Posts Tagged ‘music empowers learning’
“Music empowers people with LD.” ~ Pang Hin Yue
August 26th, 2011 | 
Author: Friday, August 26, 2011. Today I am so grateful for those who are inspired to teach those who don’t learn as easily as others. Brian John Lim is such a teacher. ~ Doc Meek
Music to empower people with learning
disabilities [Learning Differences]
By PANG HIN YUE, published in The Star Online, Wed, Aug 24, 2011
Former child prodigy Brian John Yim reaches out to the learning disabled and helps autistic teenager Umar Hasfizal realise his potential as a singer with his debut album.
WHEN he was four years old, Brian John Yim’s father left him and his younger brother with their mother and took everything away except an organ. The very object of his sadness became his source of comfort and inspiration. “The organ was the only connection I had with my dad,” says Yim. With no money for piano lessons but an ear for music, he would listen and play the organ as his mother and grandmother sang along.
By the time he turned eight, his mother, Gan Lee Yong, an insurance agent then, had saved enough money for him to take up piano. He was so good that he leapfrogged to fifth grade. Within two years, he completed the final eighth grade. But the child prodigy wanted more – to pursue a course on Electone (electronic organs produced by Yamaha).
But staying in Mentakab, a small town in Pahang, did not help. “There was no organ teacher in Mentakab,” recalls the 28-year-old. Undeterred, he decided to learn it at a Yamaha school in Kuala Lumpur. So for one year, every Sunday, he would faithfully take a two-hour bus ride on his own to KL to attend a 45-minute lesson and then hop on the next available bus to go back home.
By 12, he passed his Electone exam, an achievement few can boast of.
To make sure he did not lose out academically, Yim poured his heart into his studies – just as he did with music – scoring straight-As. When he wasn’t studying, the brilliant boy could be found performing at social functions in his hometown.
Image and text above from: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/8/24/lifefocus/9325519&sec=lifefocus
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Thank you, Brian John Yim, for inspiring us to help those who need help to be successful learning in their own right! Active teaching and active learning are a winning combination!
Doc Meek, Fri, Aug 26, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA
Posted in learning, learning differences, Learning Difficulties, learning solutions, overcoming learning problems | 
Tags: active learning, active teaching, Brian John Yim, disability, docmeek, grateful, inspired to teach, learning disabilities, music empowers learning, Pang Hin Yue, successful learning | 
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