behaving in a manner that is not appropriate, is a real challenge.

Can it be done?

Emphatically yes. No name calling. No lecturing. No put-downs. Repeating (paraphrasing) what that person says, even if it is negative and about me! 😮  Why? Why should I do that? S/he insulted me for pete’s sake!

That is just the point. No point in me reacting to their problem (negativism, anger, whatever), which in the final analysis has nothing to do with me anyway. It is their problem. They are obviously having a bad day. Or a bad year. I am just the target at the moment.

Sometimes I have to find excuses to care about them! 😮

Grace Pilon did it. Dr. Merrill Harmin did it. Martin Luther King did it. If they can do it, I can do it. Less well perhaps. Still I can do what I can. That is all anyone can ask of me.

Or a child.

Don’t take the “bait”

If I react to the negative content of what the child/student is saying, I am acting exactly the same as they are (out of control). That means I am no better than they are! Sometimes I have to leave the room! 😮

As my Dad used to say: “What can you do? Just love them.”

That’s all we can do. They will change in their own time and in their own way.

To respect, when not deserved (that’s what I want for myself isn’t it?).

Doc Meek, Wednesday, June 23, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

Inclusive institutions for disenfranchised students

From time to time, inclusive-thinking individuals will found vocational schools or colleges of various types, designed to provide first-class education and training for students headed for the world of business and industry, not the world of academics.

Photo from AACC (American Association of Community Colleges); copy and paste the URL below into your computer’s website browser line: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Pages/default.aspx …………………………………………………………

By inclusive, I mean schools designed for students who are typically disenfranchised from post-secondary opportunities by the over-emphasis upon academic scores in high schools. Some really excellent  institutions have been so founded.

Who is hired to run vocational institutions?

Who are the people typically hired for most, if not all, of the major decision-making positions in that newly-founded vocational school or college?

Usually university-credentialed people, academically-oriented people. Good people for sure. And also typically somewhat biased–usually without even being aware of it–towards an  academic view of the world. Of course. That is their interest, their predilection, their training, and their experience.

Where are the vocational people in these critical decision-making positions? The trades men and women? The technically-oriented people? The highly competent former high school Industrial Arts teachers? (Such as my friend and colleague, Bill Welch.)

Community colleges or technical schools escalate into universities

As time passes, the academically-oriented decision-makers naturally tend to escalate upwards. First, the word “community” is dropped from the college name, and then, after awhile, it is called a university.  Or the technical school escalates upwards to a college, then a university. In so doing, the academically oriented administrators are usually very pleased.  In most cases, they worked long and hard to obtain the coveted “university” designation.

“We are moving upwards in the community and in the world,” tends to be the proud feeling of the decision-makers at the former college or vocational institute.

Along this upwards-escalating pathway, student admission is restricted to ever upwards high school academic scores. Soon, lo and behold, the institution has moved proudly beyond the mainstream students it was founded to serve. These students are once again disenfranchised from the post-secondary opportunities the institution was founded to serve.

Enter India’s “Barefoot Colleges,” founded by Sanjit (“Bunker”) Roy

Sanjit’s “Barefoot Colleges” are designed to put some dignity into the curriculum for poverty-stricken rural students, reports TIME Magazine, May 10, 2010.

The unpretentious buildings at “Barefoot Colleges” have dirt floors and no chairs. That is the environment from which the students arrive when they first go to college. Sanjit wanted to ensure that these poor rural students would not be intimidated by the institution, that they would be greeted with familiarity, with explicit respect for their background experience.

These “bottom-up” colleges were established so that poor students would be comfortable there and retention rates would be high. Three million such students have been trained in these “Barefoot Colleges” for jobs in the modern world. Three million!

What a brilliant idea–escalation downwards!

Let’s learn to escalate downwards in our culture for the benefit of the student’s experience, rather then escalate upwards for the benefit of the academic decision-maker’s experience. 😮

For respectful downwards escalation!

Doc Meek, Monday, June 22, 2010 (2nd posting, in the evening)

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

The trades are honorable and worthy

For years I have been speaking and teaching about the value of professional trades people in our society. The least easy ones to convince are people with an academic orientation. They seem to feel that everyone should pursue an academic career. Even though I myself am a highly-credentialed academic, this narrow approach is not a good concept in my view.

The trades are honorable and worthy and should be encouraged by adults, and sought after by students who want to travel that road. It is a good road and the pay is good, frequently better than the majority of academic jobs.

I have attended meetings of professionals designing curricula for public schools, and the main focus is almost always on academic courses. Where are the electricians, the welders, the computer technicians, the native North American craftsmen, the plumbers, the graphic artists, the carpenters, the farmers, the entrepreneurs, the housewives, at these meetings?

The bias in decision-making is obvious, isn’t it?

Trades people would be excellent curriculum designers

My Dad was a Journeyman Electrician and he would have made a great curriculum designer.

Why would my Dad have made a great curriculum designer? He was a good committee man, gentle and patient. He was intelligent, innovative and wise. He had a good grip on the practical world and common sense. He was very aware of the real needs of the business and industrial world we live in, and the kinds of education and training needed to get good  jobs in both the academic and non-academic domains. In short, he had all of the extensive qualifications needed to sit on such a committee in the real world, and be very effective.

“Even Jesus was a carpenter.” – Missionary Friend

Sometimes in meetings, as my fellow academics and I would ponder academics, I felt compelled to draw our attention upwards for a moment. I would point up to the ceiling and say, “Without the professional electrician who installed those lights, one by one, we could not do our work here today.” Then I would go on to point downward to the floor, over to the walls, through the windows, etc. The group was usually dumbfounded. Such groups tend to take it all for granted.

Sometimes I would add: “Without the maintenance staff in this building, this place would look like a landfill site, and the toilets wouldn’t flush.” 😮

I am not against academics

I want to be clearly understood. I am not against academics–I am one! 😮 I am delighted to be an academic, glad to associate with fellow scholars and live in an exquisitely-conceptualized mental world with them. And we do practical work. We are professors at universities, academic teachers at thousands of schools the world over, and planners and researchers, etc.

I have worked hard all my life in the academic schoolwork domain to help children and adults overcome learning difficulties.Surely this was/is a very worthwhile academic career? Of course. Still, that doesn’t stop it from being a relatively narrow, circumscribed space, right?

I have also helped my Dad wire houses, helped friends build their homes, and so on. My Dad taught me that manual labor and skilled trades are honorable and “worthy of all acceptation.”

Evening and night staff are some of the greatest people I have known

Wherever I have worked, I have made it a point to get to know the maintenance and custodial staff. As a “night owl” I always enjoyed the support of the people who make the building work for me, and all the day denizens as well. Yes! 😮

I have great gratitude for, and high respect for, all those who labor that I might be able to do my work. This includes my Mom’s labor as well of course. No pun intended. 😮

It is a mistake in my view to attempt to diminish the value of manual labor or technical skills (or stay-at-home motherhood for that matter). Without these honorable and worthy enterprises, our society could not function properly, or at all.

To a sense of equality for all careers!

Doc Meek, Tuesday, June 22, 2010 (1st posting, very early in the morning) [About 1:00 am, as I recall] 😮

P.S. Some resources (copy and paste the URLs below into your computer’s web browser):

Canadian Schools Directory: http://www.trade-schools.ca/

American Trade Schools: http://www.itrade-schools.com/