Friday 21 December 2012

Very soon...

Very soon we will be posting the information about the 2013 NLP Training for Teachers.

Meanwhile, you can start with an intensive course in Spanish in February.

 More info: lauraszmuchcaapcitaciones@gmail.com or jamiearg@gmail.com


Monday 19 March 2012

RTNews 120

RT® News

A magazine on Neuro Linguistic Programming in Education

No 120 March 15 2012

Hello teachers,

Today we chunk up and take a look at just what NLP has emerged for at this time in our evolution on Earth. It is one possible interpretation influenced by the changes and trends present in modern society.

NLP is an investment for the future in that it gives us more than simply a few techniques to identify learning styles in class. It is actually a tool set for life to help us understand where we are and get to where we want to go in life.

Our new Practitioner course begins on Saturday March 31 and it can be taken inEnglish or in Spanish. We already have a steady flow of enrolments so be sure to contact us for more information or to ensure your place before enrolments close.

More information is in section 2 below.

Warm wishes,

Laura and Jamie


1. Evolution and NLP/Customising/Pimp my Ride (Enchúlame la máquina)

2. NLP Practitioner courses

3. Calendar of activities for 2012

4. Workshops and coaching

5. Subscribing/Unsubscribing to our e-zines in English and an invitation to visit


1. Evolution and NLP/Customising/Pimp my Ride

This article has three titles, just to be different, so let’s deal with them in reverse order.

Pimp my Ride was an MTV show in which a participant’s car was transformed from a dull, often run-down vehicle into something bright and original, full of modern gadgets, décor and accessories to match the owner’s needs and tastes. This TV exercise was a glossy more expensive version of what young men who love cars have done for decades.

We know this as customising, or producing something that is custom built, i.e., produced or adapted to suit the customer.

So, where does NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) come into this? Or perhaps the better question is why did NLP emerge as a technology for growth and communication, among other purposes? The key to the answer comes in the word “Programming”, a word that has had its share of detractors. Most people can accept that neuro and linguistic accurately describe areas in which NLP operates but surely the word programming is too mechanical a word to be applied to human beings? The word programming forms part of the name NLP precisely because co-founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder were able to appreciate the analogy between the computer and its hard and software and the brain with its physical dimension and all its processes, beliefs, habits, and capacity. These last things would be the programmes of the computer that we acquire, learn and adapt throughout our lifetimes. In other words, the software. The human brain is, of course, capable of infinitely more subtleties of action, thought and process than a machine at this moment of history but the analogy used by Bandler and Grinder is a very functional one.

And now lets move on to evolution. We cannot deny that the last few decades have brought enormous changes in our technology and in our capacity to do things on this planet. Far more changes than in the whole of the previous tens of thousands of years. Among them are such innovations as the personal computer, the cellphone, genetic engineering and the like. Why is this happening now? Well, for one, we have the technology to do it, as the films would say. We can now build the bionic man or woman or at least most of him or her. But one suspects there is more to it than that. Internet is allowing us to be in touch with far more people than we would ever have imagined a few decades back and for all the negative aspects of this tool, there is no doubt that it allows us to cooperate and collaborate globally on projects like never before. It allows people from remote communities to keep up to date with the rest of the world and for city dwellers to know what is beyond the immediate horizon.

We now have access to huge quantities of learning and information. A very small part of this was once compressed into wall-long sets of encyclopedia. Now, the information we can find on internet seems infinite. If we want to locate an expert in a certain field, or simply like-minded enthusiasts, it is at the click of a mouse.

So, what is the point of having all this? Or perhaps what has NLP got to with it all?

What seems to be happening now is that we are being given the tools and the choices to determine our own lives. In the past, the vast majority of people were brought up following the traditions of the culture they lived in and mostly they accepted this with the exception of a few rebels (geniuses, madmen and women and people who seemed to be born before their time, etc). You did what you were told and carried on living life the way your parents and grandparents did. Sure, there were changes from time to time as new religions and new continents were discovered and new technology appeared, but for the most part, people lived in a very similar fashion to their parents.

Suddenly, in the 21st century, we are faced with a world in which a significant number of us can now CHOOSE how we live our lives. There is no one agreed way of living life and even tribes in the most far-off parts of the world are aware that there are other styles of life.

And what did NLP emerge for in the 1970’s at a similar time to many other self-help methods? Why do humans have this body of knowledge and techniques available in an ordered format now and not 200 years ago? One suspects it is because now we are ready for it. The conditions are in place for it to be used effectively. Of course, much of what NLP offers us just as with other new philosophies and learning is nothing new. It has just been remembered, revamped, polished and put together so that we can use it in our 21st century world.

Because now, we are in a position as individuals to customize our lives, something that many conservative societies would not have permitted in the past. Having NLP tools to help us find out HOW to change what we don’t like in our lives (as long as they are things which depend on our actions). It gives us the freedom to find and do what we wish to do. The world is slowly waking up to the obvious – that each and every one of us is unique and that whatever similarities we may have, we can no longer be expected to do, think or act exactly the same as our neighbor. Each of us has a mission (or more) in life and it is ours alone to fulfil, we do not share it with our neighbour. Until now, if we have had a special talent, we have often had to look far and hard to find a teacher to help us discover and exploit it. Sometimes we haven’t even been allowed to develop it due to social pressures and while these are still influential today, many more people are finding that indeed it is possible to be one’s unique self and live out one’s dreams.

This is one of the goals education is supposed to be preparing us for – our own individual growth, maturity and plenitude to be the unique person we are. Not to live another’s life or another’s dreams.

At the moment, this quest to find out who we really are and to fulfill our potential is more likely to take place outside the mainstream educational systems. Which is possibly a good thing as until we have a real debate about what education is or should be and what function it should serve in a society, playing around too much with conventional schooling may lead to unforeseen consequences. Probably this learning we are doing outside traditional schools, which is often related to who we are, what we want and to really connecting to life on this planet, will eventually start to influence school programmes, but for now it is most likely to be found in the attitudes and approaches of individual teachers.

There are many paths to greater understanding of oneself and the world we live in, many roads to greater enlightenment and awareness. In the West we are seeing a resurgence in Oriental philosophies and practices as one way of learning.

NLP represents another very practical and functional way of understanding the processes we use to navigate our way around life. It focuses on the way we do things so once we discover a pattern of thought and behavior, we can decide if we want to keep it or change it. NLP has made it clear that what goes on inside each person’s brain is supremely unique because each person’s experience of the world is uniquely subjective. With 100 people doing the same task, what happens internally in the minds and bodies of those 100 people will be different for each and every one of them. And that is one of the few universal truths!

So, as we start to head towards more customized learning, which in the future will mean that each person, even within a state education system, will follow a path either subtly or vastly different from the student next to him, NLP is giving us a helping hand to see how this can work in practice. It helps us identify the way we see and interpret the world, our preferences for communication, how we experience and store “external reality”, how we motivate or demotivate ourselves, what consciously and unconsciously are our priorities and much much more.

And it has two really useful features. One is the emphasis on finding what works in any given situation and the other is providing tools and methods to model what processes work supremely well for others so that we can acquire the excellence that we perceive in our neighbour (or indeed inside ourselves in another context!) This is thefoundation of NLP and is called MODELING. It is based on the presupposition that if someone else can do something great, we all can. It is a question of discovering the programmes of that other person to discover what makes them perform so well. And this discovery can occur with very close and trained observation that is within the reach of us all.

We wouldn’t have these tools, techniques and insights if we weren’t meant to make use of them. As our world changes so quickly, it is precisely our abilities to identify andmanage processes that will make the difference, not how much static information we know. So here they are, ready to be used to maximize our potential and to help our students fulfill their wishes and desires too. Ready for the day when each and every human being on this planet will custom-build his or her life in a society co-created by us all.

Are you ready to pimp your life?

© Resourceful Teaching 2012 Ó, Laura Szmuch and Jamie Duncan


2. NLP Practitioner courses

Practitioner Certificate in NLP for Education

Our next Practitioner Certificate course starts on March 31 and consists of 16 modules to be held on Saturdays on a monthly basis in 2012 and 2013. This first level of training involves between 130 and 150 hours of direct training in the form of practical activities and guided practice. It gives students acquaintance with the methodology and many of the techniques comprising NLP and leads to an internationally recognised certificate as Practitioner of NLP in Education.

The Practitioner certificate with Resourceful Teaching offers you the chance to get an NLP certification and practise your English at the same time!

To enrol or for further information: send a mail to jamiearg@gmail.com or lauraszmuch@gmail.com

Venue: Versailles, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Time: One Saturday per month 9.00 – 17.00

Start Date: Saturday March 31

Investment: 380 pesos per module

The course includes written material and a full bibliography and morning and afternoon refreshments. As much as we encourage reading, the real value of NLP is the putting it into practice and our students have constant opportunities to employ what they learn in their daily work and lives.

NB: This course is also being offered in Spanish


3. Calendar of Activities 2012

We are publishing below a list of the main events for Resourceful Teaching for the next few months. As each date gets closer we will give you more information and we will of course be updating the calendar with new dates as they arise.

March 31 2011 Practitioner Certificate in NLP applied to Education, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The courses in English and Spanish commence on this day.


4. Workshops and Coaching

If you would like a workshop or training in your city or town, please contact us soon as we have only a few dates available on weekends each year.

We can offer you workshops as listed in the website www.resourcefulteaching.com.ar or design something especially for your needs. In English and in Spanish. Please contactjamiearg@gmail.com or lauraszmuch@gmail.com if you are interested.

Laura is also available for Coaching. If you wish to advance in your career or personal life and wish to design a plan of action to do so, why not have a coaching conversation with her. Contact: lauraszmuch@gmail.com


5. Subscribing/Unsubscribing to our e-zines in English and Spanish and an invitation to visit

To subscribe simply send a mail to: rtnews@resourcefulteaching.com.ar with your name and city stating 'subscribe' in the subject box. To unsubscribe, follow the same procedure but write the word 'unsubscribe'. We only send this e-magazine to those who have expressed the desire to subscribe by the above means.

RT® Resourceful Teaching is a registered trademark.

Monday 5 March 2012

RTNews 119

RT® News

A magazine on Neuro Linguistic Programming in Education

No 119 March 4 2012

Hello teachers,

By now most of you will be back in the classroom settling into the academic year. New students, new challenges and possibly outstanding issues to deal with from past years.

Apart from managing the start to a new year’s teaching, one of the exciting things about this period is that we get to decide what we are going to study this year. This is because a thriving teacher is always learning too, and to be able to give to our students, we need to receive somewhere along the line. Some of you already know what course or which activities you are going to take this year in order to grow and remain healthy, happy and inspired. Others will decide in the next few weeks or later in the year (though too much procrastination and the year is over before you know it J) Investing in ourselves,nourishing our bodies, minds and souls help us to keep our centre no matter what the context in the ¨real¨ world is.

Remember, for those of you who want to deepen your communication, planning and understanding of the world that this year’s Practitioner course begins on Saturday March 31. We already have a steady flow of enrolments so be sure to contact us for more information or to ensure your place before enrolments close.

More information is in section 2 below.

Best wishes for the next week or two and happy classrooms!

Laura and Jamie


1. Teachers as leading lights – 2012

2. NLP Practitioner courses

3. Calendar of activities for 2012

4. Workshops and coaching

5. Subscribing/Unsubscribing to our e-zines in English and an invitation to visit


1. Teachers as leading lights – 2012

A few years ago, Laura and I gave a workshop called Teachers as Leading Lights. We both felt that it was important that teachers acknowledge that part of their role in society and in their profession is that of a leader.

Being a leader today does not mean being a hero or a powerful saviour or dictator. A leader is quite simply someone who shows the way and acts as a model for others, something which is integral to a teacher’s work. We felt that sometimes this important function of a teacher was not receiving the attention that maybe it deserved. At that time, although the workshop was very well received, we sensed that openly identifying themselves as leaders did not come so easily or readily to educators.

This is understandable. The “leaders” many people have experienced in their lives have not always given the word a good name. Traditionally, the leader is seen as the boss, the politician, the person behind the closed door with his name printed in gold on it. This type of old paradigm of leader has been associated with distance, authoritarianism, arrogance, lack of a common touch and even such aspects as repression, corruption and disrespect. This type of leader was seen as being at a different level from the people they were supposed to be leading, so much so that they could be regarded as working against many of the people they were expected to lead. In this part of the world they have been linked with being more interested in their own benefits and their own friends than in the greater good. As a general tendency, of course.

Today a new style of leadership is gaining ground through necessity. That of a “we” leader who operates from a position alongside everyone else. Whose job is to facilitate the growth and development of others. It is early days, but the repeated failure of the old-style leader to provide the public with what they want or need is bringing on this long-needed change. An effective leader of today emerges from the ground up andretains an understanding of the other. This leader shows by example, espousing values that arecongruent with the job or the task they have rather than values which contradict this. A new leaderrespects everyone, promotes positive actions and works toward making the world a better place for everyone, not simply a chosen few. And a new leader looks after him or herself so that she can give his or her best.

Thinking, feeling, conscientious teachers have been developing the skills that go with this profile for years now. As our students change, but not necessarily the programmes, materials, equipment or methodology, we have been obliged to find solutions in the classroom to the frictions that have arisen between the students of today and their needs, interests and way of being and the demands of curricula and the institutions we work for. This is not to say we always succeed but it is a task we are undertaking the world over because most of us cannot go into a classroom and just let things happen. If we did so today, probably nothing much would get done and chaos would reign. Instead, we lead by influence, by persuasion, perceiving, noticing, attempting, reflecting, adapting, explaining …whatever it takes to achieve our goal of helping our students to learn effectively. The autonomy many of us have carved out for ourselves in the classroom, is one based on the need to take appropriate decisions in the moment so as to facilitate learning. It is not something that can be dictated from above by the heads or programmed into a lesson plan. It happens in the act of teaching and we practise and polish our ability at it as we teach. And these precisely are the acts and skills of a leader. The person who helps to find the way at each moment of the learning process.

Recent tragic or controversial events in this country have highlighted to us that clear compassionate leadership is not automatically present in every sphere of society. We have all seen people left abandoned trying to defend their rights, unsure of what to do for the best or obliged to take matters into their own hands because of the failure of those designated to lead to do their job. We have seen people adopting leadership behaviour when it is not their job, but someone else’s to do so. Perhaps this latter group has been caught by surprise and has not expected that they would have to “show the way”. How lucky we are as teachers! We get to practice our skills of leading every single day!

And yet, it is not just a question of daily practice. There are many sides to being a good leader. These include:

- the ability to communicate with empathy

- the ability to identify, set and achieve goals

- resourcefulness in handling conflicts

- being capable of knowing and managing one’s own internal states to give the best of oneself in any situation

- the skill of reading non-verbal language

- being conscious of the subtleties of language in order to facilitate communication

- an awareness of what motivates people such as their beliefs, values and the filters which affect the way they relate to the world

- the ability to see the world from different points of view

How many of these skills do we inherently possess? Well, in fact all of them!!!!

How many of these skills have we activated, polished and use every day?

How many of these skills do we get training in at Teacher’s College?

The answer to these last two questions will differ from individual to individual but it is only in recent years that we have become aware of their great importance in the classroom.

Fortunately, NLP gives us tools to work on these areas and to develop as even more effective leaders. By studying NLP we can observe what we already do and increase our repertoire of skills, techniques and knowledge to be able to more effortlessly perform the role of leader that our profession has bestowed on us these days.

Are we ready to acknowledge that the shoes we move around the classroom today are in fact those of a leader and that our eyes shine with the brightness of a leading light?

To conclude, we shall refer to some words that we used in the presentation that we gave those few years ago which reflect this new concept of leadership that we are already familiar with. A concept that we simply need to embrace and to develop as something that is an integral part of being a teacher in 2012 and beyond.

Trust in oneself and respect for others lie at the heart of authentic leadership; integrity and high moral standards sustain it. Leaders must constantly look within to take power and support from the essence of their self-worth and then turn outward and see others through the lens of equality and respect.

It is no longer enough, if ever it were, for a leader to lead from the front. What we must learn to do now is to lead from within because effective leadership of any kind is built on inner strength:

the strength of vision that sees and brings out the best in others,

the strength of example that inspires action in others, and

the strength of self-respect that enables one to serve and care for others.

Power no longer lies in the hands of others who make decisions for us, but within our own hearts. To lead then is simply to be visible and noticeable as one who is worthy of others’ attention, and a leader is someone who follows her or his own inner principles, conscience and truth.

A BETTER QUALITY LIFE FOR ALL PEOPLE

From Statement of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University for the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty 1996

© Resourceful Teaching 2012 Ó, Laura Szmuch and Jamie Duncan


2. NLP Practitioner courses

Practitioner Certificate in NLP for Education

Our next Practitioner Certificate course starts on March 31 and consists of 16 modules to be held on Saturdays on a monthly basis in 2012 and 2013. This first level of training involves between 130 and 150 hours of direct training in the form of practical activities and guided practice. It gives students acquaintance with the methodology and many of the techniques comprising NLP and leads to an internationally recognised certificate as Practitioner of NLP in Education.

The Practitioner certificate with Resourceful Teaching offers you the chance to get an NLP certification andpractise your English at the same time!

To enrol or for further information: send a mail to jamiearg@gmail.com or lauraszmuch@gmail.com

Venue: Versailles, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Time: One Saturday per month 9.00 – 17.00

Start Date: Saturday March 31

Investment: 380 pesos per module

The course includes written material and a full bibliography and morning and afternoon refreshments. As much as we encourage reading, the real value of NLP is the putting it into practice and our students have constant opportunities to employ what they learn in their daily work and lives.

NB: This course is also being offered in Spanish


3. Calendar of Activities 2012

We are publishing below a list of the main events for Resourceful Teaching for the next few months. As each date gets closer we will give you more information and we will of course be updating the calendar with new dates as they arise.

March 31 2011 Practitioner Certificate in NLP applied to Education, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The courses in English and Spanish commence on this day.


4. Workshops and Coaching

If you would like a workshop or training in your city or town, please contact us soon as we have only a few dates available on weekends each year.

We can offer you workshops as listed in the website www.resourcefulteaching.com.ar or design something especially for your needs. In English and in Spanish. Please contactjamiearg@gmail.com or lauraszmuch@gmail.com if you are interested.

Laura is also available for Coaching. If you wish to advance in your career or personal life and wish to design a plan of action to do so, why not have a coaching conversation with her. Contact: lauraszmuch@gmail.com


5. Subscribing/Unsubscribing to our e-zines in English and Spanish and an invitation to visit

To subscribe simply send a mail to: rtnews@resourcefulteaching.com.ar with your name and city stating 'subscribe' in the subject box. To unsubscribe, follow the same procedure but write the word 'unsubscribe'. We only send this e-magazine to those who have expressed the desire to subscribe by the above means.

RT® Resourceful Teaching is a registered trademark.