EFT Into Schools

Posts Tagged ‘Anxieties’

After using EFT for over two years on a variety of school related issues, I decided to gather and record data to show how effective EFT can be for relieving anxieties in children and thereby improving academic performance and test results.

Each week my grade three and four students are given a math test in which they strive to complete 100 basic multiplication or division facts in ten minutes.

A few months ago, I told my class that because they were getting so quick at multiplication, I was going to reduce their time from ten minutes to eight. I knew this would create some anxiety.

Before the first test my students recorded and measured their level of anxiety on a scale from 0 – 10.  They completed that test without using EFT.

The second test was taken a few days later, after we used EFT to address their fears.  Before the test we tapped as a group about their worries, as well as on their stress-related physical symptoms, such as rapid heartbeat, dry throat, mind blocks, churning stomach, etc.

Here are the results of the two tests: (Student names have been changed.)

These results show a significant increase in many students’ test scores.  It is evident that once test related anxiety is addressed and released through the use of EFT, students are capable of reaching their potential in exam situations.

One of the many benefits of teaching EFT to your students is that they are able to quickly and quietly show you by tapping that they are feeling anxious or frustrated or in need of some assistance. 

I realized this shortly after I introduced EFT to my class. I had just completed a lesson on equivalent fractions and saw that I had done a poor job of it because many of my students were struggling with their work.  When I attempted to re-teach the concept I noticed several students tapping on their karate chop points. I smiled and asked, “Do equivalent fractions make you feel that anxious?” One girl grinned right back at me while continuing to tap and announced, “Yep!”

I realized then what a wonderful teaching tool EFT is. Not only does it enable children to relieve anxieties and improve test scores, it can also alert us to their need for assistance. Often the children who are the least vocal are the ones who experience the most anxiety, and tapping is a polite way for them to make us aware that they need some help or compassion.

Not long after that occasion, I noticed a boy quietly tapping while working at his seat.  This immediately made me aware of his need for some assistance, but when I asked if I could help him he responded, “No, I’m just tapping because I’m worried about the District Bike Race this afternoon.”  I invited him to do some tapping with me, but by this time the whole class was listening in. Everyone else wanted to tap as well! They all opened up about their worries and we tapped as a group to alleviate their fears.

Once we arrived at the bike race I was intrigued to notice many of my students tapping on the start line. Later, I was excited to see several of them complete the race so well. But I was especially delighted to notice the boy who had expressed the most anxiety before the race (and had incidentally taken a bad tumble off his bike while riding) come in last with a huge smile on his face.

The most important lesson for me on this day was that because I had noticed just one of my students attempting to tap away his worries, I was able to give everyone in my class the encouragement and understanding they needed, enable them to enjoy the bike race with a worry free attitude, and allow them to affirm that they were awesome kids whether they won or lost this race or finished somewhere in between.

Since then, whenever I have seen children tapping quietly their own, I have tried my best to give them the help and compassion they need and deserve.

IS TEST ANXIETY SABOTAGING YOUR CHILD’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE?
Judith Albright, EFT Practitioner
 

Remember when children’s fears centered mostly on the boogeyman, spooks, hairy monsters and things that go bump in the night?  That was before schools became preoccupied with standardized tests and penalties for poor performance. Today a significant number of children find test taking to be far more terrifying than any monsters they could ever imagine. From elementary school through college, test anxiety has become a serious impairment to academic achievement that is impacting students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds Studies have shown that test anxieties begin to rise sharply in grades 2 — 4, and remain high for the remaining school years. Teenagers in particular rate schoolwork and exams as the greatest source of stress in their lives. According to the American Test Anxiety Association, at least 20% of students feel high to severe test anxiety and another 16% are considered to experience moderate test anxiety. This means than more than one fifth of the children in schools today, or an estimated 10 million children, are seriously impacted in North America alone, and the percentages are increasing. 

Statistically, children who experience severe test anxiety are more likely to perform poorly in school and repeat grades.  These children are more easily distracted.  They frequently eperience mental blocks during an exam, even on questions they know because they blank out or have racing thoughts.  Even the thought of taking a test causes some children to panic and convince themselves they will fail.  Before taking a test, anxious students can actually create a kind of “noise” or “static” in the brain that blocks their capability to recall important nformation. High test anxiety also reduces the ability to comprehend and retain material, making it difficult to reason, concentrate and solve problems.  As a result, students with high anxiety levels core an average of 12 percentile points below their less anxious classmates, which can reduce scores by a half or even a full letter grade. For these students, test results do not accurately reflect preparation or ability.

Yet our society is test oriented, and in many instances a child’s and even a school’s future can hinge on a single test. As schools have been mandated to give annual math and reading tests and hold accountable those that fail to show improvement, test anxiety has understandably ncreased.  Many states make decisions about funding for individual teachers’ and principals’ salaries, and even accreditation of schools based on test scores.  Nearly half of the states in the U.S. require high school seniors to pass a test in order to graduate. As the stakes grow higher, so does the pressure.

While some stress can be a powerful motivator, too much of it can undermine morale and sabotage performance.  According the U.S. Department of Education, students who suffer most from test anxiety tend to be worriers who are extremely self-critical. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success they become paralyzed by fear of failure.  Seldom calling attention to themselves, these students become anxious about being anxious. They feel ashamed of themselves and inadequate about their inadequacies.  Some carry on bravely in spite of their fears while others simply start avoiding schoolwork altogether.

Students with high anxiety levels tend to believe that their feelings are nothing unusual. Therefore, the most prevalent scholastic impairment in our schools today remains largely unidentified and seldom treated. Test anxiety has become so commonplace it is even considered normal. However, a significant number of students will never realize their full academic potential without help managing their anxieties. Without intervention, performance anxieties continue into adulthood, often restricting career choices and interfering with job advancement.  

Thanks to an acupressure technique developed in the last few years, help for test anxiety is literally close at hand.  Introduced in 1995 by Gary Craig, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful self help type of energy therapy that is providing thousands of people with relief from emotionally caused conditions.  Commonly called “needleless acupuncture,” EFT works on the same energy meridians used by traditional acupuncturists for over 5,000 years but without needles. The process is easy to learn and involves a simple protocol of fingertip tapping on key acupressure points while focusing on a specific issue or problem. 

The acupuncture points function as amplifiers that boost electrical signals as they flow throughout the body.  Tapping gently on specific meridians causes the body to release negative emotions, beliefs and traumas and relax into a state of well-being.

EFT is increasingly being used today by medical and mental health professionals around the world because of its effectiveness in treating emotionally based conditions.  Particularly effective in treating fears and phobias, EFT offers children a safe, effective and drug free way to overcome anxieties and increase their academic performance.

Contact Information:
Judith Albright, EFT-CC, EFT-ADV
www.stressfreewitheft.com
E-mail: judith@stressfreewitheft.com