Difficulty learning (slow learner)

[CynicalGuitarist]

Does anybody else here have problems learning? I'm an extremely slow learner and was always treated that way. Thus, I have a stiefled learning ability in every facet of my life. I'm trying to learn Vietnamese, but I'm khong gioi (not good) at it at all. Even my borderline-autistic friend knows more Vietnamese than I do. I was set back 1 grade in high school (and before that was in almost all "average" classes) but that just made me quit school for good because I felt really embarrassed and bad about myself. I didn't learn how to type until the sixth grade, thus was always behind in my typing classes. Not just that, but my test-taking and studying abilities are so far below par it isn't even funny. I have an extremely hard time sitting still and studying... I love playing music, but I can't read it. It's just a big hassle to me. I hate being a right-brained thinker because it's impossible for me to be organized, and forget about me learning mathematics proficiently. I gave up on math about 5 years ago. I just can't function in the world around me this way. Not only that, but I frequent migranes.

 

Anybody else have any of these difficulties?

[spirits]

Many people are not as talented when it comes to learning. When i was 19, i've upgraded my marks for 3 years to get into University. That's a pretty good indicator that i'm a very slow learner. But i came to realize that in comparison to many smart students, my attitude & my desire to be great is not something that intelligence can replace. Intellect is a very tiny portion in the success equation. So if you lack the ability to learn quick, you have the same chance to do just as well whether it is financially or other areas of your life. Surely, others may take 1 hour to get a task done while you may take 3. But I'm sure you are willing to spend that 3 hours and not quit right?

[BellaDonna]

I think I'd have a hard time learning Vietnamese. I still make tons of typing errors, & math was never my strongest subject either.

 

You might need curriculum explained to you in a different way then the methods typically used for most people. I know that when I had to take the Graduate Record Exams (evil GRE's) I was very worried about the math portion. (and if I did not do well, I would not get into grad school) I had pretty much given up on math too.

 

My husband sat down with me and explained the math concepts in a totally different way than I had been taught all my life in school. He was patient, creative, logical. He put it on paper and even drew diagrams until I "got" it. For some reason, the way he explained it to me really clicked and I did well on the test.

 

Sometimes you may just need to learn in a different, nontraditional way. That does not make you "slow" or say anything else about you, except that you are different.

 

I love playing music

 

There are a lot of math wizzes and Vietnamese scholars who would love to have that talent- but who never will.

 

BellaDonna

[BellaDonna]

Not only that, but I frequent migranes

 

Have you told your doctor about this?

 

I used to get migraines often. I found a lot of releif with chiropractic care. It reduced the number of migraines I got- and when I would get them- they were much weaker and did not last as long.

 

Most mysteriously, ever since I got pregnant by migraines have totally vanished.

 

Migraines can be a real bummer. Thye can make it hard to concentrate.

 

Do you find you get headaches when you are trying to read or do school work?

 

If so you might also want to get your eyes checked- you could be straining which can also bring on a headache.

[Siriana]

Well, do you have slow concentration or you're just a slow learner? Meaning is your IQ just fine but you have problems staying focused while solving the test? Given the fact you are online and know how to use computer you are just fine. Maybe checking up for some attention defficit disorder?

I know a lot of tricks for slow concentration - because I have problems concentrating.

Also I took IQ test and I am just fine (114) but they noticed immediately that I loose concentration rather quickly and worned me on that. I finished uni, but to make effective learning of 4 hours I need to spread that learning on 8 hours during the day. It sucks, but you need to do that if you want to achieve your goals.

 

Oh, and why on earth would you choose to learn vietnamese? There are easier languages to learn, I am shure! Why making complications to yourself? Is this language going to be of some benefit in the future? Don't get me wrong - it's a great thing to learn foreign language, but if you think you have problems learning or staying focused choose languages that are easier to learn.

 

 

This is the part of the post I've posted on another thread, it might help:

 

My mom signed me in elementary school when I was 6 (normal age in my country is 7 or 6 and a half).

In 1986 I was the first kind in my e.school who started going to school so early.

I started elementary school on my 6th birthday exactly!

And my mom wasn't ambitious. I was bored to death in preschool and wanted to go to school.

They've done a lot of tests and decided they'll sign me in.

They even had child psycologist talking regularly with my teacher for first few months to see if I will able to enrole in education system so soon.

Everything was perfect and I was always a good pupil. Excelent, exactly.

I even started learning english when I was 8. And I was great in english until it was just play, but after some serious english learning became necessary I loosed my interest so I was studying it for 8 more years without real effort to be excellent. (thanks to that I didn't study english - because my skills are not good enough)

Well at the time you're 11 (me 10) you are in 5th grade and than school gets little bit more complicated. You get different professors for diff. subjects and of course it gets havier.

Not to mention you are in pre - puberty.

From that time on I wasn't excellent anymore but very good.

 

And in 7th and 8th grade I was very good too but puberty started to kick in.

By that time I already figured out I have problems concentrating.

I always liked subjects that were creative and fun ( I was talented for arts) but if I needed to learn all day long I was very unhappy.

 

 

After elementary school (15, me 14) you go to high school (you can choose 3 or 4 year high school).

My parents wanted to sign me in gymnasium (general school that gives you solid basis for university) that is 4 year school.

Well I said no way.

I could get in with some "help" and my grades were just fine but I knew I simply don't want to learn so many different subjects that I don't find interesting (you can't choose subjects like in states). And I knew I have no will to do so. And I know how much time I will spend learning so I wasn't thrilled.

Yes, I was lazy. And yes I still am a little bit.

So I decided to go to school for hotels and turism (4 year school) that makes it possible to go to university later but with limited range of unis because the subjects you listen to are not so numerous like in gymnasium.

I was very good. I wanted to be excellent but I just couldn't force myself to learn more and to learn all of it. I learned what I wanted to learn.

 

So kids who went to gymnasium really learned how to learn during that 4 years and I learned how to skip learning because I was able to take a ride on my intelligence and on my foreign languages talent.

 

The school wasn't difficult and didn't require too much learning.

 

So I wasn't fully aware of the fact I simply have a lot of problems concentrating and also I didn't learn motivation techniques.

 

When I just remember how most of my high school I spent playing games under the table with my best friend! Or reading magazines under the table. Or taking someone elses homework during 5 minute brake to rewrite it on my papers (that helped me acctually - I learned fast writing and it was very helpfull on uni lol).

I was a master at cheating on exames in highschool!

 

I decided to sign into university when I was 18. Economy - International exchange (4 year university). Also I was always very good high school student instead excellent so I wasn't able to study on the cost of the government. And I had this illusion how it will be as easy as high school. Naive me!

 

I finished it but it lasted 6 years. It would be normal 5 years but I failed second year. I was depressed for about 6 moths, I losed all my motivation so I just couldn't force myself to study for summer exam period. I failed that year and felt completely stupid.

 

 

Than it hit me hard.

I had no idea how to learn (now I know), I hated learning (I still do) and it's very difficult for me because it takes me 8 hours of sitting at home to make 4 hours of effective learning.

When I started uni I wasn't able to concetrate more than 20 minutes at once!

 

Some of the students were great in learning but a very big part of them was not as talented as I am in making logical conclusions or solving problems that were out of the text book.

But uni is more about learning 500 pages in a month than being intelligent! Cheating on exames is almost impossible (and by that time I matured and found that stupid. You can cheat via cell phone but it's rude and less "fair" as normal cheating)

 

So by that time I realized

 

- I am intelligent

 

- I have problems concentrating so I had to learn how to concentrate myself

 

- I am prone to stress and depression so I had to learn how to eliminate stress from my life and how to spend my days to make be feel great. And I learned how emotional inteligence counts more than standard IQ and fortunatelly you can improve that.

 

- and I accepted that I'll never be top A student but I decided how I am going to finish my studies because a lot of other students were less intelligent but more persistent. So I figured out how you need to be persistent in real life and how intelligence is not a guarantee of sucess. Unfortunately persistance is. Poor me because I suck at it

 

So I decided to finish uni because I simply didn't want to be without degree. And I managed to do so. I was very good student.

 

Some learning tips:

- Learn little by little. Don't force yourself to learn huge amounts at once. Learn on regular basis not at once and in hurry.

- Divide your time in 20 minute sections and decide how many text you need to process in that time. Count your time and try not to exceed it. Than take 5 minute brake. Than learn another 20 minute. Than take 5 minute brake. After 3x20 minute of learning take 15-20 minute brake - take a cup of tee, walk around the block etc.

- If you have 0 motivation force yourself to read only one page. Than reward yourself. Than read another one. Day by day things will get easier. The most difficult thing is to get started.

[anotherlife]

long but good post syrix

 

he completely right, intelligence does not guarentee success. it is your persistance and wanting to learn.

 

i am exactly like syrix, i was smart and could learn things (i liked) very easily. i leanred the whole japanese hirigana in year 7 in 3 days. it took everyone else 4 weeks!

 

however in college i did subjects i hated simply because they scaled better. in australia your university entrance is determined by your UAI which is determined by you marks in school. The subjects scaled accordingly, like if you get the same mark in chemistry and art, chemistry would end up giving you a scaled 80 and art would only give you 60.

 

i did subjects i hated and lost interest and became lazy. whilst my friend who did art/media courses, in which she loved, did very well in it. despite my higher scaling, i scored 91.4UAI whilse she scored an amazing 99.5UAI!!!

 

do something you enjoy, because it makes learning THAT much easier, i'm serious!!! but that may be different for other people.

[CynicalGuitarist]

Have you told your doctor about this?

 

I used to get migraines often. I found a lot of releif with chiropractic care. It reduced the number of migraines I got- and when I would get them- they were much weaker and did not last as long.

 

Most mysteriously, ever since I got pregnant by migraines have totally vanished.

 

Migraines can be a real bummer. Thye can make it hard to concentrate.

 

Do you find you get headaches when you are trying to read or do school work?

 

If so you might also want to get your eyes checked- you could be straining which can also bring on a headache.

 

My eyesight is just fine and in fact beyond 20/20. Yes, my migranes do affect my ability to concentrate on schoolwork or pay attention in class.

[Dougie_D]

Hey,

I'm not sure if I am slow learner.

In college, I pretty much took every class over again...

I'm not sure because I am slow or I just didn't care. I think it's more about I don't care about subjects.

But also...I'm a dweller. I don't think I learn it "slowly"... I just get behind in things.

I tend to make things a lot more difficult than they should be...I can over analyze things a lot. So I get caught up in the matter that is irrelevant.

I have to make up the slack...and I get behind...

Yeah...If I could take drugs for it...I would.

[CynicalGuitarist]

Hey,

I'm not sure if I am slow learner.

In college, I pretty much took every class over again...

I'm not sure because I am slow or I just didn't care. I think it's more about I don't care about subjects.

But also...I'm a dweller. I don't think I learn it "slowly"... I just get behind in things.

I tend to make things a lot more difficult than they should be...I can over analyze things a lot. So I get caught up in the matter that is irrelevant.

I have to make up the slack...and I get behind...

Yeah...If I could take drugs for it...I would.

 

Yeah, that's kinda how college is for me. I had drugs I took which helped me out in school... called cannibus... but they're illegal and I need a job... so...

[Lily04]

Hey,

I'm not sure if I am slow learner.

In college, I pretty much took every class over again...

I'm not sure because I am slow or I just didn't care. I think it's more about I don't care about subjects.

But also...I'm a dweller. I don't think I learn it "slowly"... I just get behind in things.

I tend to make things a lot more difficult than they should be...I can over analyze things a lot. So I get caught up in the matter that is irrelevant.

I have to make up the slack...and I get behind...

Yeah...If I could take drugs for it...I would.

 

I'm the same way.... wow. I really appreciate the comments in this thread, I can relate to so much of what is said... it takes me hours to do projects that should only take minutes but yet I am above-average on intelligence tests...(some portions of it anyway.) I have a hard time concentrating... but I also have a very poor memory, and sometimes it takes me longer to 'get' things... despite being 'intelligent'.

 

I think I am intelligent in different ways... I was doing a presentation for clients with a lawyer, for instance, at my school... a client asked a problem about how to confront her boss about a certain problem that had legal ramifications... the lawyer answered from a strict 'legal' perspective, but the advice in my opinion (and the client's) was not that useful because it wasn't a practical way to approaching the problem. You can cite the constitution all you want for instance (which was essentially what she suggested -- take a copy of the Human Rights Code to your workplace lol..) but that won't necessarily effectively get the chance & benefit you should get. I instead suggested a more practical way of solving the problem, and used small-claims court as a last resort. I told her to approach a different division, etc. and how to work it out without necessarily resorting to suing... and I'm pretty sure it worked. I haven't heard back yet... but that's an example of how I can sort of 'solve' problems effectively, but I think I'm more pracically-oriented perhaps... I have very good emotional intelligence, and can get myself out of the toughest situations... which I won't even get into and likely never mentioned on here because I shouldn't disclose. But... when it comes to typical tests in university I often don't do well. I can't pack a textbook in my head within a few hours or days... I don't have the memory or that type of intelligence I suppose. I can write extremely good essays at times, worthy of publishing, but it takes me 10x longer than the average student or a student of comparable intelligence (assuming mine is higher than average.)

 

So... I obviously have difficulties & can relate. I'm still working out how to deal with them myself, and hope you're doing better. let us know if you'd like.

 

lily