Understanding My Strengths And Struggles
All of us have things we do really well and stuff we really can screw up big time. Unfortunately we tend to focus on what we can't do instead of what we can do. We play the tape over and over again when we screw up. Kind of like this skateboarder wiping out on the half pipe. That's natural because we, as animals, are programmed for survival. Hey, you know something really interesting? We tend to remember the bad stuff that happens to us longer than we remember the good stuff. Our brains replay the bad stuff just in case we were thinking of making the same stupid mistake again. Bummer! But the one really good thing is that our brains learn best from our mistakes. So, if you think that making mistakes is bad, think again.
But it's really important to know what you do well and appreciate that. Dwell on it and enjoy it. More than that, knowing and using what you do well is the key to unpacking your learning profile and what will help you. When you grow up, you are not going to do stuff that you have a hard time with. You're going to pick something you enjoy and the stuff you enjoy is the stuff you're usually good at.
Dr. Mel Levine is a pediatrician who has studied learning and came up with a way to think about our learning. He bases his theory on brain science. We learn through a system he defines in eight categories: Attention, Memory, Language, Spatial Ordering, Temporal/Sequential Ordering, Motor Skills, Social Skills, and Higher Order Thinking Skills. He has written a book for kids called, Keeping A Head in School. You might want to get a copy and check it out. Dr. Levine believes that what is most important is how strong your strengths are.
Think about the stuff you're good at, not just school related stuff, but other stuff too. If you are a really great surfer, then you probably have super great motor skills and some good spatial processing. That means you might be really good at math and science. But it also could mean that you are a kinesthetic learner and you do better with projects and field trips than with lectures. Spend some time thinking about the areas you do well in and the ones you don't. You just may recognize a pattern that will reveal your very cool and unique learning style. Once you know this, you can help yourself by getting the assistance you need. So now lets look at some general areas of school that can cause problems. Click on the links below for specific information. Reading textbooks Writing essays and research papers Math and word problems Staying focused and interested Preparing for a test Taking the test | 
