Innovation Into Schools

Posts Tagged ‘Worries’

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.

Kylie learned to tap at school over two years ago and has been tapping her worries away ever since, so I invited her to write about how EFT has helped her in her life.

The Key to Unlocking My Inner Peace

by Kylie, age 11

Grade Three was the most marvelous year that I’ve had in elementary school.  My teacher taught our class with enthusiasm and fun.  Out of the many things she shared with us, tapping had to be the one that worked the most magic.

I remember the very first time that I tried tapping outside my classroom. It was during a violin concert. I was feeling anxious and worried because the judges at the festival were harshly critiquing every child’s performance.  My hands were clammy and beginning to freeze up, so I began to tap.  While I tapped I reminded myself that whatever the judges thought, all I could do was to play to the best of my ability…and whatever happened during my performance, I was still an awesome kid!  After tapping, I walked up to the stage and with total calmness I let my music take me away. The judges must have been impressed because later that night I received a call informing me that I had made it into the Highlights Concert.  Without tapping, I don’t believe that I ever would have made it.

I continue to use tapping to help me in many stressful situations.  Music to me is like the icing to chocolate cake.  Even though I love to perform I get nervous at times. My hands freeze up and I’m not able to play the melody that comes from my heart.   Though I sometimes feel frozen with worry, this sensation soon washes away whenever I tap.  By tapping on pressure points all my worry, envy and sorrow is washed away and my heart is filled to the brim with confidence and joy.  Tapping gives me the strength to follow my dreams and become a better person.  Tapping is the way I get through the bumps and snares life brings.  No one is perfect, and no one will ever not have a time when they come upon sorrow or fear in life, but I know that with tapping there is always a solution to help me move on and lift me through the rough patches.

Many teachers are excited at the thought of teaching EFT to their students but are hesitant to try for a variety of reasons.  Some worry about objections from parents or administrators, while others are unsure of how to begin.  Here are some simple and practical ideas which I hope will encourage you to try tapping with your students.

When you introduce EFT to your class, make it useful, relevant and fun.  Try to hook as many of your students as possible. Most importantly, ensure that you have developed a strong rapport of trust and caring with your children before you begin.

I find that the best way to teach EFT is through test anxiety.  My students receive a weekly speed test in which they are expected to complete up to 100 basic math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication or division in less than ten minutes.  After taking these tests for several weeks, we discuss how everyone feels about them. It is always surprising to me how much anxiety these tests create, even in a safe, nurturing environment, where students know that it is absolutely okay to make mistakes.

When asked to show their level of stress with regard to these speed tests, many children hold up ten fingers to signify that their anxiety is extremely high.  This discussion paves the way perfectly for introducing tapping.  I confide to my class that I have recently learned of a wonderful way to deal with my own worries and stresses.

Rapport is critical at this point.  As long as your children trust and respect you they will happily accept the idea of tapping and be willing to give it a try.

I introduce a large picture of a stream amidst a forest, surrounded by wildlife and trees. The stream is a metaphor for our minds.  When we are feeling peaceful and relaxed everything flows smoothly, just as the stream does.  Stress is represented by a detachable tree.  What happens to the stream when the tree falls across it?  The water stops flowing properly, debris builds up around the tree, back eddies form and the bank starts to erode. In other words, the stream no longer flows as it should.  This is exactly what happens in our minds (and bodies) once stress enters our system.

I suggest to my students that if they tap on specific pressure points, which are connected to emotions in our bodies, at the same time as they tune into their feelings, they may be able to relieve some of their anxiety.  In other words, they may be able to remove that “tree” which has entered their mind and is holding them back from achieving their best.

We place stickers on a student’s self portrait to demonstrate specific points to tap on, and then we practice tapping on those points without using any words at all.  Next I ask them to think about that math test once more.

It is important to personalize the tapping and incorporate their own words while you tap, so before you get started, inquire once more about how they are feeling.  Ask them where they are feeling those feelings in their bodies (stomach, throat, heart, etc).

After that, you are ready to begin with a set-up statement.  Add some humour to make it fun and use as many of the children’s words as you can:

Karate Chop: Even though I have to write this speed test and it’s the last thing I want to do…and  I feel stressed and anxious… and my legs are shaking and I feel like I’m going to be sick to my stomach….. I am still an awesome kid!

Continue by tapping on the following points, acknowledging their own thoughts and feelings:

Top of head:  I am SO stressed! I have to write this speed test!

Eyebrow: My legs feel shaky.

Side of Eye: My stomach feels SICK!

Under Eye: My heart is pounding!

Under Nose: My throat feels dry!

Under Lip: What if I fail?

Collar Bone: What if do worse than last week?

Under Arm: What if I don’t get 100%?

Top of Head: I know I am smart.

Eyebrow: But it’s hard to be fast!

Side of Eye: It’s hard to do your best when you’re stressed.

Under Eye: I wish I could let go of this stress.

Under Nose: Let go of this stress…

Under Lip: It feels good to relax…

Collar Bone: Relax…

Under Arm:  I’m just going to give it my best… That’s all I can do….try my best.

Karate Chop: And even if I am not perfect, even if I do make mistakes, I am STILL an awesome kid!

After completing and marking their tests, have your students compare the results with those from the previous week.  Ask them what they notice about the results of both tests.  Hopefully this lesson will allow your students to perceive that tapping can be a very effective tool for helping to relieve anxiety as well as improve test scores.

We tap every week before speed tests, and the results continue to impress us. Two weeks ago, one boy volunteered to tap in front of our class because he had been hampered by worries during his previous test and as a result, had only achieved 63%. His stress level, he stated, was “more than ten”. He informed us that stress made him feel wiggly and squirmy. I added that I had noticed his legs moving a lot during last week’s test. So we tapped on those squirmy legs.  Eventually, after tapping for a round or two, we reframed with, “What if I could transform all of that squirmy leg energy into my pencil….?”

Not only were his legs completely still while writing that test, but to his complete delight, he achieved 97%!

This week he was worried again but for a different reason. So we tapped on “Even though I did so well last week it will be almost impossible for me to get any better…I’ll probably just get worse….”

He was very proud to achieve his first 100% ever!

Before you know it you could be trying EFT on everything in your classroom, from math tests to bullying, to lice ( yes, we have even used EFT for lice.)

And if you feel hesitant or doubtful about whether tapping will be accepted by others in your workplace, listen to your heart and just try it. After all, as teachers, our intention is to give children all the tools and skills and encouragement that we possibly can to allow them to achieve their very best, unencumbered by worries, anxieties and fears. With EFT we not only allow our children to acknowledge, express, accept and release their negative feelings, we teach them to affirm that whatever they are feeling, whatever problems they are experiencing, they are still without a doubt, awesome kids.

Perhaps there is more value in teaching our students how to tap than there is in teaching them to answer 100 math questions in less than ten minutes…

Exam Stress
by Mel Trudgett

‘A’ is an 11 year old girl in Dorset that is regularly achieving a grade 5, which is above average, in both Maths & English. She is in the top few % of her year 6 class for her coursework in both subjects and is generally very happy and settled at school. However, during year 6 leading up to the SATs, her teachers became very concerned that she was seriously under achieving in ALL of her tests in these subjects – she was struggling to even get a grade 4 which is below average. They believed it was just a problem with nerves, but had tried talking to her about this and it had made no difference.

During tests she would panic, spend a long time answering a question that would give just one mark and then run out of time when it came to the 3 or 5 mark questions which made her panic even more. She also felt like she ‘didn’t know the answers’ which she clearly did because her coursework throughout the year was way above average.

After a simple 10 minute chat with ‘A’ about how she felt about her tests, I was able to put together a basic EFT script based around her feelings. We tapped a few rounds on her nerves, but also on her fear of failure, of hating getting low results which meant she comes last, of worrying that she might not know the answers in the test (she did!) and generally worrying that her teachers/parents/friends wouldn’t like her as much if she did badly. After each round of tapping we talked again about the emotions she was feeling and her insecurities about tests and then tapped down the intensity on each emotion that came up. All of the intensity had gone by the end of the short session. She said she felt a definite release of the worry that had been bothering her.

However, I wanted to be sure that she had a tool to use if any of these feelings came back so I advised her on a secret tapping process* that she could use during a test if the feelings of stress came back. It could be used to calm her worries and also to give herself some positive affirmations.

‘The tapping worked!’

The first day that she had a test after the tapping, she simply said that ‘the tapping worked – I was fine’. She used the discreet tapping process during the test, not to take away her stress because she didn’t have any – she said she wanted to use the tapping to improve her score!

She answered every question on the test which is something that she hasn’t managed to do for over a year and she no longer has any worries about taking the tests, including her SATs, in the future.

Mel Trudgett
EFT & Reiki Practioner, Dorset UK
www.eftforme.com