Posts Tagged ‘Grade Students’
School counselor uses EFT to improve math abilities
Author: admin
School Counselor uses EFT to improve Math abilities
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
Elementary School Students Becoming Skilled EFTers
Author: TappyBear
EFTtm was the second peace-making tool I introduced. I began the semester by teaching the children how to use a talking stick, followed by each student making their own to take home and use with family and friends. During lunch recess I also encourage them to use this tool to resolve differences.
Subsequently, for several weeks, I then brought my Tappy Bear to class, beginning each class with an EFT session, such as:
”Even though we are feeling so fidgety this afternoon, we can hardly sit in circle, we are awesome kids!”
”Even though I’m not sure I want to be here. I’d rather be outside playing soccer, I’m an awesome kid…”
”Even though I know we’re about to do something fun, and I need to stay put for just a few minutes to find out how to do today’s project, I feel so antsy…”
If a particular child had a burning issue upon getting to class, we would address that issue, with everyone tapping for the child with the problem.
By introducing EFT through Tappy Bear with these elementary age children, I found I was able to get their full attention quite easily. Of course, with young ones, I make a big fuss about the under-the-arm point, allowing them to decide whether doing it makes me look like a monkey or a chicken. And I take great care both at the beginning and whenever we practice, to emphasize being gentle with your tapping, especially around the eyes. So, after a couple of weeks, I simply asked the children if they would like to have Tappy Bears of their own to take home and use every day. To my delight and surprise (we only do projects in this group with TOTAL CONSENSUS), everyone wanted to do this. And so, the following week our craft project was to make our own Tappy Bears. With the generosity of the non-profit that oversees this program, we procured the new bears. I simply picked up some colored fuzzy balls and tacky glue, and we were set. Older children helped younger, and by the end of an hour, everyone had a Tappy Bear to take home.
The following week, I asked my students whether or not anyone had actually used their Tappy Bears. I had already spoken to them of the special benefit one can get by tapping away any of the day’s leftover icky feelings before bed. I had also sent home a couple of newsletters to parents, sharing what was going on in class, inviting dialogue, and directing them to www.emofree.com.
Every child in the group spoke of using Tappy Bear and EFT at bedtime, some every night, others just once or twice. I found it most interesting that when I asked if anyone wanted to share something they had tapped away, no one volunteered. The oldest in the group actually said it was too personal.
Since that 4th week, we have used EFT in class for whatever comes up: for both negative states, emotional and physical, as well as for peak performance.
We ended the preholiday semester by inviting parents and siblings in for a ½ hour EFt demonstration. Several 3rd and 4th graders volunteered to lead the sessions, with me helping with set ups, and them directing the sequence portion of the demo. We had to tap for nervousness before our guests showed up; had a bit of stage fright. That tapped away, my students were amazing in their ability to lead the group through the short sequence. And every issue we tapped on (turned out the siblings had all kinds of bodily injury for us to work on) was either considerably improved or totally relieved in just 2 or 3 rounds.
Personally, I have been longing to bring EFT to more children, educators and families for a long time. What I am learning this year is that introducing it through the younger children is thus far my most effective way of truly making it a daily tool. When I have introduced EFT to adults, when I follow up, very few actually take it and run with it. Somehow, we adults are so busy, we tend to make it a priority not for today but for tomorrow. My younger students, on the other hand, are eager to incorporate EFT into their daily lives. And my hope is that not only will their families become interested, but that they can also teach peers how to tap and in how many situations it can be helpful.
In closing, let me relate a story a mom told me that last class in mid December. She came up to me after class and said:
”I’ve been meaning to tell you this. My son (our one kdg student) was having a melt down last weekend. When he gets in these states, I have to give him time outs in his room, because he is so unworkable. Usually it takes a long time for him to calm down. Well, this time, he calls from his room, still crying and gasping, “mom, where is my Tappy Bear?”. I called back, “I don’t know. For a couple of minutes he was very upset he couldn’t find it. Finally it got quiet. I went to his door and peeked in, and I couldn’t believe it. He was holding another teddy bear, tapping on his EFT points, and CALMING HIMSELF DOWN! I was amazed and just had to tell you!”
I am sharing this entire story in order to inspire others with EFT skills to simply offer it even to your youngest clients, students, friends’ children. I feel that by respecting the inner knowing of young children, their natural ability to accept into their lives what is truly healing, we can spread the practice of EFT much faster than waiting for their adult caretakers to get on board. At least, for the past year, this has been my personal experience.
If you have questions regarding interfacing with public schools as a layperson, I’d be delighted to share with you how I was invited in. I am also available to coach teachers, parents, grandparents, all caregivers of children in introducing and problem solving family issues with EFT.
 |
 |
Karen Zorn, EFT-ADV
http://overtheriverandthruthewoods.com
Email: tingdzin@indra.com
