I work as a teacher and special education teacher, and without really thinking about it, I have used different techniques when working with students. But after taking the Basic Course in DB-System^®, I am much more aware and deliberate in how I use them. The students can clearly tell the difference. What just happened was nothing short of a small miracle.

I had a lesson with a primary school student who struggles a great deal with reading and writing, despite years of practice. The student has been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD/ADD. He is a very kind and friendly soul, and very reflective for his young age. Humor and irony are his trademarks, so it is always nice to spend time with him.

Today we were going to do a spelling test, which is something he usually struggles a lot with, so his motivation wasn’t great. Even so, he is very conscientious.

I explained to him that the test didn’t really mean anything. It was simply a small test to see whether he remembered some of the words we had worked on this year, and for me, it was useful to see how he worked.

He began hesitantly. Slept was the word he had to write. Was it with one e or two?

He wasn’t sure. I told him that I don’t always remember how words are spelled either, and that when this happens, I write the word in different ways on a piece of paper and then see which one looks most familiar.

He liked that idea and wrote the word both ways: sleept and slept. He immediately saw that slept looked more familiar. This simple technique had a calming effect, and his shoulders relaxed a little.

Then he said: “I’m not very good at this.”

I chose to stop for a moment and focus on what he had just said. We talked a little about the power of thought and about how the brain believes what it hears. So if he tells himself, “I’m not good at this,” that is what his brain believes.

I explained a little more about how he loses some of his strength when he fills his brain with negative thoughts, and I could see that this was sinking in. He smiled and began saying that he was actually pretty good at this.

Immediately, it was as though he suddenly had access to the correct words that were stored somewhere in his brain, but which had not been available before. Now he suddenly managed to spell even the most difficult words correctly.

Shirt, forks, shepherd, shone – the words came like pearls on a string.

He was just as surprised by this as I was. Out of 20 words, he got 16 correct, compared with five correct when he took the same test in January.

The explanation must be that we lose access to our resources when we put ourselves down.

This was such a fun experience. Thanks to the Basic Course in DB-System^®, I really have something to think about today.

Thank you so much.

Warm greetings from Western Norway (-: