Posts Tagged ‘guarantee success’

Guarantee Learning Success for Everybody


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Sure success for learner mastery

Previously, I wrote about how to learn just about anything, or change just about anything, by having low goals.

Low goals?

{If you missed this, you can go back and read my previous blog entry: “Learning and Changing by Having Low Goals?” April 13, 2010}

Now I want to share with you an example of how to guarantee success at just about anything you set out to learn or change, or just about anything you want your student or child to learn or change.

Here’s the true story

This is the account of a Dad who was a championship bowler. Or maybe it’s really about a Dad who knows that you can teach anyone to do anything, provided you go about it intelligently.

Or perhaps it is simply a story of gentle wisdom.

Or maybe it is really an account of a very little child who learned very early (courtesy of a thoughtful father) that he could learn anything. And love it.

Here’s what happened.

When the boy was 3 years old — picture the cute blond curly-haired little guy — the Dad decided to take him over to the local bowling alley to teach him how to bowl. The Mom was really upset: “Jim, he’s only 3 years old! What are you thinking!?”

“Chunk it down”

The Dad prepared carefully. He set up the pins in the usual way on the bowling lane, at the end of that long, narrow varnished hardwood lane. Then he added a little extra carefulness. Because there were no “gutter bumpers,” he placed two more pins beside the ones on the surface of the lane, down in the gutter. He placed one extra pin down in each of the open gutters that run along beside the raised lane all the way to the end.

Then he carefully placed a ball (it was the smaller, lighter 5-pin ball, not the larger, heavier 10-pin ball) in the hands of his 3-year-old son, after having demonstrated to him how to hold the ball with two hands, and swing it between his legs and then let go.

His little 3-year-old son gave a mighty heave and the ball wobbled about half way down the lane and fell lazily into the gutter. (I did not remember to tell you that the Dad had placed 2 more extra pins in the gutter, one on each side of the bowling lane, about half way down the lane.)

As the ball wobbled off the lane about half way down and hit the strategically-placed pin in the gutter, knocking it over, a cheer went up from the father! His son had knocked over a pin on his first throw! Other bowlers who had been following the little guy with interest cheered and clapped mightily.

The little bowler himself clapped his hands in glee!

Success at the first throw!

Would it surprise you to learn that the little guy went on to become a championship bowler? And he enjoyed his career. Always. Because he had learned to enjoy learning, to love learning something new. He simply succeeded. From the very start.

This is not just a bowling story, or  just a sports success story, is it?

Every day, parents and teachers are learning from this type of example, and doing just exactly this type of learning-teaching.

Parents and teachers make every effort to guarantee success, from the very beginning.

“Chunk it down. Chunk it down. Chunk it down,” as my old linguistics coach used to say.

Guarantee success.

Simple.

Not easy.

Simple.

Blessings, Doc Meek, South Jordan, Utah, USA; and Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA