"Mouri wears purple clothes and has blonde hair that shines like the sun. She has beautiful purple eyes, and her small body is only two centimeters tall. Mouri was born on July 15, the day my carefully tended morning glory first blossomed. . . ." This is nine-year-old Fumati Kasumi's story of her warm friendship with the morning glory fairy, a story which won Japan's Kikuchi Kan Prize for works of fiction by primary- and middle-school students.
Fumati Kasumi was a student in a Shichida School. This franchise of more than 300 schools is known throughout Japan for its unique method of "right-brain education." The method has fostered lively imaginations in many Japanese children. Shichida Makato, the franchise's founder, is the author of Super Brain Revolution, a Japanese best-seller. While the book has sold well here in Taiwan, it has also stirred up a great deal of controversy. Nonetheless, many attended the lectures presented by Shichida last October on his second visit to Taiwan, and a number of these attendees have since established experimental right-brain development classes.
What is "right-brain education"? Does it have anything to contribute to pre-school education in Taiwan? Should parents consider it for their children?
Su Lee-hui began teaching at a kindergarten in eastern Taipei at the start of last semester. On one Friday afternoon, the children sat in long rows, eight to a table, looking forward to a different kind of class. And Su, their teacher for this "different" class, delivered one, pulling out some pretty animal cards for a game. Everyone was given five different cards which were then laid out on the table in any order the children liked. After 10 seconds, the cards were turned over. A child would then try to recall the order in which the five animals had been arranged. The kids had a great time.
Last year, Su Lee-hui, a pre-school educator for more than 20 years now, retired from her position as director of a kindergarten. She then took a teacher training course on the "right-brain revolution" offered by the China Productivity Center last October. Su now teaches right-brain education as a volunteer at three different schools. "Kids love this class. They want to keep on playing even after it's over." Su says the memory game described above teaches children concentration and observation. After several months of experimentation, Su has come to the conclusion that such right-brain educational techniques are worthwhile.
The discovery of the right brain
The right-brain concept first began to attract widespread interest when Dr. Roger Sperry of the California Institute of Technology won a Nobel Prize for his work on the functions of the brain's hemispheres. Since then, the concept has been utilized in areas as diverse as education, business and medicine.
After years of research on "split-brain" epileptics (epileptics whose corpus collosum-a neural structure linking the two sides of the brain-has been cut to limit seizures to one side of their brain), Sperry discovered that the left brain is responsible for language, logical thinking and analysis. The right brain, on the other hand, seems to be involved with images, imagination and intuition.
The book The Right Brain was published at the same time. Translated into Japanese, it opened the eyes of pre-school educator Shichida Makato. He began investigating the application of right-brain functions to pre-school education, and developed a right-brain oriented teaching method.
Casper Shih, a former head of the China Productivity Center, was the first to invite Shichida to give lectures in Taiwan. Shih himself has applied the right-brain concept to the commercial sphere. In the ideas about "business culture" that Shih put forward a number of years ago, he suggested that people are changed by emotional stimuli, not rational argument. This is very much in keeping with the right-brain concept. And in his "right-brain leadership" concept, put forward two years ago, Shih takes his approach a step further, proposing EQ-based, creative management.
neffective thinking?
Almost 80% of the world's people have a more developed left brain. Why is this so? Professor Chen Lung-an, director of the Creative Thinking Educational Center at the Taipei Municipal Teachers' College, says that this is related to the superiority of the left brain in handling language and logical thinking. Chen cites the game of bridge as an example. He says that when you are about to play a card in bridge, your right brain goes running off in a thousand directions at once, thinking laterally. This sort of thinking is not appropriate to this situation, and the left brain takes over, assembling a logical train of thought. It sorts through the cards available, considers which has the greatest chance of winning the trick, what will happen if one's partner plays such and such a card, and what will happen if he does not, slowly tracing through the many possibilities to come up with a play. Similarly, in most of our thinking and learning in daily life, the left brain's speed and efficiency mean that the right brain often has no chance to do anything.
Other factors are also detrimental to right brain development. There are our years of utilitarian education, with its emphasis on mathematics, language, logic and analysis, and its tendency to ignore the arts, music and creativity. There are parental pressures to become doctors and lawyers and scientists rather than poets and artists. And there is the world itself, which requires us to do more left-brain thinking than right. Under these circumstances, our left brains become more and more developed while our right brains atrophy, metaphorically speaking, from under-use.
After Sperry discovered the right brain's capabilities, a number of Taiwanese in numerous different fields began to take note. For example, Chen Lung-an, whose academic research is in "creative thinking," has proposed a methodology for developing children's creativity. Chen stresses the utilization of imagination and lateral thinking, stating that this is a form of right-brain exercise. Meanwhile, some people in the commercial sphere advocate using breathing and meditation to change your moods or the direction of your thinking. Even cram schools have gotten into the act, taking advantage of the right brain's affinity for images by promoting the concept of "mind maps"-taking notes in a pictorial or diagrammatic format rather than the traditional line upon line of text.
Four major functions of the right brain
To enliven your right brain and increase your creativity, most people working in this field recommend bringing your feelings and imagination into play when observing and contemplating the physical world. But Shichida Makato stresses that in addition to utilizing the right brain's image processing and imaginative capabilities, we must also develop its memory and wave-generating functions.
In his book, Shichida writes that the right brain has a "high-speed, high-capacity memory" mechanism. He explains that the left brain turns data from the external world into language. This requires "sequential processing," wherein data is processed one bit at a time. It is a time-consuming activity. The right brain, on the other hand, processes information very quickly as images or pictures. The left and right brain also differ in the capacity of their memories, and the period of time for which information can be stored. According to Shichida Makato, the left brain is continuously dumping old information to make room for new, but right-brain memory is never deleted. He thus explains "photographic memory" as a right brain phenomenon.
A second function of the right brain is the combination of memory with imagination to produce "structures which transcend our personal experience and knowledge."
Chen Lung-an agrees that memory and creativity are intimately connected. In his view, creativity requires knowledge, experience and sufficient data. If you have a good memory, your mind will be able to provide you with an uninterrupted stream of data when you are trying to come up with something new.
According to Shichida, a third right-brain function is the production of waves which resonate with the universe.
He explains that brainwaves come in four varieties of respectively lower frequency-Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta waves. Beta waves are generated by the brains of adults when fully awake. Alpha waves are produced by the brains of young children. Theta waves are generated as we enter sleep and while we dream. Delta waves are produced in deep sleep.
"The universe broadcasts at 7.5 Hz, just at the border between Alpha and Theta waves. Through meditation people can maintain their brainwaves on the same frequency as the universe. In theory, they can thus make themselves receptive to the power of the universe." Shichida says that with repeated practice and training with images, one's perceptions may become sharper. One may develop stronger intuition and even more adavnced capabilities such as the ability to see through solid objects, telepathy, telekinesis and ESP. The brains of embryos and infants produce waves of around 7.5 Hz. Therefore, the younger a child, the stronger his ESP.
Super-calculator
Shichida Makato believes that true creativity comes in the form of an image from the future. He cites the sources of inspiration of several famous creators as examples: Mozart is reported to have said, "I myself know not whence my scores surge forth. If I am but left undisturbed, inspiration springs forth without cease." And Mishimo Yukio once said, "When I write a book, the characters appear in my mind. All I have to do is note what they say. There's no need at all to think up a plot."
In addition to the three functions mentioned above, Shichida Makato enumerates a fourth-rapid automatic calculation. There are a great many five- and six-year-old children all over the world who can correctly multiply and divide five- and six-digit numbers in seconds. Shichida believes that this is an application of the right brain's fast calculation and imaging mechanisms. He has verified his supposition using data from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) testing of brainwaves. This data shows that the right brains of highly skilled abacus users are active when carrying out arithmetic operations. This contrasts with the rest of us, for whom the left brain is more active when doing arithmetic.
The mystery of instinct
Interestingly, the right brain is believed to possess extraordinary powers which have their origins in instincts which pre-date education and civilization. As early as 1975, brain specialists had discovered that the cerebral cortex, unique to primates, was responsible for intellectual activities such as language and reasoning. The limbic system lies below the cortex and pre-dates it. Sometimes called the "mammalian brain," it is involved in the expression of emotions. On the lowest level lies the brain stem, sometimes called the reptilian brain. It controls basic bodily functions such as breathing and heartbeat.
"Our use of language, invention of tools and development of reasoning capabilities have pushed the development of the brain and made us 'smarter.' But at the same time we have lost our ability to feel an earthquake coming, and our ability to recognize from the larger environment when fish and vegetables will be at their tastiest. . . ."
To create a balance between our human and animal minds, "We must bring the functions of the brain stem to life, especially those of its center-the diencephalon." Shichida Makato says that, strictly speaking, the development of the right brain is the development of the diencephalon of the brain's right hemisphere. In other words, it is the development of the deep, unconscious levels of the brain.
Imaging training
On the subject of activating the diencephalon, Shichida recommends "imaging training," success at which connects the human mind with the universal mind. The principle underlying this training is hypnotic suggestion.
In class, the children seat themselves in a circle. With quiet music playing in the background, their teacher softly tells the children to close their eyes, breathe deeply, then enter their imaginary world. They may imagine they are shopping in a department store, or that they are butterflies sipping nectar from a field of flowering rape. A different method is to first show the students a round, colored card and then have them imagine the color of the card changing. "After much practice, you can watch images change by themselves." Based on his many years of experience, Shichida says that children playing these kinds of games can immediately enter an imaginary world, and describe what they see and feel there.
Just the facts, please
Another interesting feature of Shichida Makato's classes is that they do not attempt to present principles underlying knowledge. Instead, they provide students with large volumes of raw data. The rationale is that when data is presented quickly, the left brain cannot keep up in its efforts to order data and turn it into language. Instead, it gives up and takes a break, allowing the right brain a chance to handle it. "After the right brain has taken in the data, the brain can search for patterns and systems on its own."
At an experimental class in Mucha, an English teacher flips through dozens of picture cards in one to two minutes. The children keep their gaze fixed on the cards as the teacher reads through them. According to Shichida, flipping through the cards in this way activates capacities inherent in the children's right brains. Once the right brain is activated, a student should be able to memorize large amounts of information quickly and easily.
A third method for activating the right brain involves other kinds of memory training. Shichida's curricula include games to teach "direct visual imaging," speed-reading and the making of mnemonic associations.
In class, the teacher places 10 different pictographic cards against the whiteboard. He or she then connects the cards to each other with a story, creating a picture in the mind which facilitates memorization. Shichida says that with practice, "Kids no longer need the verbal connections. They can easily remember 40 to 50 cards. For many kids even 100 cards aren't a problem."
Spiritual education
In addition to addressing the theory and practice of right-brain development and human learning potential, Shichida stresses balance and complementarity between the two sides of the brain. To him, right-brain education is ultimately spiritual education. "The overt consciousness is competitive, jealous and in opposition. But the deeper levels of consciousness are more compassionate, peaceful and loving."
Shichida feels that the universal mind, which created the universe in love and benevolence, exists within our human bodies. Therefore, when the human mind and the universal mind unite, we put ourselves in tune with these emotions.
The Shichida Schools in Japan stress Shichida's compassion, and encourage mothers to attend their children's classes. Shichida believes that right-brain education is only effective if children live in a loving environment. Therefore, if a child's relationship with his parents is poor, the teacher will give the mother guidance in building a closer relationship with the child.
Because the application of right-brain theory is still in its infancy, many still have doubts about the efficacy of right-brain teaching methods. Even in Japan, where there are more than 300 Shichida Schools dedicated to the use of Shichida Makato's right-brain techniques, the methodology has not been accepted into the mainstream educational system.
"You expect opposition," says Casper Shih, who has great confidence in the right brain's potential. He says that those who are opposed tend to reject the idea because of the lack of scientific verification. But he asks how you can replicate "supernormal abilities" and creativity in an experiment. Shih says, "There is still much that humans do not know about the brain. What we know most about now is its physical structure, but there is still a great deal we don't know about its software. Shichida Makato's theory of the brain's operating mechanisms is based on observation of brain phenomena." Shih feels that while Shichida's theory doesn't explain everything, it is most certainly a valid direction.
Scientific research into mental activities
Can the scientific method be applied to supernormal abilities? Lee Si-chen, a professor of electrical engineering at National Taiwan University who has been researching qigong and various of the body's more unusual capabilities, thinks so. He points out that mental activities became a new field for brain research in the 1980s. It had been thought that it was impossible to understand the mind from the perspective of neurophysiology. Now, however, the higher mental processes are thought to be the result of increased neurological complexity, and are being researched as the product of a system. He says that Sperry's research, with its discovery that certain brain capabilites resulted from cooperation between the two hemispheres, was critical to this new view.
Lee explains that the chips in a computer are like the neurons in a brain, and states that intelligence is a new characteristic arising from the linking together of these neurons in complex ways. It is a high-level operation of the brain. "Everyone who studies electronics knows that electrical transistors by themselves can only amplify a signal. But if you link a few together in a particular structure, they can store data. This new capability is the result of creating a complex system, and you must come up with a new theory to explain it. You can't explain it using quantum mechanics as you would a single crystal. Instead, you have to analyze it using electrical circuit theory." He therefore feels that Shichida Makato's explanation of creativity as a transformation of brain-waves (a low-level operation) is inadequate pending further research.
"More than 10 years of scientific experimentation has verified the existence of paranormal abilities such as 'reading' with the fingers and telekinesis." Lee says that numerous scientists are looking into such questions as why people see images in their minds when exercising these capabilities and from which part of the brain they originate. He says that Shichida's placement of the "third eye" in the pineal gland of the diencephalon may be accurate, but it needs to be verified through experimentation.
The controversy over Shichida's methodology raises yet another question, namely, how are parents and teachers to evaluate the never-ending stream of new educational methods being proposed?
Do all roads lead to Rome?
Chen Lung-an looks at the question from the perspective of creativity training. He supports the idea of developing both the left and right brains, but he doesn't agree with the idea that traditional education only trains the left brain. In Chen's opinion the traditional, lecture-based education can produce creative students. To him, the key lies in the attitudes and ideas of parents and teachers.
Based on his more than 20 years of research into creativity, Chen says that great natural creativity is the gift of a few, but creativity can be taught. The basic principle is teaching not just in the classroom, but from life, by opening children's eyes to the world and providing them with many stimuli. For example, when redoing the ceiling in the family apartment, parents can include children in the process of choosing a color and matching patterns. Or when eating out, parents can ask their children why a given dish has a given flavor and how it's made. They can point out that a dish does not have scallions and ask what has been used as a substitute.
Chen suggests that parents should let their kids enjoy themselves. Fostering curiosity, encouraging questions and providing challenges develop a child's creativity. In addition to encouraging kids to ask, think and do, parents need to be tolerant and appreciative to avoid killing a child's creative sense. The willingness of parents and teachers to do these things is the key. Simply put, kids need a "loving education."
Chen says that Shichida's imaging training and memory games are simply getting at the same thing from a different direction, and do help foster creativity. However, he warns parents that there is no shortcut to creativity; you accumulate it as you travel life's road.
Pushing too hard
On the other hand, child psychologist You Chien-kuei emphasizes that time hones people into adults. Not letting knowledge "settle" and not leaving time for rumination is dangerous. You takes the study of math as an example. She says that if a child learns to do arithmetic with three- and four-digit numbers too quickly and easily such that the underlying principles are never really absorbed, it can be an obstacle to later studies of mathematics. She feels that this issue must be taken into consideration.
Psychological therapy fully affirms Shichida Makato's "imaging training" concept. You Chien-kuei says that the period before children reach the age of 12 could be called the "cartoon stage." Thinking is done entirely in pictures and images because the structures which recognize patterns haven't yet developed. An image-based educational method-i.e. utilizing comics, stories and games-is bound to be more effective at getting and holding the interest of children of this age than one based on the written word.
Diane Fan, an assistant professor in the department of early childhood education at National Pingtung Teachers College, fully affirms the value of "imaging training," but says that for some of the games employed in the training it would be best if the teacher had some background in psychology. With such a background, the teacher would be able to better understand the children's response and stop inappropriate fantasies and images from developing too far.
Getting back to our essence
Fan believes that the most worthwhile aspect Shichida Makato's ideas is that "they remind us how to develop our inherent capacities and our essential being." Based on her years of observation and research into children's minds, Fan states, "A child's internal world is a pure and beautiful place. Children are naturally full of creativity." Parents shouldn't ignore children's core being by sending them off to attend extra-curricular classes so they can "learn something." What they should do is enter into their children's internal world, guiding and appreciating the imagination and creativity that children are born with.
Fan says that this idea of developing the capacities of the deeper self is also valuable in the context of growth and learning in adults. "Through the meditation aspect of imaging training, we take some time to listen to our inner voices. Carrying out the deep breathing exercises, we see the truth, virtue and beauty of our primal selves." Fan says that in the deep places of the human mind we hold the capacity to heal ourselves, mentally and physically. The problem is that we are accustomed to looking outside ourselves for help. For this reason, methods of getting back to our essential selves like those proposed by Shichida Makato should be promoted.
The trend today seems to be towards a kind of growth and healing which involves all three aspects of our selves-mind, body and spirit. In this context, right-brain education offers us a theoretical and methodological structure. The next step is for more research to allow humanity in the 21st century to develop broader scope as individuals and a more integrated self.
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