"I think I can", puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could." – The Little Engine who thought he could Platt and Munk 1930
We have all had that moment when we stopped believing. Stopped believing in something, someone, or worst ourselves. If you’ve never had that moment then count yourself lucky and stop reading past this sentence. I have a few of these moments, and they are all vivid in my memory. The day I stopped believing "I am intelligent" probably stands out the most.
In primary school, we were divided into class sections A, B, and C some of my best friends were in the C class I was in the B class.
One day during the break I asked my friend over to my house for the weekend. She politely declined and informed me that she is going on a weekend of Educational Enrichment (Verykende Onderwys). I asked my mother about it and it turns out that the whole system in the school that I attended was divided into classes ranging from less intelligent to extremely intelligent. Yes, class A of lesser intelligence, class B of average intelligence, and then the cream of the crop would be in class C.
And there it was, the moment a 9-year-old girl felt less intelligent than most of her friends, excluded and doomed to be nothing on the scale of academic success. The gifted class was privy to go for enrichment classes at a special education center where they were taught subjects like astronomy, philosophy, math, and all sort of subjects that weren’t taught in the average schools.
Now, please don’t get me wrong at this juncture! I don’t have anything against educational enrichment nor do I look down at the school from the past that had a wonderful remedial programs in fact I support them.
My grievance here is that it was made blatantly obvious to the learners that they were all separated into categories of "superior" or "lesser intelligence". Those in the latter category were left to feel in some way that they didn't feel worthy of being given opportunities to enrich themselves. That knowledge and enrichment were somehow exclusive and unobtainable.
All this damage is still etched within countless little souls because of evaluations, or as I call them ‘death sentences for intelligence’ based on criteria set up by a standardized system developed after the industrial revolution during 1740 and 1840.
As I grew older feelings of rejection, exclusion, insecurities escalated in such a severe way that it affected my academic confidence and performance. I stopped believing that I was worthy of anything above my intelligence. That I was measured, weighed, and found wanting in the academic field.
This was my moment, but my question is what is yours? Most importantly what is your child’s defining educational moment? It might be a teacher that unknowingly said something to your child that started a train of thought that will end in a derailment. It might be something you said that was meant in one way but interpreted in another. Even though we can embrace our uniqueness as adults as children the last thing we want to feel is different from the rest. We need to help them change this and realize that they can proudly walk to the beat of their own drum without feeling shame.
I can discuss this topic in-depth and for hours on end but the main message I want to convey is this:
It’s never too late to eradicate deep-seated beliefs within ourselves and our children that we simply don’t have the potential to excel. I only discovered later in life how academics work, how knowledge works, and what makes me tick. I was lucky to have the tenacity to never give up. I figured out through my studies why some learners excel in school and others don't and believe me it doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. Discovering the many different ways in which our brain interprets information was the starting block for developing my method.
It will take many years to change the system as it currently stands but we can learn to unlock our talents and apply them within this standardized system. You have a unique formula within yourself that needs to be understood, unlocked, and cultivated to understand how you can flourish holistically.
I’ve seen first-hand when I apply my method in my classes how a light switches on in a child's brain that they can indeed do anything they put their minds to.
Children don’t need to be reminded of what exactly they struggle with, news flash, they know.
They need to be taught how to manage it, how to change it, and that it does not define them. That it’s acceptable to have learning preferences, interpret information differently, learn differently, and that they are supported in every possible way.
Help your child to develop an ‘I think I can, I thought I could and I did’ attitude, just like the little engine showed us years ago.
Keep flying
Almi