Innovation Into Schools

I am an educator who works with students that have dropped out of school and now wish to return to school and complete their education.  They are studying to earn a State of Florida High School Diploma via the GED examination.

Most of my students have an unbearable fear of math.  They tell me how they hate math, have never been good at math, can’t learn math, etc.  EFT has become a blessing for many of them.  It has reduced or eliminated their math phobias and they have begun to incorporate it into other aspects of their lives.  Let me tell you about EFT’s latest success in the classroom.

Marcia (alias) was raised in an abusive family where her stepfather consistently told her that she was stupid.  Her mother was verbally abusive as well.  She struggled in her schoolwork and rarely received any positive assistance with homework.  As she progressed through school, her resistance to and fear of math became her greatest obstacle.

Her fifth grader teacher, Mr. Tony embarrassed her in class by reinforcing the fact that she didn’t know her multiplication tables.  At each turn in school, she felt defeated because she couldn’t learn math.  She began to hate school and all that it represented.  She got a job where she was successful and believed that this was her correct path.  She went on to be a store manager for a drug store.  She made very good money and was happy.  However, there was regret that she had never earned her high school diploma.

When Marcia started taking GED classes, she took an entrance exam.  Her reading score was good; however her math score was very low.  At intake, we discussed her scores and she expressed a hatred for math and said that she had tried many times before to learn it …  but was never successful.

I asked her if she would be willing to try something a little unusual in order to learn math.  She said that she would try anything.  I said that we would give her time to get used to the class and me before trying this new method.

I gave her a few weeks to get familiar with the classroom, the books and materials, and me.  Then we began to use EFT.  Over the next few days we used several setups and reminders.  The following are some of the phrases that we used.  Her level of intensity about math was 10 on a scale of 0 to 10 when we started.

Even though I hate math and it hates me, I love and accept myself; I choose to learn to make math fun.

Even though I never got any help at home, I choose to take control of my life and learn math.

Even though my step-father told me that I am stupid, I love and accept myself; math is becoming fun and I am learning to like it.

Even though Mr. Tony embarrassed me because I didn’t know my math facts, I choose to love myself as I am; I forgive him for hurting me; I understand that he couldn’t be perfect, just as I am not prefect; I am learning to like math and am successful in math.

Marcia’s intensity about math came down to 2 out of 10, and her ability to remember math facts and solve problems went from a 2 to 8 out of 10.  She was finally learning math.

I have two quotes in my classroom that I repeat on a regular basis to my students and I believe that they helped her as well.  “Your consistent thoughts become your reality.” and “Remember the KISS Principle … Keep it simple sister / son.”

Today, she came to me for help in math and said that she really likes math and it is fun to learn.  In addition, her scores have improved to the point that she is ready to sit for her GED exam and she should pass it.  EFT has made a real difference in her life.

She is not the only student that has been impacted by EFT.  Most people with school issues suffered an insult by a teacher in the early years – usually fourth grade.  Many have parents or other relatives that told them that they (the parent) couldn’t do math or another subject either, so it was expected for them to fail.  Testing has also increased the ranks of school haters.  EFT can end years of suffering and bring back a sound educational setting for many.

I have a final note to other teachers offering EFT to their students.  School issues are open areas for teachers to use EFT while other more personal issues need the privacy of a therapist or counselor’s office.  Do not go where the school board has reservations.  Please, also inform your principal that you will be using EFT in the classroom.

Nancy Hopp, EFT CC / Adv.

taken from www.emofree.com

By Linda Compton

Dear Gary:

1. I have a wonderful example of EFT with my granddaughter, Miah, who is 9-3/4 years. She will be ten in February. Miah’s father, my son, bought Miah a thoroughbred, Golden Retriever pup, 7 weeks old. On Tuesday night, just before Thanksgiving, they went together to pick up the dog. Miah has had between eight and ten dogs in her life time.

Each dog, the parents let something happen to it, either the dog “ran” away or they had to give them up for some reason. Miah lives with her Mom and at her house, she cannot have a dog of her own. So my son gives her a dog knowing he actually had no real place to keep it.

On Thanksgiving morning, my son called and said the dog was ill and in the hospital with some disease that pups get. Miah was traumatized, crying and feeling very sad. Her upset was very upsetting to me as well. I hugged her up and told her I was sorry and watched her cry. Then I thought about, EFT. I asked her how she was feeling, she said “just very afraid, my dog might die.” I asked her how afraid did she think she was feeling on a scale from one to ten. After explaining that, she said a ten. I explained EFT to her and asked if she wanted to do it to lessen her upset and fear about her dog dying. Her answer was yes. So the tapping began.

We tapped for: “Even though I have fear about my dog dying, I deeply and completely accept myself.” She started at a ten. The first round bought her to a five, second round to a two and at this point her tears had stopped and she said, “Grandma, I am not so afraid anymore.” I asked her if she wanted to be afraid at all. She said no, so we tapped another round. This time she got to a zero. She said, “Grandma, I am not afraid anymore.”

Although I do this with client, I still had surprise that again, EFT had worked so thoroughly with Miah. This is such an incredible tool.

2. I am also working with an eleven year old who cuts my grass. He was having problems doing math and had received an F in that class. He said he was angry because the kids called him names and made fun of him. He thought he knew how to do it, he said he felt afraid and scared. His school is down the street from me.

He started out at a ten with “Even though I feel angry about math, I deeply and completely accept myself.” He went to a three and then to a zero. I added some BSFF to this case and he choose a “secret word” Fearless. So we decided that every time he rounded the corner and saw my house, he would start saying his “cue” word, fearless. When he saw the school, he would say fearless and when he saw the kids at school who teased him. Definitely when it was time to do math and of course when he went to the board in front of the class.

His mother called me and told me that whatever I had “done to him” keep doing it because his entire attitude had changed and he was coming home doing his homework all by himself. When he came over, he also told me he was doing much better.

Yesterday, his mother came by my house and told me she had just left his teacher. The teacher told her, her son was doing so much better in class. She was wondering what had happened to him. His attitude was different and everyday, when it is time to do math, he starts doing something with his fingers. He told her he was working with “this lady” and this was helping him do better in math. The teacher then told him he needed to see his mother. It was good news.

His mother says she will bring his progress report by for me to see. After I see it on paper that he is improving, I am going to see his teacher and then the Principal at the school to start a small group of boys (4 to 6 boys) and see if this can happen on a larger scale. There is no telling where this will lead.

Thanks again. His mother even thanks you.

3. The third child, I worked EFT with was an unknown boy in the park who was cursing like a sailor to all the other children. I thought he had Tourettes Syndrome. Every sentence he spoke had a curse word in it although they were only playing. I waited until he was ready to leave when I call him and asked his name. He told me and I told him I noticed something very interesting about him. He asked what. I told him that I noticed that he was really a “good” curser. That he was the best curser I had ever heard before for a child his age. I told him that although I was impressed, I was also a little concerned because “usually” cursing meant that someone was a little angry.

I asked if he was angry. He told me YEA, he was angry with everybody. He said all the people. When I questioned him further about this, he said that people “hit” him. Now I knew I only had a few minutes with him and I did not question who hit him. I asked if he liked the way he felt when he felt so angry. He said no, not all the time. I asked if he would like to learn how to only be angry when he wanted to and not all the time. He said yes.

So to make this quick, I told him to tell me just how angry he was on a scale from one to ten. He said he was a ten (in a loud voice). I told him what we were going to do and asked again if he would like to do this. He said yes. So we began to tap for: “Even though I feel real angry, I deeply and completely accept myself.” He went from a ten to a five and to a two. I asked him if he would to not be angry at all and he told me he wanted to be angry “a little.” He then looked up and saw his bus coming. He told me he had to leave and catch his bus. From this angry kid that I didn’t even know, I got some smiles at what a great curser he was. He did talk to me briefly about having a “bunch” of names and he didn’t really know his last name or he never really said it. He said his father had a lot of names too. A parent in the park told me that she was afraid to say anything to the kids (he was eleven) and thought that I was out of my mind for doing so.

I know that had I had the time to work with this child, more couldn’t have happened. I generally never think I want to work with children, however, EFT is fun and I really enjoy teaching them how to do it.

Thanks again and again.

Linda Compton

taken from www.emofree.com

By Syandra Ingram

Dear Gary,

I am an elementary school guidance counselor on a PK-6th grade campus. In Texas our public schools must give state standardized tests, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), in core subjects. Students must pass these tests in order to advance to the next grade. As you can imagine, as test time approaches, both teachers and students are highly stressed.

Last spring the 6th grade math tutor was expressing concern about the students she was tutoring. With the TAKS test only two weeks away, the students just didn’t seem to be making the progress they needed to make. I decided to try EFT! I invited all 16 of the 6th grade students in her tutoring groups to participate in an after school “TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Busting Academy,” and sent home permission letters to their parents.

Of the 16 students, 10 chose to participate. This group committed to meet after school for an hour each day. Due to Easter Break, we only had 8 meetings. In our sessions, we used EFT for issues relating to math and test-taking phobias, math difficulties and stress and anxiety. I gave the students the freedom to be honest with me, and allowed them to tell me what they thought their problems with math were without censorship. Examples of some of the current and past problems included…

I don’t like my math teacher!

My teacher scared me!

I can’t multiply!

I get confused!

I can’t remember how to do it!

The teacher gets mad if I ask a question!

Math is too hard!

One of the girls said her problems with math began when she went to kindergarten where she was confronted with numbers for the first time. The other children seemed to know what numbers were and how to use them, and she didn’t. She felt embarrassed, ashamed and dumb … a feeling that persisted with her all the way through school.

After identifying each student’s particular current and past problems surrounding math, we identified the 0-10 intensity for each concern, and selected a student to tap on. The rest of the students were to Borrow Benefits, tapping on themselves along with the student “on stage.” The students were amazed that their own intensity levels kept falling even though they weren’t the student being tapped on!

After a couple of rounds of the Basic Recipe, we also incorporated Dr. Carrington’s Choice Method, for example:

Even though math is hard, I choose to let it be easy,

Even though taking the TAKS test scares me, I choose to feel calm and relaxed,

Even though I’m just too lazy sometimes to use my math strategies, I choose to use my math strategies.

The students were enthusiastic participants and loved being the volunteer who was tapped on and being the volunteer who sometimes did the tapping on someone else. Students were given “tapping” homework each night.

The day before the TAKS test, at our “graduation” meeting and pizza party, I had each student complete a TAKS Pre-Test evaluating the effectiveness of our TAKS Academy. I had the students rate the effectiveness of each activity we did, and asked, “Do you feel the TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Buster Academy helped you? If so, how?”

I was delighted that all 10 of the students who participated (8 girls and 2 boys) answered that they felt, “Yes, it had helped.” They answered the “How?” part of the question in basically one, two and/or three of the following ways:

I’m not afraid to take the test now,

I’m more confident, and/or

math is easier now.

I was excited about those results, but not surprised. I had seen the students grow in confidence for the last 8 school days. What I really wanted to know was whether these results would hold up as they actually took the TAKS test! In order to find out, I gave the students a TAKS Post-Test at the end of the testing day.

I asked three questions:

After taking the Math TAKS Test…

1. Do you feel the TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Buster Academy helped you with the TAKS test? If so, in what way?” Again, a resounding “Yes,” with the following reasons given: “The test wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be…” I felt calm and relaxed…I tapped when I got stuck…I used my strategies…”

2. “If it helped, which exercises do you think helped the most? Check all that apply.”
EFT was a big winner here, with all students checking that tapping on current and previous problems with math, resistances to using their strategies and fear were big helps.

3. “Do you think you will use the strategies and tools you learned in the Academy in the future? Explain.”

As a counselor, I was particularly interested in the answers to this last question. Again, all 10 students said they would be using what they learned in the future.

“Lisa” mentioned that using EFT had already helped her in her softball games.

“Carrie,” who has a particularly challenging home life, said she now had something that could help her deal with her family problems.

“Cindy,” who could barely participate in her classes because of shyness before we started meeting, blossomed. She not only was now participating in her math class, she chose “Goddess” as her nickname in our group! The other Academy students were delighted, and said, “She sure isn’t shy anymore!” “Cindy” wrote that now she could be successful and planned to use EFT all the way through college.

“Maria” reported that she now felt much more self-confident, and wanted to continue using EFT for other things. Several of the students reported that they would continue to use EFT for stress and anxiety, and “Dillon” noted that EFT was helping him with his anger problem (not even something we had been working on!).

Final results? Nine of the ten students who participated in the TAKS Academy passed the TAKS, and the tenth made significant improvement, although not enough to pass the test. Of the 6 students who chose not to participate, 4 passed and 2 failed. I think that’s significant. Beyond that, though, the students who learned and used EFT developed a new self-confidence and self-empowerment. All of them said that they would continue to use EFT in the future.

After 10 years of being a school counselor and feeling like I was putting band-aids on major wounds, I finally, with EFT, have something to offer these children that will not only help in the “here and now,” but will be something they can use for the rest of their lives to create the lives they deserve. These 10 students learned that they have the power to shape their own lives.

I am also using EFT with faculty and staff members, and even some parents. This year I will enlarge the TAKS Academy and offer it to students at all TAKS grade levels. One of my goals is to expand the use of EFT in the schools throughout the district and the state.

With love and gratitude,

Syandra Ingram
Counselor, EFT-ADV

Article taken from www.emofree.com