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I still remember my enthusiasm during my first week as a new teacher so many years ago. As a fresh young college graduate, I was excited at the prospect of educating eager young minds for the future. Before I taught my first class, one of the "seasoned veterans" in the faculty lounge pulled me aside to share a bit of advice."You know," he said confidently, "most of the kids you ’re going to be teaching aren ’t even school material." I must have looked puzzled as he continued. "Take my advice," he offered. "Just teach the kids who ’ll listen and let the rest fall through the cracks in the system. You ’re gonna waste your time trying to talk to kids who don ’t want to listen anyway. Just drop ‘em through, teach the rest, and you ’ll survive just fine."My dismay at his suggestion only increased as the first year passed. I found most of the students that were considered not to be "school material" were my favorite kids. They were bright, creative, intuitive and —well, a little obnoxious. I liked that. They seemed to think school was boring. Actually, so did I —and I was the teacher! I kept thinking there must be a better way to reach students than we were using. Did we really want to let so many of these great kids just drop through the cracks?Every summer I went back to work in the corporate world, both to earn a little extra money and to find out what my students were really going to need when they graduated. From the very first summer I was amazed to find out that, for the most part, people were getting hired for most of the traits that got them in trouble at school! Those who had talked too much were now successful sales people and public relations executives; those who always seemed to have a great comeback and a smart aleck response were now sought-after consultants and troubleshooters; those who had insisted on trying new things and taking a non-traditional direction were now entrepreneurs and CEOs. So many of the strengths necessary for success in life were almost completely discouraged during the school years. I have been a part of this educational system in some way for over twenty years, first as a public high school teacher, and then as an educator, author and trainer for teachers, parents, corporations and government agencies.. My journey in search of more effective teaching methods led me to the research about learning styles —natural, inborn strengths and preferences born in each of us. As I waded through dry and dusty intellectual studies, I discovered some incredible treasure that validated everything I had believed from my most ideal days as a new teacher. There were lots of ways to reach the same goal; no two students were exactly alike. Although teachers liked the classroom to be quiet, there were some students who simply had to be able to talk in order to remember or process information. Teachers wanted everyone to sit still, but so many children couldn ’t really concentrate without moving around and taking frequent breaks. I know there are literally hundreds of ideas currently being proposed in legislative bodies across the country.

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