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oh thank you for the hug, Chris. It is cloudy, chilly and rainy in Ohio!

I am so glad that you shared that story.

I love long threads, don't you?

phil

This morning I have a GREAT moment to share with you all!

I have a class of six year-olds, and one student in particular is quite bossy. In fact, the rest of her class is getting tired of her bossiness. I had a conversation with her teacher in the workroom this morning, and I said to myself, "today is the day to do something about this!"

Time to take that child through a little reframe!

The minute she started acting bossy and in charge I stopped the lesson, turned to her (the class was sitting in a circle on the carpet--I was in the middle) and said, "I'm wondering if you can imagine what it might be like for you to not be in charge. Why don't you close your eyes for a minute and go there. OK?" She closed her eyes. After a few seconds they popped open again, and I said, "why don't you go back there, and spend a few more minutes there. When you're ready, open your eyes again." she did, and her body language made quite a shift!

A couple minutes later, I asked her, "[name], did you find a place where you are not in charge, but still happy?" She nodded yes, not completely convincingly. I replied, "that's GREAT that you were able to do that! Wonderful!"

No more blurting out or acting bossy during the rest of the lesson, and I even gave her an opportunity to exhibit her natural leadership ability in a game after a little while, just to prove to her that she can be happy without acting like the boss!

Phil

You know, it's refreshing to know that there are people like Phil in our public schools shaping the precious minds of our little ones.

Today during a lesson with a class of six year-olds, I relfected on motivation and moving toward.

One boy in particular was acting quite foolish--totally out of the box, attention-getting foolish. So, I simply said to myself, "I will give him and some other children a little something to move towards." We were practicing clapping some rhythm patterns, so instead of just clapping them, I pulled out a cowbell, and began passing it around the room, giving students turns playing what we were workin on. It worked like a charm! His behavior was not perfect, but he certainly had something to move towards that motivated him.

Simple solutions are the best ones! Nothing profound...unless I begin to transfer it to areas of my own life!

Phil

Hi Phil,

As always, thanks for the inspiration!

Just came home from a damn tough primary school (7-11 year olds). After being told all morning that "I cant do that because I have dyslexia" and "I behave that way because I have anger management issues like my dad" I thought I'd throw my lesson plans away and work on decision making strategies. We made some laminated arrows and squares and the game was to work out how to get to each one.

As a group we wrote down all the things that make us feel bad inside, being laughed at, alienating our friends and letting people down. In another box we wrote down all the things that make us feel like little superstars. We wrote about making out parents proud, making teachers and our friends happy and all the physical and emotional rewards that come with feeling good.

Each child then wrote down what they would like to improve, what choices they have and how they deal with them, they then drew a chalk line on the tarmac from their starting position and to the box of negative comments. "So", I stated, "when you dont take control of your anger (or whatever the individual wanted help with) this is the line you follow, and look where it leads". What I want you to do is to make new cards describing new ways of dealing with anger or dyslexia or whatver, now draw a new chalk line to where you think behaving this way will allow you end up. We ended up with a huge spiders web drawn on the floor identifying problems and options on what choices were available to you and that your actions take you to either a place that feels great or one that sucks. We then talked about all kind of social pressures and tough decisions that kids face. They loved the idea that YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE and that it is not situations that make us unhappy, it is how we deal with them that is more important.

Thanks

Matt

Nice one Matt and Phil: wish I'd had input from the likes of you in my own schooling, and it's great that you're at the chalkface with kids now.

Matt,

Thank you so much for that inspiring story! I have many moments in my day in which the "plan" gets thrown out the window in order to do the truly important work of helping children to see how amazing they really are.

Adrian, it wasn't always that way, and even now some days are more inspiring than others. Life is definitely all about on-the-job training, and I've always said that my students teach me more than I teach them.

Phil

Hello, everyone.

And HELP!

I had the class again yesterday, that seems to be programmed to not listen. It was worse than ever.

I'm ready to do some really "outside the box" stuff with them at their next music lesson, just to get them to listen.

If anyone has some ideas for what I can do to change this horrible, unproductive state that this group of children are in, I would appreciate your help. I may try giving all of my instruction while standing on my head, just to see if they notice.

The behavior is not an issue...they just sit there like a pile of boulders, without any life. Maybe I should get their bodies moving a lot during the lesson?

Please help!

Phil

Hi Phil,

Absolutely wonderful idea, as you say get them dancing to the groove of your music lesson! Like Tony Robbins says if you don't shout the YEAY out of your body, you will not feel they YEAY HURRAY state that's absolutely how it goes...

You have to feel the vibrations, the energy inside your body and that way your brain will also be open to a change of state!

MOTIVATION is the magic word, the magic words could be whatever you do today while you are dancing is don't listen to all the interesting life changing things I'm just about to tell you!

All the best,

Violeta

Thank you, Violeta!

I have to share a wonderful experience I had right after lunch with a class of five and six year-olds. In the middle of the lesson, one member started singing "we love you, Mister Adams," utilizing a pitch pattern that I had been teaching them. At the end of the lesson, the whole class attacked me, wanting to hug me all at once. I insisted that if they wanted hugs, they would have to line up for them, and that no child was required to give me a hug, but anyone who wanted to could.

Every child offered me a hug.

According to Virginia Satir's standards (four for survival, eight for maintenance, twelve for growth), I am in overdose, because there were about 25 children in the class!

I should be good for quite a while!

Have a great weekend, everyone,

Phil

Hi Phil,

You certainly will be good for a while, WOW!

I'm off to the Barbados for a week my husband has to go there for work reasons, what a shame! So with this NLP philosophy, I now have, I thought what the heck will my children remember a week in Barbados or an extra week at school and where will they learn more. The conclusion. Absolutely Barbados! My sister and family are also coming, well, you only live once and you might aswell live well!

Barbados here we come...

All the best Violeta

Violeta, I only have one suggestion...

...enjoy...

Phil

Hey Guys and Gals, how are you all?

I just wanted to share an experience I had today that has provoked my into a new way of thinking.

I was covering a 'lower-ability 'science lesson on Cloning and while I know nothing about the topic I was doing a reasonable job of dishing out praise the students that did know a little and using them to share their knowledge with their peers. As I scan read the chapter in the text book I realised that this topic was fascinating and it confirmed to me that I knew nothing apart from what I had just read. I had a thought flash in my head along the lines of "if I was a student my knowledge would place me in this bottom set" and then as I scan read the questions at the end of the chapter I realised that I could answer them all with relative ease. Here is where my shock came, me and the students started this lesson with pretty much a similar knowledge of the subject. Yet the starting point of our knowledge does not determine which set we would be placed in, it is our ability to move on from that point. I love the term 'distance travelled' when talking about education, where you start and where you finish is not important, the distance your knowledge progresses it what should be measured. Placing kids who share the same inabilities with each other is not going to help any of them apart from those at the top of the cohort who only got their because the system works for them. They are grouped by their demonstrated ability, the remainder are grouped because of their demonstrated inability. Once they have demonstrated their inability to learn in that manner they need to be worked on to find what does work for them.

While I take differentiation very seriously, it really emphasised to me that infact every child is a 'special needs' child and being in a lower set simply means that the system they have experienced so far is not working for them, it is not developing them at the rate that humans are capable of learning, these kids need something different, something new.

I have always believed that ANY student can go through school and end up with straight A grades when they leave - providing they get the right help and support. It is our job to give them this help and support but what is it? what are we not giving that they need?

Thanks,

Matt

Matt,

This reminds me of a story from my graduate school days.

I had a friend that was studying violin, and we were talking about approaches to learning a difficult piece of music. She had a wonderful attitude. "I can learn anything," she said, "if I just slow it down enough and take my time."

Those words never left me.

Phil

Even though I'm on holiday, I thought I would take time to share a little utilization of "as-if" thinking in a music lesson on Tuesday afternoon.

A class was working on executing a rhythm, and about 20% of them were not doing a very good job of it. The material was definitely "at level," so I pulled out my magic wand!

"Now I know that you all learned this material when I taught it to you last year, so you must be pretending to not know it! Let's pretend instead that you do know it! OK, here we go!"

As I have often said before, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. At least they are the most fun! And, children love to pretend, now don't they? We all know that I'm just a big kid, after all!

Some children openly reject the magic, but it doesn't stop me from using it with complete congruence, and eventually they do come around!

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

It's been a while since I did an education post! Here's a really fun one for you today that you can all try out! I did it with six and seven-year-olds this morning while practicing steady beat.

1) Close your eyes...
2) Think of your favorite toy in the whole world...
3) Become that toy. Pay attention to how it feels to be that toy!
4) Put "March of the Toys" from "Babes in Toyland" by Victor Herbert on the stereo or computer, or MP3 player.
5) Join the parade and enjoy!

Try on lots of different toys. What different characteristics can you become aware of? How do they change your state now...and which ones can you incorporate into your life now, making it more enjoyable and effortless and exciting, and...

Have fun!



...oh, welcome back!

Phil

What does it mean if you hand a child a chocolate bunny, the child immediately bites the eyes off of the chocolate bunny and screams, "Stop looking at me?"

Then they grow up to be one Strange Bird.

Don't worry Tony. He'll be fine. Or was that you???

Phil

Tony,

Of course it could mean so many things, why do you think it is unusual behaviour that warrants looking in to?

blah blah, the rest deleted.

Thanks,

Matt

This never happened. It was a hypothetical question inspired from the scene in the movie "Reservoir Dogs" and the ear thing.