One of the greatest mysteries that continues to perplex the education system is why so many students are still depressed, stressed and failing to learn critical life skills that help them solve their personal problems. For many years, the education system has tried to aide parents at home with this issue by creating entire curriculums to help students. These curriculums are based on what the students should and should not do, but have had a difficult time helping students understand why they should be doing the work.

The Leadership Society of Arizona (LSA) has observed why these students struggle in life and how to help them implement correct principles to change for the better. To first understand this idea, we must consider the amount of information a high school student understands, and how this relates to their behavior. Let me propose a question: “Who is more likely to perceive more information about who they are, how they fit in society, and what value they add to others; a 15-year-old or 50-year-old?” Of course, the answer is a 50-year-old. This is true because a 50-year-old is more likely to perceive more information than a 15-year-old.

The whole idea is ironic because society continues to request students to figure out their entire life at such a young age who don’t know much about themselves. With this kind of pressure, and very little education on the why in life, students become stressed, and begin to display irrational behavior at times. In other words, life, according to the perception of the student with very little information about how it works and who they are, seems complex. When life is complex, the stability of a student begins to struggle and the mystery of their irrational behavior suddenly makes sense.

Exposing the Mystery

This is why LSA exists. We have developed a high school curriculum that teaches students logic and natural laws that help simplify their complex lives, by providing them the why in life. Interestingly, as students begin to understand the why in life, very little needs to be done to help them along; students start to act in their own lives and change it for the better on their own.

In our high school education programs, LSA can explain the following ideas to students:

• Why they are born where they are born.
• Why they are different and what makes them unique.
• How their differences are the key to their success.
• Why they have the family and parents they do.
• Why they experience the struggles in life.
• They have total control over their lives and are fully accountable.
• Why they can never make a mistake. That everything in life happens for a reason, and when they gain more information, begin to see how everything they have gone through or will go through is for their growth and learning to become a better person.
• Why people are the way they are and act the way they do.
• What the purpose of life is and why it is important to understand it.

What’s in Everyone’s Mind

Many students think about these questions in school, and often administrators and parents try to explain their views on these ideas, but cannot. This is met with resistance by the students/children because it was not made simple enough for them to understand for immediate application in their life. What makes the LSA curriculum so valuable is its ability to make things simple using basic logic and natural laws. These concepts are easy to understand and observable in the students’ lives and prepare them for the challenges of life beyond school.

The program content has been researched, developed and shaped to its maturity over 24 years at Arizona State University, and has become the most licensed technology at ASU (49 licenses). It is the choice professional model to deliver professional services in the country of the Netherlands and many other countries.

CHS Leadership and Deductive Logic Program

Over the past 4 years, the LSA has been teaching this innovative curriculum to numerous high schools and its students, and has seen phenomenal results. In the fall of 2016, LSA began working with Coronado High School in Scottsdale AZ, who identified a leadership and personal development need in the football program.

The Coronado High School (CHS) program had the following characteristics:

• Ran by 1 professor, 4 PhD candidates, 2 graduate students, and 1 CHS faculty.
• CHS initially did not have any additional funding in its budget to support the program fully.
• LSA and CHS created an innovative 8-week pilot program, which met once per week for 75 minute sessions.
• Initially, CHS did not have adequate funding to support the program. To make this effort happen, LSA donated $2.2K worth of services.
• Student participants came exclusively from the CHS football program. Four students from each grade level [9-12] were hand-picked by the football coaching staff and participating administrators.
• CHS allowed LSA to use an on-campus facility at no charge. 1 administrator attended the course and provided full support of the effort, taking care of administrative efforts for the school that were required of the program.
• Out of the 20 initial football players selected, 10 of them attended the program over 80% of the time. The remaining 10 students participated in at least one class.

The Value Parents Observed

CHS hosted a family leadership conference on November 2, 2016 for all of the program participants. There was a record number (24) of parents and students in attendance. According to the Principal, this was one of the most attended evening events they have ever held. The students and parents had the opportunity to learn concepts to improve life in the home, at school, and in the workplace. LSA facilitated three unique workshops about simplifying decision making, communication and improving relationships in the home. On the third week of the program, there was a parent night.

Parents were asked to provide their feedback so far; the results are as follows:

• 33% of parents reported already seeing a positive change in their child.
• 4/10 parent satisfaction rating on value and applicability of concepts covered at the conference.
• 6/10 overall parent satisfaction of leadership conference.
• 100% of parents at the conference recommended the program for students.

Parent testimonials:

“Thank you for the classes. I believe that me, as a mother and with my son, we were able to learn together.”

“I can see growth in my son since beginning the program. Thanks.”

CHS Leadership and Deductive Logic Program Results

As part of the program, students were asked to fill out surveys before and after the course. Additionally, 15 CHS teachers completed 34 performance surveys on behalf of 18 students who took the course. The results of both are as follows:

• Student Responses (13 Total)
• Students rated the program 9.8/10.
• 85% of the students identified the program will help them in school.
• 62% of students reported feeling less stressed.
• 46% felt more confident about their futures.
• Understanding, social aptitude, and college-readiness improved by 10%.
• Teacher Responses (34 total)
• 10 of the 15 teachers noted student improvements.
• 14 of the 18 students showed improvement in class.
• Student overall class performance improved by 9%.
• Time management improved by 13%.
• Respectfulness improved by 12%.
• 54% felt more accountable for the lives.

Solving Personal Problems

Throughout the course, 13 students identified a personal impact of the course in their lives. Regardless of course comprehension, students reported decreased stress, increased confidence, and increased career preparedness. Every student who attended more than 3 classes was able to make progress towards individualized goals relating to school, grades, personal relationships, familial struggles, and character development. The students who attended 5 or more classes showed the greatest impact. Here are just a few major examples:

• Student 1 had severe anger problems and left home. He returned home after the second week of class (2.5 hours of instruction). He decided that he wanted to be a better person. His mother and administrators were in shock and very pleased. His mother reported that their relationship has drastically improved.
• Student 2 was suffering in school due to a poor sleeping schedule. He set a goal to not use his cell phone at night to get more sleep. He changed his bedtime from 1am to 10pm.
• Student 3 was very stressed about test-taking and his future after high school. After taking the course, he felt more confident about school. As a result, he started to use better study habits which improved 3 of his class grades to A’s.
• Student 4 was struggling to do his homework and set a goal to complete it all. He was able to finish the year out completing all of his homework assignments. In addition, he is now trying to spend more time talking with his parents.
• Student 5 was experiencing relationship issues that were negatively affecting his performance in school. He stated that, after taking the course, he was more in control of his emotions, and was thus able to focus more in his classes.

Conclusion

When life is made simple to a person, it makes a drastic difference in the way they feel about and manage their life. At CHS, LSA saw many teachers and parents happy with the changes their boys made in such a short amount of time. Many people are seeking simplicity, but do not know where to find it. We believe that all people are doing the best they can, but when they are not aligned in life, their performance is minimized. When people’s minds are aligned correctly, they can make big changes and add value to society. It just takes the right information at the right time presented in a manner that anyone can understand.

At LSA, we understand and have developed an approach that is simple that can help reduce the stress and pressures of life. From business to personal life, we know our approach works! We will continue to share it with people from around the world. If you are someone who is reading this article and agree with what we are proposing and want to learn for yourself, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. We offer after school and summer programs for high schoolers, college courses, and professional services for established and entrepreneurial ventures. Whatever your need, we can help you on your journey to simplifying your life.