《The Animal School》 Once upon a time, some animals organized a school named the Animal School to help their children become smart and competent leaders of the new world. For a balanced program, they insisted that all of their children take the same subjects, including running, climbing, swimming, and flying. The curriculum was applied to all of the animals, including cows, giraffes, horses, tigers, sheep, and zebras.

The duck was confident in swimming but was relatively poor in the other three subjects, so he devoted himself to improving his climbing, flying, and running through extra practice. However, as hard as he tried, he could not climb with his wings or run with his webbed feet as a disadvantage. Eventually, his feet got so badly worn out that he dropped to only average in swimming. The rabbit accelerated quickly in running but had a hard time because she was so concerned about flying. No matter how hard the rabbit practiced, flying was impossible for her. She eventually failed in the final flying exam. What do you think about the Animal School? Do you think the school would help their students learn? People are all unique and have a different way of learning. Nevertheless, the Animal School educates their pupils to follow the same unified curriculum. For example, instead of concentrating on the eagle's advantage of flying as a bird, the school confines the eagle within strict rules, which results in a negative outcome. As we all know, flying is the most efficient and specialized attribute of the eagle. Likewise, we all have our own preferences and strengths. By using our characteristics, we will be able to study in an effective way. Scholars have studied these various strengths and preferences of people and classified them into several different categories which are called "Learning Preferences."

The cat was not admitted to the Animal School because she could not pass the swimming admission teat. During the examination, the cat was too afraid of drowning to go into the lake. When the cat was not admitted to the school, she complained to the school council and requested jumping be added to the curriculum. This caused a hot debate among the parent committee and students. The rabbit and cat argued that jumping should replace swimming. On the contrary, the duck thought swimming was an important subject as the original program suggested. In the climbing class, the eagle beat all that others to the top of the tree by flying. As fast as the eagle was, he was told not to fly, but to climb up again. He insisted that he be able to use his own way of getting there, but he was instructed not to fly. When the eagle failed to climb, he became so depressed and frustrated that he lost interest in school altogether. Learning preferences are the common ways that people learn. Your learning preferences have more influence than you may realize because your preferred interests guide the way you learn. By recognizing your own learning preferences, you can use learning skills that are ideal for you. These skills will also improve the speed and quality of your learning. To do this, it is essential for you to identify which preference fits you best. Read the following descriptions of seven learning preferences and determine your own preference.

《Seven Learning Preferences》 Visual preference: a preference for using pictures and spatial understanding , Individual preference: a preference for concentrating alone and learning through self-study , Musical preference: a preference for using sound, music, rhythms, recordings, and clever rhymes , Physical preference: a preference for using our body to learn such as role playing or using physical objects , Social preference: a preference for learning in groups or with other people , Logical preference: a preference for using logic, reasoning, and systems to understand concepts , Verbal preference: a preference for using linguistic skills both in speech and writing to assist their learning. Once you have identified your learning preferences, you are advised to activate those domains through specific techniques. If you are a musical learner, you can make a song to memorize the content. For a social person, discussing concepts with others will help you recall ideas. However, if you fail to use the style that fits you, it is unlikely that you will be able to do your best work. The rabbit was excellent in running, but no matter how hard the rabbit tried to fly, she failed. Likewise, students with a physical preference for learning may not learn well in a lecture-styled class. Preferences are varied and there is no right mix. Once you acknowledge your preferences, you should further enhance the styles of learning that you use well. Then, attempt to work on your less developed ones. In conclusion, you should recognize that people may have different learning preferences as well as different talents. Most of us have a different balance of preferences and we should not be criticized for our differences because every single one of us is equally important. That is why even when you feel like you are falling behind in one area compared to others, you must not be discouraged. As frustrated as you may be when you try to improve your less competent areas, that is not the way forward. You must put emphasis on improving your superior strengths. The key to success is recognizing and appreciating your own strengths and not losing confidence in yourself no matter how hard it is. It is crucial to keep in mind that life is like a long race. Develop your talents and refuse to give up before you pass the finish line. There are so many things you can accomplish and overcome when you stick to it. Don't ever forget: you may not become the best in the group but you can certainly become the best that you can be.