There has been a lot of debate over the current status of our nations educational system.

For years many experts have argued over the merits or lack thereof, of the value we place upon maintaining the current educational structure and proces ses, even though they seem to be ineffective. We at Foundations For Life believe that our educational system must be revamped in order to address the learning n eeds of our children. The current learning system is rigid and monolithic. It do es not acknowledge that individuals learn differently and at different paces, an d that this one size fits all philosophy although logical, may itself be the probl em. We believe that learning can be done more effectively when the entire person is included in the process. Learning is not a task but an experience. The empha sis on memory and regurgitation in our schools, as opposed to problem solving an d critical thinking is a major flaw in the system. The irony is that when studen ts are fully engaged (through whole brain learning) they do not have to be force d to focus, or to memorize, but instead do these easily as part of the natural p rocess of learning. The challenge then is to be able to organize this informatio n so that you can retrieve it and present it efficiently. Accelerated Learning can streamline this process, enabling one to learn easier, faster, and more enjo yably, while creating deep memory experiences and processes for easy recall. The current teaching style has been referred to as a banking style of education. The term banking style refers to a learning system where information is put in and then taken out when needed, like a deposit in a bank. There is no emphasis p laced on the art of learning or the science of learning but instead upon remembe ring information for the sole purpose of test taking. (Which is why most student s shoe very little retention the moment the test is done.) In his book, Transfor ming Power: Domination, Empowerment, and Education, Seth Kreisberg stated that: Indeed, banking education (where the teacher deposits knowledge into the student a nd then makes withdrawals in the form of tests and quizzes and methodical question ing) contains a powerful hidden curriculum that teaches students that the world is hierarchical, that the powerful are often arbitrary and insensitive, that the y must learn their place in the hierarchy because there is no alternative to eit her controlling or being controlled. Banking education cultivates passivity, con formity, obedience, acquiescence, and unquestioning acceptance of authority. It makes objects out of students, it dehumanizes, it denies students experiences and voices, it stifles creativity, it dis-empowers. It tells our children that ther e is something wrong with them; that they, rather than their schools and society , need fixing. By all measures our educational system would seem to be a sick system, a learning system that focuses on whole brain learning and accelerated techniques is the cu re. The goal then is to move away from a banking system of learning to a whole b rain learning model, and to create a learner that comprehends his or her own sty le of learning and is enthused by the idea of continuing to learn throughout the ir lives. Bruce Prescod Chief Executive Officer Foundations For Life www.foundationsforlifelearning.org