Achieving in Exams and Study

Please consider this...

A Department of Education, Science and Technology In-Service Course suggested some factors that would be

Future Classroom Considerations:

• 80% of children in Year 5 this year will enter careers that don’t exist now, involving technology that hasn’t yet been invented.
• Employees will change professions, not just jobs, 4 or 5 times during their working lifetime.
• The amount of information in the world doubles every 2 ½ years.
• Today, engineers find half their knowledge is obsolete in 5 years.
• Graduates will have been exposed to more information than their grandparents were in a lifetime.
• 90% of information and knowledge that will be required when a current year 5 student leaves school has yet to be invented.
• Service jobs continue to form 90% of the economy.

So it is not what we learn that is important it is How To Learn. All the skills of learning are required if we are to keep abreast of the constant, ever faster, changes in the world.

The success and the well-being of all children is of vital importance. It’s not overstating the point to say that their future success is the future success of any country, is it?  And, wouldn’t you agree that in today’s world children need as much positive input as possible, just to counteract the negatives they get all day long?

Some shocking statistics

Did you know that a recent survey of teenagers discovered that 76% are pessimistic, with little faith that their world is going to get better, and almost 90% do not believe in the importance of upholding time-honoured customs and values (Melbourne Age Newspaper).

Complementing those awful percentages, Californian research shows that 85% of school children at age 6 feel positive about themselves and their future. BUT, by the time they reach 16 years of age, that figure has fallen alarmingly to just ... 16%.  At the very least, a dramatic change in self-esteem and self-image has taken place ... for the worse ... in the intervening ten years.

My response

These statistics horrified me!   These, as well as the repeated request of parents and educators, were my motivation for writing a book to help children and young adults.  That book is Students Steps To Success (now internationally acclaimed). I then followed this by developing a Students Success Seminar designed especially for them, and I have now put that seminar on a DVD with a workbook.  This is available as part of the LEARN FASTER Kit.

The kit presents how to learn using visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles.  Scientifically proven Accelerated Learning methods (the ability to achieve faster) are presented throughout the kit.  The resources included in the kit are the Student’s Success Seminar (on 2 DVDs, plus a workbook), 7 CDs (including Baroque Music, Guided Imagery, Meditations and information CDs) and the book "Students Steps to Success".

Using the power of your subconscious mind

The techniques taught in the book and the kit teach students how to use the other 88% of your mind, the subconscious mind.  Have a look at what David Smith, retired Associate Professor, School of Teaching and Curriculum Studies at the University of Sydney says about it:

"Until now, teaching and learning has concentrated only on our conscious mind; on only 12% of our mindpower.  The scientifically proven techniques Sandy MacGregor teaches unleash the other 88% of our mindpower.  Learn and practise these techniques and you will harness the total power of your mind, in not only learning, but in all aspects of your life."

This 88% power of the mind is something most people were never taught or told about when they were growing up.  Even today less than 1% of the population have been taught the Laws and Language of that 88%.  Nor do they know how to program the subconscious mind to their own advantage.  (Imparting this awareness and skill to everyone is my vision).

You see, much of what science has been able to prove to us on this subject stems from the relatively recent findings of Dr Roger Sperry, who in 1981 received the Nobel Prize for his work on the left and right hemispheres of the brain. (Commonly referred to as the "analytical side" and the "creative side"). Today, this forms the basis for most types of accelerated learning and whole brain thinking, not just for children, but adults as well.

Now, we also know that the other 88% of our mind is the permanent storehouse for all memory, habits, personality and self-image.  It is also the powerhouse that can determines the difference between a happy, fulfilling, successful life on the one hand, and frustration and failure on the other.

How we learn

Did you know that in the first five years of a childs' life, they actually learn more facts than it takes to get a University degree in medicine or engineering.  It’s true!  And it’s because they are learning with BOTH sides or the WHOLE of their brain, AND it’s also because they are having fun and are relaxed. By being relaxed they are predominantly thinking of only one thing at a time which means that what they are learning goes directly to their memory bank, which is in the other 88% of their mind.

When children go to school, they immediately start to learn logically, thereby using the "analytical side" of their brain, which learns 40 to 400 times slower than the "creative side."  For many children (myself included), it’s not unusual for the "creative side" of their brain to lie virtually unused for most of their lives.  (In my own case, it did until I was 41 years of age.)

As your children grow older and external pressures start to affect them, they begin to experience stress, and this affects them in different ways. A few cope but most get:

Overcoming difficulties and experiencing success

To overcome these difficulties, and to experience success in all areas of their life, children need some skills that enable them to use both ’sides’ of their brain and to release the stress quickly.  These skills are two of the outcomes students will learn from my seminar.

The techniques taught in the book and seminar are not just designed to help students get good test or exam results, they also facilitate the building of a happy, fulfilling, successful life, and that’s what we all want for our children, isn’t it?

Children and teenagers love the techniques I teach because they are so easy to use. From 6 years of age, children can use these techniques (with some assistance), and from around 12 or 13 years of age, students can learn to use these techniques on their own.

Perhaps the best part of all (for you and for them) is that they can use these for the rest of their lives, to reap these wonderful benefits:

Amazingly enough, students don’t even have to believe the techniques will work... all they need do is use them... and they’ll discover they work automatically, literally from day one!  (Incidentally, if you decide to use any of them for yourself, you’ll achieve the same result.)

The key words of course are... USE THEM.  This is why for on-going and lasting benefits to be achieved it is important to continue to practise the techniques after the seminar.

Summary

Since 1990, I’ve been writing books and running seminars that teaches people how to use the power of the subconscious mind and achieve what they really want in life.  I believe it is particularly important that we teach our young people these techniques, especially in the face of the constant pressures many of them face today. To this end I have produced an Active Meditation CD for which there are details below and I have a website www.studentstepstosuccess.com on which there is much helpful information.

So, thank you for giving me these few minutes from your busy day. I hope you feel my words have contributed something worthwhile to it!

I urge you to read the success stories below.

Success stories

"I’d like to thank you for introducing me to my Peaceful Place where I’ve learnt so much about myself.  I still have a long way to go but I’m determined to achieve my goals which you have helped me set. As a chronic migraine sufferer the seminar was valuable in helping me to control them. I’m proud to say I have taken only 1/3 of  the painkillers I used to and I hope to stop altogether.

Just recently I had my exams and particularly Biology in which I received 91%. In regards to the Mind Charting and picturing myself with a high result in Biology, I can honestly say that is all I used to get 91%. As proof to myself I refused to use any other method. This is evidence to me that the knowledge I have gained will allow me to achieve whatever I set my mind to. The most outstanding for me is my English - I moved up 20 ranks!

The mind is a powerful thing and I thank you Sandy for teaching me this. I realise now it is up to me to achieve my goals, like finishing the HSC with the best possible TER I can receive. Thank you once again for bringing a change, a positive change into my life which I will never forget." 17 years old Danielle Elliot, NSW

                            In 1990 I was advised that doing my Higher School Certificate was probably not in my best interest, as I should not, and really could not expect to receive over 40 as a TER. The truth is, I had nothing wrong with me, no crippling disease or brain disorder, but more, that talent of being dyslexic, and this is where Sandy helped me.

After completing Sandy's CALM Seminar in 1991 I learned that being dyslexic was a gift I had been given. There were of course the frustrations of being 18 years old with a reading and spelling capacity of an 11 year old. This, coupled with an extremely high IQ, tremendous determination and dedication, made learning a challenging experience. By applying techniques learned from Sandy I found myself in the top 10 in all subjects. Not only was my school work dramatically improving, but I also increased my interest in Stage Management, where by the end of 1992 I had managed 10 professional and school productions. My chronic asthma was controlled, not through large doses of medication, but by intense meditation.

In 1992 I set myself targets and goals in regard to my Higher School Certificate. I quickly learnt that setting goals is one thing, but doing them is another.

CALM taught me to take control of my life and "Seize the day". In January 1993 I received my Higher School Certificate results. I had visualised the whole experience from the opening of the envelope, my excitement, my parents expressions of delight. Sometimes all the visualisations can not get you prepared for the actual event.

The event was as I visualised, but far more. In all my subjects I was in the top 10% of the state, as well as being placed 5th in the state for Modern History.

I set my goals, I worked towards them and the best part is I out did them. CALM has allowed me to turn a negative into a positive, believe in myself, set goals and out do them, but most of all I have learned "the sky is the limit".  Georgina Bovill, NSW

I have had many successes in my personal life since doing my first CALM seminar with Sandy. I think the one that stands out the most was my end of year exams. At age 45, going back to school to study was a very big decision I had made. In my second semester we had a teacher in Business Statistics who wasn't doing his job very well and I knew I had to do something to help me get through.

I had bought Sandy's tape Achieving in Exams and Effective Study. So during the last month before my exams I would listen to the tape and then study with Accelerated Learning Music. I also used Mind Maps. When it came time for the exam I felt that I had done my best but was not confident that I knew the work well. I also got copies of past papers which I studied. When it came time to take the exam I became really excited when during the 10 minutes reading time I was able to recall my mind maps and the answers just came flooding into my mind and the exam was so easy that I knew I had been successful. I've received my results to that exam and I got the A I visualised, in Business Statistics. I put my success down to the positive attitude that I had after meditating with my tapes.  Yvonne Potts, NSW