Jonah was not in love with school.
He had learning differences that made most school subjects feel painful and difficult. When we began practise, he was able to answer about 10% of maths questions correctly and about 20% of English questions.
I was not initially sure how to reach him. Then, he gave me some powerful clues. I learned that Jonah was devoted when it came to practising his sports. He would spend hours on end practicing tennis or basketball.
Ah, I thought, what if he could approach assessments as just another game of skill?
We reframed the entire experience of learning maths and English as a game. Jonah unleashed the full force of his enthusiasm on his new game. He practised with the same intensity that he practised tennis or basketball, and when he took his assessment, he scored in the top 7% of test-takers.
The experience changed the way he saw himself.
And so, the first thing we teach our students to set them on the path to doing their best is this: APPROACH LEARNING AS A GAME!
Take self-judgment out of it, follow a process you believe in, and have some fun, and who knows how much you can improve!
