| Recently, upon reviewing several charts and graphs | | | | application. Imagine if students across this country, |
| put out by the U.S. Department of Education through | | | | whether in public, private, or home school situations, |
| their Institution of Education Services, I was quite | | | | were able to master the material that they read |
| troubled as to what I saw. The specific numbers vary | | | | because they learn how to use their brain and |
| from subject to subject, and chart to chart, but our | | | | therefore, learn, more efficiently. Mastery is not a |
| country has seen a steady decline in academic scores | | | | daunting task when we allow our God-given brains to |
| as compared to other countries. This fact, considered | | | | do their job! When seen as a tool and not just a |
| in light of the constant flood of news related to limited | | | | container for random information, our brain can do |
| school funding, poor public school performance, etc. | | | | some truly amazing things. |
| should not surprise us, but it should call us to action. We | | | | Sadly, though, this is not something that is readily taught |
| can no longer sit back and wonder what became of | | | | in our school system and we are seeing the effects in |
| the schools that we knew when we grew up, the | | | | the national statistics. Students of all ages must learn |
| educational standards that served us well, or the | | | | to be involved with the content of their studies, to |
| scholars that were seated next to us on the bus. No, | | | | understand its significance, to connect to what they |
| we must look at the bigger issues at hand. One of | | | | are reading and learning, but with a purpose. By doing |
| those, the difference between learning and reading is a | | | | this and not just going through the motions, students |
| critical starting point for our future generations. | | | | can avoid wasting their valuable time on reading, and |
| Learning is not the same as reading. We know this | | | | apply that time to effective and meaningful learning. If |
| because we can sit in a meeting, looking over reports, | | | | we rethink our methods, this change could impact |
| and find ourselves rereading the data a second or third | | | | future generations and all would benefit, but it must |
| time through before it sinks in. We can read an | | | | start with using our brains more efficiently during the |
| interesting web article and not be able to describe it to | | | | learning process. With our brains as an active partner |
| a friend several hours later. That is because we are | | | | in our education, we can become educated, not just |
| just going through the process of reading, using this | | | | well-read, which while often having the connotation of |
| skills, but we very regularly fail to engage with the | | | | "educated," can often mean something less than that. |
| material. We do not learn it, we only read it. This | | | | True learning can impact our understanding and |
| problem is rampant in our educational system as | | | | application which will create more effective citizens for |
| students and teachers push to move through | | | | the future - this is what it means to be serious about |
| designated amounts of material in limited time periods, | | | | education. Effecting change, understanding data, and |
| all the while leaving their brains "disengaged." | | | | impacting our culture for more than a semester is the |
| Clearly this impacts our productivity, our understanding, | | | | natural by-product of brain-based learning! If all |
| and our ability to apply what we have read to our daily | | | | educators, no matter what their environment, were |
| work, or our learning process. On the other hand, true | | | | allowed to focus on learning, not a checklist of lessons, |
| learning impacts application. It must. That is the end | | | | we would see a change in our future generations. |
| result of wisdom - changed behavior, changed | | | | |