Help your children with Silva Method techniques

How can the Silva Method be used in an educational setting? Is it really effective? Does it really help children?

Here’s a story from Sister Naomi Curtin about one experience during the Guam Educational Research Project, which has seen the Silva Method put to use by all of the students and teachers in three parochial schools on Guam.

An interesting incident happened in Sister Carolyn Ann’s first grade. On the first day they were to answer a set of eight comprehension questions on a story they had listened to with headsets.

A sixth grade girl assisted the groups with the earphones while Sister continued working with another group. As they finished listening to the story, they were to return to their desks and answer the questions.

The first two groups had finished, and the third reading group, the Dallas group, was beginning the comprehension questions.

The sixth grade helper noticed they were beginning to get agitated and when she noticed tears in their eyes, she told them to put their papers down. When she had everyone’s attention, the sixth grader asked if they had learned the mental screen and the Three Fingers Technique yet.

They had. So she told them to close their eyes, go to level, and use their Three Fingers Tech­nique to stay relaxed. Then she told them to listen to the story again in their minds and make a movie of the story on their mental screens.

When she was sure they understood, she told them that when they were finished, they should open their eyes and answer the questions. It would be easy.

Sister Carolyn Ann was taking all of this in, and was amazed at how quickly peace was restored and how, just as quickly, they opened their eyes and answered the questions.

Sister said she even called the sixth grader over to ask her to slow the group down so they would get some correct answers.

Her sixth grade helper assured her they were doing okay. This was just before recess, and Sister said she just couldn’t wait to correct their papers. She did it right away. And much to her surprise, her little Dallas group all had perfect papers except for one child who had one error.

The two more advanced groups were a different story: none of them even passed. The Dallas group had a listen­ing learning mode and when they strengthened that with their mental movies, they were success­ful. They were indeed fortunate to have that special sixth grade girl with them that day.

Sister Carolyn Ann and her first graders participated in the Global Peace Convention. Their demonstration so excited a public school educator, a Silva Method graduate who is presently working for her doctorate, that she wants to integrate the Silva Method in a public school setting for her doctoral dissertation.

Better and Better,

Laura Silva Quesada
and the Team