Taught a wonderful group of people on Saturday, December 8th. Thirty six more speed readers sent out into the world! These folks are on a path towards being able to learn anything, anytime. You won't be able to slip things by these folks soon! They have the tools to disect any problem, figure out any issue, and not shy away from reading and learning about anything.
The class was filled with students, busy business people, small business owners and entrapreneurs, and some folks who just wanted to learn a new thing.
Even folks with dyslexia and learning disabilities tell me that the speed reading methods I teach make reading possible for them. Earlier in the year, a firefighter was in the class who was very frustrated with his lack of reading skills due to his dyslexia. He was in a paramedic training program and really suffering from his inability to read well. The day after the class, he told me that he went home that night and read 250 pages! It was the first time in his life he had read anything well and enjoyed the process. His life was transformed.
I am happy to say that these results are typical and anyone who has identified themselves to me as having learning challenges has been helped.
Our new venue in Wallingford in a conference room of the Solid Ground organization worked out well. From their website, Solid Ground is "committed to working with compassion, integrity, accountability, creativity and an anti-oppression approach to end homelessness, hunger, inequality and other barriers to social justice." I am glad my room rental fees are going to them and their great programs. The classroom is across the hall from the Family Works food bank. It is great to be teaching around all that energy of helping people.
I am greatful to be able to share these skills with people from all walks of life and to contribute in some small way to bring some clarity into this often confusing world.
Jackie
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Why is slow reading still taught?
December 22 will be the last speed reading workshop for 2012! The class is full and has been much in demand. There will be many students in the class on their Winter break who are anxious to add speed reading skills to their academic tool bag. They will find that these techniques have the potential of changing their entire academic experience.
One of the first things they will learn will be how to double their reading speed right away! Want to try it? Pick up a pen and while you are reading, underline, not using ink, but holding your pen just above the line. This alone will double your reading speed. The presence of this "pacer" will keep you moving, reduce the sleepyness many people feel while reading, and keep you from losing your place.
The way most of us were taught to read just doesn't work well. But speed reading programs remain outside mainstream public and private education, with the exception of a few community colleges and a handful of private schools. And even though millions of people around the world speed read today, there are still many detractors.
It is easy to find a renown brain researcher who will swear that speed reading is impossible. Having studied the sciences all my life, I understand why this is. Researchers can often get wrapped up in their own observations and expectations, discounting practical experience in favor of studies of limited samples of people.
Because most people learn to read in the first, second, and third grades, the way that reading is taught in most schools becomes a conditioned behavior, a habit that feels like it is “in the bones.” But the way most people learn to read is just one of a number of processes for reading.
Why is there such controversy over how to teach someone to read? Very simply, it is because reading as we know it today is a relatively recent phenomenon. Using the printed word as a vehicle for the transfer of information is not an evolutionary trait. It is only in the last few thousand years that people have read. Hence, the human brain does not have a specific center that is dedicated to reading. A number of brain centers, all designed for other purposes, are used in reading and hence, it is up to the individual to decide how they use those brain centers and how they read.
Another reason for controversy comes from the way schools are managed. School districts have become encumbered by the same obstacles that hinder large corporations. They start looking for a cookie cutter solution for what are very specific needs. Rather than hire super qualified teachers – and pay them well – most school districts opt for paying poorly and attracting teachers with big hearts, but limited skill sets from mediocre teacher training programs.
This Saturday, 40 folks will take a bold step to break their conditioning and embrace a new way to read. It will be the start of an exciting journey.
Be well.
Jackie
One of the first things they will learn will be how to double their reading speed right away! Want to try it? Pick up a pen and while you are reading, underline, not using ink, but holding your pen just above the line. This alone will double your reading speed. The presence of this "pacer" will keep you moving, reduce the sleepyness many people feel while reading, and keep you from losing your place.
The way most of us were taught to read just doesn't work well. But speed reading programs remain outside mainstream public and private education, with the exception of a few community colleges and a handful of private schools. And even though millions of people around the world speed read today, there are still many detractors.
It is easy to find a renown brain researcher who will swear that speed reading is impossible. Having studied the sciences all my life, I understand why this is. Researchers can often get wrapped up in their own observations and expectations, discounting practical experience in favor of studies of limited samples of people.
Because most people learn to read in the first, second, and third grades, the way that reading is taught in most schools becomes a conditioned behavior, a habit that feels like it is “in the bones.” But the way most people learn to read is just one of a number of processes for reading.
Why is there such controversy over how to teach someone to read? Very simply, it is because reading as we know it today is a relatively recent phenomenon. Using the printed word as a vehicle for the transfer of information is not an evolutionary trait. It is only in the last few thousand years that people have read. Hence, the human brain does not have a specific center that is dedicated to reading. A number of brain centers, all designed for other purposes, are used in reading and hence, it is up to the individual to decide how they use those brain centers and how they read.
Another reason for controversy comes from the way schools are managed. School districts have become encumbered by the same obstacles that hinder large corporations. They start looking for a cookie cutter solution for what are very specific needs. Rather than hire super qualified teachers – and pay them well – most school districts opt for paying poorly and attracting teachers with big hearts, but limited skill sets from mediocre teacher training programs.
This Saturday, 40 folks will take a bold step to break their conditioning and embrace a new way to read. It will be the start of an exciting journey.
Be well.
Jackie
Becoming a Master Learner
I like to advocate that everyone should become a "master learner." To me, this means more than reading and remembering thousands of words per minute with speed reading skills. It means bringing into balance in one's life the many factors we often feel are out of our control. It means creating a lifestyle where you get to learn everything you want about anything and feel wide awake and engaged in the world.
We so often feel sad or sick or low of energy. The reality is that there is actually nothing to prevent us all from feeling happy, healthy, and engaged in the world. Unfortunately, some of our day-to-day choices get in the way and these choices impact not only our ability to learn and remember what we want, but all other aspects of our lives as well. Here are some things you can consider that will improve your learning and ability to remember, but watch out - these things will also improve every aspect of your life!
FOOD CHOICES
Too often we eat what we want without thinking about the effect the food will have on our body, mind, and mood. What we choose to eat is a very charged issue for many of us, me included, and it has many emotional components. But what if you thought about changing your eating habits just so you would have more mental and physical energy to get your reading and your work done? Doing it for that reason can bypass the emotional components and provide what I call a convenient "back door" to a very complex issue. Here's what you do to get started:
Get a piece of paper and draw three columns on it. Label the columns FOOD, FEELING, and TIMING.
In the FOOD column, start listing the things you like to eat.
In the FEELING column, for each food item, write how you feel after eating it. You might write sluggish, energetic, satisfied, full, sleepy, headache, or even heartburn.
In the TIMING column, write things like "best to eat in the morning" or "don't eat before bed" or any other thing that comes to mind.
Do this over the course of the next few days and what you will wind up with is a good idea of the foods you eat and how they make you feel. Do it in a computer spreadsheet and you can sort it and use it in other ways. Sort it on the FEELING column and you have a really good list to choose which foods are best for your learning activities.
If you have important study or reading time at 7pm at night, you want to be sure to choose food that make you feel light and mentally alert and energetic. Not a good idea to have turkey and gravy, which will put you to sleep right after! If you have an important meeting at 2pm (or a class or test or meeting with a client), pick a lunch that leaves you feeling light and energized.
Of course, controlling food choices for your learning and thinking activities will have a profound effect on every aspect of your life.
BODY CYCLES, RHYTHMS AND OUR SUBSTANCE CHOICES
All of us have natural cycles and rhythms throughout the day. Most of you already know if you are a morning or evening person, but take some time to learn more detail about your own cycles. Download a free 24 hour calendar page from http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/calendars/hour.html. Print out two pages. Make one 12am to 12pm and another 12pm to 12am. Then you have a 24 hour period. You could print them on two sides of the same sheet.
It might take you a few days or even a couple of weeks to map out your body's cycles. Most of us have to push though our day and use coffee or soft drinks to perk ourselves up. You may have to wait for your days off or weekends to complete the map.
Everyone has "peak" and "valley" times when they are either feeling up and energetic or tired and low of energy. Ideally, you want to take advantage of those times and do the things you have to be "up" for in your peak zone and do things you don't have to sparkle for during your valley times.
I find that it is best not to use substances like coffee or sugar to create an artificial high for a number of reasons. There are many negative health affects, but also your natural peak time will be a way better zone of productivity than anything that coffee can generate. Who came up with the notion that you are supposed to be feeling "UP" all day long? Your body and mind need a balance of times when you are feeling energetic and other times when you are feeling more mellow.
Map your cycles. For me, I find that when I have to get up early, I can do good thinking. If I have an 8:30 commitment, I get up around 4am. From about 4:30 to around noon, I can be pretty perky and get some quality creative work done. But around noon, I feel myself getting sleepy and until around 4:30, it is best for me to do things that don't require a sparkle to them. Of course, sometimes I have to push through and do what I have to. But you can still do many things in your valley times without using substances to create a peak.
From 4:30pm to around 8pm is what I would describe as a "medium peak" time and from 8pm to 10pm, I am very alert and do some of my most productive work then. If I stay up past 10pm, I get a second wind and could work until 2pm, but that would trash the rest of the next day and I would be sleepy throughout.
Right now, it is 12:50 and I feel myself getting sleepy and working harder than I should on this entry! Time to save it and finish it later.
Well, I got something to eat and feel more energized, so I am going to continue! Mood can affect your natural cycles as well and I really feel like doing this now.
So if your natural peak time is 6pm to 8:30pm, see if you can put your serious reading and study time in that zone. Then you won't need a cup of coffee to do what you have to do. Get to know your natural cycles and rhythms and work with them.
LIGHTING
Being under the right lighting has a huge affect on mood and learning. Fluorescent lights give off large amounts of harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation that many believe affects your immune system. They also can damage your eyes over time, leading to an increased risk of cataracts other eye disorders. And they make most people feel edgy and generally gross. Pop them out if you can and use lighting that makes you feel better.
WHERE YOU READ AND STUDY
Do you serious reading and studying at a desk or table, not lying down or in a big cushy chair. You will likely be taking notes when you are studying seriously, so having a couple of square feet of order that you return to will get your body and mind in the habit of getting serious there. It won't take long of returning to that spot before you feel your body and mind getting geared up for serious learning when you sit there.
All these things together can result in a huge increase in your learning ability, your memory, and your health and enjoyment. Try it and see what I mean.
Warm regards,
Jackie
We so often feel sad or sick or low of energy. The reality is that there is actually nothing to prevent us all from feeling happy, healthy, and engaged in the world. Unfortunately, some of our day-to-day choices get in the way and these choices impact not only our ability to learn and remember what we want, but all other aspects of our lives as well. Here are some things you can consider that will improve your learning and ability to remember, but watch out - these things will also improve every aspect of your life!
FOOD CHOICES
Too often we eat what we want without thinking about the effect the food will have on our body, mind, and mood. What we choose to eat is a very charged issue for many of us, me included, and it has many emotional components. But what if you thought about changing your eating habits just so you would have more mental and physical energy to get your reading and your work done? Doing it for that reason can bypass the emotional components and provide what I call a convenient "back door" to a very complex issue. Here's what you do to get started:
Get a piece of paper and draw three columns on it. Label the columns FOOD, FEELING, and TIMING.
In the FOOD column, start listing the things you like to eat.
In the FEELING column, for each food item, write how you feel after eating it. You might write sluggish, energetic, satisfied, full, sleepy, headache, or even heartburn.
In the TIMING column, write things like "best to eat in the morning" or "don't eat before bed" or any other thing that comes to mind.
Do this over the course of the next few days and what you will wind up with is a good idea of the foods you eat and how they make you feel. Do it in a computer spreadsheet and you can sort it and use it in other ways. Sort it on the FEELING column and you have a really good list to choose which foods are best for your learning activities.
If you have important study or reading time at 7pm at night, you want to be sure to choose food that make you feel light and mentally alert and energetic. Not a good idea to have turkey and gravy, which will put you to sleep right after! If you have an important meeting at 2pm (or a class or test or meeting with a client), pick a lunch that leaves you feeling light and energized.
Of course, controlling food choices for your learning and thinking activities will have a profound effect on every aspect of your life.
BODY CYCLES, RHYTHMS AND OUR SUBSTANCE CHOICES
All of us have natural cycles and rhythms throughout the day. Most of you already know if you are a morning or evening person, but take some time to learn more detail about your own cycles. Download a free 24 hour calendar page from http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/calendars/hour.html. Print out two pages. Make one 12am to 12pm and another 12pm to 12am. Then you have a 24 hour period. You could print them on two sides of the same sheet.
It might take you a few days or even a couple of weeks to map out your body's cycles. Most of us have to push though our day and use coffee or soft drinks to perk ourselves up. You may have to wait for your days off or weekends to complete the map.
Everyone has "peak" and "valley" times when they are either feeling up and energetic or tired and low of energy. Ideally, you want to take advantage of those times and do the things you have to be "up" for in your peak zone and do things you don't have to sparkle for during your valley times.
I find that it is best not to use substances like coffee or sugar to create an artificial high for a number of reasons. There are many negative health affects, but also your natural peak time will be a way better zone of productivity than anything that coffee can generate. Who came up with the notion that you are supposed to be feeling "UP" all day long? Your body and mind need a balance of times when you are feeling energetic and other times when you are feeling more mellow.
Map your cycles. For me, I find that when I have to get up early, I can do good thinking. If I have an 8:30 commitment, I get up around 4am. From about 4:30 to around noon, I can be pretty perky and get some quality creative work done. But around noon, I feel myself getting sleepy and until around 4:30, it is best for me to do things that don't require a sparkle to them. Of course, sometimes I have to push through and do what I have to. But you can still do many things in your valley times without using substances to create a peak.
From 4:30pm to around 8pm is what I would describe as a "medium peak" time and from 8pm to 10pm, I am very alert and do some of my most productive work then. If I stay up past 10pm, I get a second wind and could work until 2pm, but that would trash the rest of the next day and I would be sleepy throughout.
Right now, it is 12:50 and I feel myself getting sleepy and working harder than I should on this entry! Time to save it and finish it later.
Well, I got something to eat and feel more energized, so I am going to continue! Mood can affect your natural cycles as well and I really feel like doing this now.
So if your natural peak time is 6pm to 8:30pm, see if you can put your serious reading and study time in that zone. Then you won't need a cup of coffee to do what you have to do. Get to know your natural cycles and rhythms and work with them.
LIGHTING
Being under the right lighting has a huge affect on mood and learning. Fluorescent lights give off large amounts of harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation that many believe affects your immune system. They also can damage your eyes over time, leading to an increased risk of cataracts other eye disorders. And they make most people feel edgy and generally gross. Pop them out if you can and use lighting that makes you feel better.
WHERE YOU READ AND STUDY
Do you serious reading and studying at a desk or table, not lying down or in a big cushy chair. You will likely be taking notes when you are studying seriously, so having a couple of square feet of order that you return to will get your body and mind in the habit of getting serious there. It won't take long of returning to that spot before you feel your body and mind getting geared up for serious learning when you sit there.
All these things together can result in a huge increase in your learning ability, your memory, and your health and enjoyment. Try it and see what I mean.
Warm regards,
Jackie
Too many emails?
Every once in a while I get an "unsubscribe" request from someone who wants to be removed from my email list. I email my former students - and those who have signed up for newsletters at www.readfast.org - regularly with practice tips, notices of classes, etc. Anyone can unsubscribe at any time. The notices I get include the reason the person gave for unsubscribing and they range from "moved away" to "don't need any more help - thanks." That's all fine.
But I am always surprised when someone gives as the reason "too many emails." Wait a minute! Aren't you applying your speed reading skills to everything you read? Some folks go away from class thinking that these speed reading skills are just for books and articles. The reality is that these skills can usher in a whole new way of looking at the world if you let them.
Use them when looking at email, no matter how many you get. First, create folders in your email program for different categories of email. Have a folder for important stuff, one for moderately important, and one for "if I have time." The subject line tells you most of the time what you have to do and you can usually do lots of sorting that way. Many email programs like Outlook let you create "rules" so the sorting is done automatically.
After sorting, go to your "Important" folder and start reading, but apply the speed reading process! Use your pacer (pen, finger, or cursor) and Overview the email. Washing those words across your subconscious is important. Next, do a Gist read. Next, go for the remaining Details if you have to.
Use the process on everything - menus, captions at a museum, newspapers, magazines, assembly instructions, everything. This will dramatically accelerate your mind's acceptance of the new techniques and remove the conditioning from all the years you read the old way. Next thing you know, you are just glancing at paragraphs and understanding the meaning without using any process.
Like with anything, new skills and new life changes come with intention and practice. Practicing your speed reading is simple. Just use it with EVERYTHING you read!
Jackie
But I am always surprised when someone gives as the reason "too many emails." Wait a minute! Aren't you applying your speed reading skills to everything you read? Some folks go away from class thinking that these speed reading skills are just for books and articles. The reality is that these skills can usher in a whole new way of looking at the world if you let them.
Use them when looking at email, no matter how many you get. First, create folders in your email program for different categories of email. Have a folder for important stuff, one for moderately important, and one for "if I have time." The subject line tells you most of the time what you have to do and you can usually do lots of sorting that way. Many email programs like Outlook let you create "rules" so the sorting is done automatically.
After sorting, go to your "Important" folder and start reading, but apply the speed reading process! Use your pacer (pen, finger, or cursor) and Overview the email. Washing those words across your subconscious is important. Next, do a Gist read. Next, go for the remaining Details if you have to.
Use the process on everything - menus, captions at a museum, newspapers, magazines, assembly instructions, everything. This will dramatically accelerate your mind's acceptance of the new techniques and remove the conditioning from all the years you read the old way. Next thing you know, you are just glancing at paragraphs and understanding the meaning without using any process.
Like with anything, new skills and new life changes come with intention and practice. Practicing your speed reading is simple. Just use it with EVERYTHING you read!
Jackie
What should I read?
In response to a recent speed reading mailing, a student wrote back: "Thanks Jackie, I'm still at it, practicing here and there. It's those expectations of what it is to study or read that I'm trying to get over ;)." Here's what I wrote back:
"Thanks for your note. Don’t stress about expectations. Just perfect your technique and read everything! It is the DEPTH of reading that you vary. So you have a 20 chapter text and you surmise that chapters 2,4,6, 12, 14, and 18 are the ones to focus on. Well, you use the process and “read” the whole book – Overview and Gist – but you go back and do a details pass on just those chapters.
As your eyes – and your conditioned brain – relax, you see all around the page and take notes all along the way. You go for deeper detail when you need to. You get to choose."
Just dive in, read everything, and delve deeper into those things that you think are important.
Best of luck!
Jackie
"Thanks for your note. Don’t stress about expectations. Just perfect your technique and read everything! It is the DEPTH of reading that you vary. So you have a 20 chapter text and you surmise that chapters 2,4,6, 12, 14, and 18 are the ones to focus on. Well, you use the process and “read” the whole book – Overview and Gist – but you go back and do a details pass on just those chapters.
As your eyes – and your conditioned brain – relax, you see all around the page and take notes all along the way. You go for deeper detail when you need to. You get to choose."
Just dive in, read everything, and delve deeper into those things that you think are important.
Best of luck!
Jackie
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