On the list of potential mentors at a school for science and mathematics, a psychic probably wouldn’t be anyone’s first guess, but one high school in the Bronx is employing a mentalist to help kids build self-esteem and think outside the box. The Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics has partnered up with mentalist and mind reader Gerard Senehi as part of its program called The QUESTion Project.
Among other high-profile crowds, Senehi has entertained former President Bill Clinton and Ellen DeGeneres. His recent performance at the Bronx school was intended to dazzle the students with tricks that might inspire them to rethink what they’re capable of. According to DNAinfo, “Senehi dazzled students with tricks like bending wine glasses, spinning spoons in other people’s hands and making accurate predictions about the future.” But the school’s founding principle, Edward Tom, was really shocked by the performer’s ability to hold the kids’ attention span, saying, “That’s another amazing feat: to keep teenagers engaged for over two hours in an auditorium.”
Amusing tricks are only part of the program, though. Tom elaborates:
“We just felt that there was this other side to teaching and learning that we really needed to look into and help our kids develop,” he said, explaining the appeal of Senehi’s program, “and that was a belief system that success is something that they should expect of themselves.”
In another part of the program, students were encouraged to “ask themselves personal questions that officials then posted throughout the school to show that their concerns were not uncommon.” Further development of the program will allow participants to build their own classes and blog about their experiences for the Huffington Post.
Senehi hopes to spread the program to 500 schools and abroad by 2020. Considering America’s continued slide in science and math testing, it doesn’t take a psychic to know something has to change.
(Photo: Google Images)
