The Greatest gift anyone can receive

SAFMEDS. Say All Fast Minute Every Day, Shuffle.

We just attended a parent education evening at Ben Bronz Academy, fondly referred to as BBA. As I said before these teachers are the smartest people I know.

Unlike parent meetings at public schools in my area where teachers share illogical wisdom such as "We see great progress, but little Johnny needs to spend an additional 20 minutes a night struggling through the inappropriate homework that we can't get through during the long frustrating school day otherwise we will give him more inappropriate homework", the staff at BBA sacrificed their evening to educate us on pragmatic learning techniques that all of us can us. Children and parents can use these learning techniques.

Which reinforces my belief that the greatest gift anyone can receive is "Knowledge of your learning style". If you know how you learn, then you can efficiently learn anything you desire to learn for the rest of your life.

Schooling should focus on learning how to learn, not only on facts and figures. We should be teaching students how to drive themselves to where ever they want to be, not the theory of how to distinguish a red Bentley from a green stick of celery. Knowing how to drive gives you independence and the skills to acquire new information for the rest of your life. Learning the theory behind how to distinguishing a red Bentley from celery results in useless information.

During my studies I tried a number of learning theories and styles. I studied for eleven years, part time to get my Bachelors degree. I found mind-maps particularly effective for me. Tonight, we discussed the benefits of mind-maps for certain learners and found that some people benefit from mind-maps while others require sequential lists to study effectively. Google "Tony Buzan" for further reading on mind maps.

Have you ever tried to study using flashcards? I have tried a few times and get frustrated with them. I can only do it for a few minutes and then get tired. Well, the smart staff at BBA explained tonight that flashcards are effective when used for only 1 minute at a time. And not only for students but all of us can use flashcards to learn the facts that we need to access a 100 times a day. Hence the acronym SAFMEDS - Say All Fast Minute Every Day, Shuffle

Here is the procedure (using index cards):
1. Make flashcards with the few facts that you need to remember. For example, DNS (which stands for Domain Name System) or the names of your staff.
2. Put the definition on the back of the card if appropriate.
3. Go through the flashcards for one minute at a time. Once a day, or more than once a day if you can.
4. When you are done, shuffle the cards ready for the next time.

The example given tonight was to learn the faces and names of students in the school. How can you implement this simple,effective learning procedure? I can think of a few situations where it will be very effective such as learning the main points of a speech. Put your main points on flashcards, memorize them using SAFMEDS, and your nervousness decreases while your confidence increases.

Did I mention that BBA staff are smart, patient people and a light in the lives of people who are privileged enough to come into contact with them?

It is your duty to become an expert

We visited Ben Bronz Academy (BBA) in West Hartford last night, for training in the methodologies that the school uses. Wow!! Mind blowing!! My family has struggled for six years now with incompetent, unsympathetic Connecticut teachers and public school administrators who would not know a Learning Disability if it bit their overpaid behinds. It is a sad reflection on our society that these people are entrusted to educate children when their minds are sealed tighter than a submerged submarine's deck hatchway to effective teaching techniques.

In contrast, at BBA, every teacher and administrator is an expert in Learning Disabilities. BBA staff dedicated decades of study to become experts. Their devoted efforts help all children who attend BBA and change the future for these youngsters. Children who attend BBA will reap the rewards of the expertise learned and applied at BBA for decades to come, maybe into the next century. Our community and our world is a better place because the leaders at BBA devoted their lives to understanding Learning Disabilities and committing to teaching children with Learning Disabilities. I am humbled and stand in awe of such great people.

I realized last night that it is our duty, every one of us, to become experts in our fields so that we can help others. We cannot be experts in every part of modern life. We may work very hard and still never be the top expert in any field. But we still have the responsibility to study our field of expertise to the best of our ability and give back to our society, so that we can help others who are experts in their own fields.

In a way, we are returning the favor to the BBA staff. I manage IT projects. Society benefits from well managed IT projects. Delivering valuable service to the Universe will ultimately filter back rewards to the smart and dedicated BBA staff in the form of more efficient and less expensive IT projects.

What do you think? Where is your expertise? How willing are you to commit to becoming the expert in your field, for society to benefit? I am committed to improving my expertise each day as a token of appreciation to the BBA leaders. Will you join me?

Wayne