Educational Psychologist Reacts to U.S. Students' Poor PISA Scores

Melanie West, leading authority on right brain learning, explains American children are not prepared for success in new economy.

Los Angeles, CA (prHWY.com) December 16, 2010 - Educational Psychologist Melanie West is not surprised by the recently released Programme for International Student Assesment (PISA) results, placing U.S. students 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math out of the 34 countries assessed. "Children today are born with different 'brain chips' that process and utilize information dramatically different than in the past," explains West. "America's school system continues to use archaic teaching methods that are highly incompatible with how children learn today. It's not that more children are failing in school, it's simply that our old school system is failing our children!"

Vehemently speaking out against the epidemic that has spread across American schools, West argues, "School-age students are not getting the right-brain stimulation they need, a potentially dangerous situation that results in too much left-hemisphere processing, ultimately creating stress in students." Based on her findings, too much left hemisphere stimulation induces dangerous levels of neurological stress causing attention deficit, "zoning out," low motivation and inconsistent school performance.

"In order to fully understand how to teach a child, we must understand the inherent needs of the right hemisphere of the brain. Without involving the right side of the brain, we create a robotic state of learning," said West. In other words, students who simply repeat information throughout the school day and on homework assignments do not conceptualize the information in long-term memory. When the right side of the brain has not mastered information, long lasting deficits are created in the learning process, leaving students with an inability to use the knowledge that has been downloaded into the left hemisphere to solve future problems.

According to West, until America's schools approach to learning shifts, the solution must begin with proactive parents. "While doing homework, and during the learning process, parents must guide their children towards increasing right brain stimulation." Active, dynamic learning strategies encourage the brain to develop strong visual imagery, which accelerates the learning process, boosts consistency and inspires motivation and confidence.

"Our children's education must be designed to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy," said West. "American school systems must begin the transformational process of fully engaging the right hemisphere during the learning process. Right brain stimulation not only accelerates learning, it engages creative thinking and develops the problem-solving skills our children will need for future success."

About Melanie West:
Melanie West is America's leading authority on right-brain learning and the founder of The Right Side of Learning program. As an Educational Psychologist and expert in new learning techniques, West has helped thousands of children and families get back on the educational track with an array of tools that help children succeed.

About the Right Side of Learning:
The Right Side of Learning (http://www.therightsideoflearning.com) was founded by Melanie West and provides students and parents proven solutions to dramatically increase success in school. The Right Side of Learning uses proprietary methods to help children discover how to learn, solve problems, and be productive thinkers.

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Tag Words: psychologist, learning, learn, methods, teaching, education, school

Categories: Education | Research

Press Release Contact
Melanie West
The Right Side of Learning
(310) 947-2662

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