Some kids are right-brain dominant. They're creative. They think out of the box. They dance and do art. They usually don't like math.Other kids are left-brain dominant. They take things apart to figure out how they work. They like order. They think about things and ask lots of questions. Math is often their favorite subject.Nothing wrong with this, except that school is generally a left-brain dominant institution, especially as kids progress on to high school and then college. Although we're getting better at teaching to individual differences in grade school, left-brain teaching remains the norm in high school.
But just in case you're asked that question about poetry any time soon, and you want to have something to say without spluttering in indignation, I thought I'd throw together a few little-know facts about the effect poetry has on children's brains (and ours, for that matter).
Left brain, right brain... Uh, what? We've all heard this division-of-the-brain theory many times. Personally, I can never remember which way around it goes, but then that probably means I'm a bit of a right-brainer! It all has to do with the way our brains process information, and which tasks get assigned to which parts of the brain, with the right brain supposedly being more 'artistic,' and the left being more of a computer.
Neuroscientists are now learning that, although some things can be fairly well localized, like motor function, our intellectual abilities are quite a bit more complex. For instance, did you know that your ability to speak is stored somewhere completely different from your ability to sing? There are documented cases of people who have become aphasic (unable to speak at all) but who can communicate well if they just SING the words out!
Now the action part. How do you get this neuronal pattern? How do you get these synapses across the corpus callosum? It's really quite simple. Every time you cross your body's midline, you make neuronal patterns between the right and left side. Right-brain dominant kids are now able to use more of their left brain. And left-brain dominant kids able to use more of their right brain. Just get them moving. Walking while swinging their arms. Skipping. Playing ball. Dancing. Running. Since moving is key, perhaps we're seeing more right-brain dominant kids because kids are less active.
Get kids doing Brain Gym's cross crawl. It's like marching in place. You can do it sitting or standing. Raise your right leg and touch your knee with your left elbow. Now left leg up and touch with right elbow. How many variations on this can you and your kids invent. Be sure to use music. Makes it more fun. How slowly can you do it? Slowly gives you more brain integration and better balance.
It would seem that our brains have been programmed for this kind of thinking since before anyone even thought of writing anything down. After all, how are you going to pass down the tribe's history to the next generation, unless you turn it into an epic song or poem that people can remember, one verse at a time? Entire moral codes and genealogies were passed on in this manner until came up with the written word, and though we can now access all kinds of words on the internet with a flick of a mouse button, our brains still crave the stimulus that poetry gives, especially when it's spoken out loud.
Roger W. Sperry, an American psycho biologist, discovered and developed the concept of two brains - left brain and right brain theory. He successfully explained and proved people functioning of brain. It was found out that human brain has two different ways of thinking because of two unlike brain. The right side of the brain concentrates more on visual and images while, the left side of the brain deals with the verbal power. In more simple words, people thinking from left side of the bran are more logistical, objective, and methodical. While, the right brained people are more creative, subjective, and thoughtful.
But just in case you're asked that question about poetry any time soon, and you want to have something to say without spluttering in indignation, I thought I'd throw together a few little-know facts about the effect poetry has on children's brains (and ours, for that matter).
Left brain, right brain... Uh, what? We've all heard this division-of-the-brain theory many times. Personally, I can never remember which way around it goes, but then that probably means I'm a bit of a right-brainer! It all has to do with the way our brains process information, and which tasks get assigned to which parts of the brain, with the right brain supposedly being more 'artistic,' and the left being more of a computer.
Neuroscientists are now learning that, although some things can be fairly well localized, like motor function, our intellectual abilities are quite a bit more complex. For instance, did you know that your ability to speak is stored somewhere completely different from your ability to sing? There are documented cases of people who have become aphasic (unable to speak at all) but who can communicate well if they just SING the words out!
Now the action part. How do you get this neuronal pattern? How do you get these synapses across the corpus callosum? It's really quite simple. Every time you cross your body's midline, you make neuronal patterns between the right and left side. Right-brain dominant kids are now able to use more of their left brain. And left-brain dominant kids able to use more of their right brain. Just get them moving. Walking while swinging their arms. Skipping. Playing ball. Dancing. Running. Since moving is key, perhaps we're seeing more right-brain dominant kids because kids are less active.
Get kids doing Brain Gym's cross crawl. It's like marching in place. You can do it sitting or standing. Raise your right leg and touch your knee with your left elbow. Now left leg up and touch with right elbow. How many variations on this can you and your kids invent. Be sure to use music. Makes it more fun. How slowly can you do it? Slowly gives you more brain integration and better balance.
It would seem that our brains have been programmed for this kind of thinking since before anyone even thought of writing anything down. After all, how are you going to pass down the tribe's history to the next generation, unless you turn it into an epic song or poem that people can remember, one verse at a time? Entire moral codes and genealogies were passed on in this manner until came up with the written word, and though we can now access all kinds of words on the internet with a flick of a mouse button, our brains still crave the stimulus that poetry gives, especially when it's spoken out loud.
Roger W. Sperry, an American psycho biologist, discovered and developed the concept of two brains - left brain and right brain theory. He successfully explained and proved people functioning of brain. It was found out that human brain has two different ways of thinking because of two unlike brain. The right side of the brain concentrates more on visual and images while, the left side of the brain deals with the verbal power. In more simple words, people thinking from left side of the bran are more logistical, objective, and methodical. While, the right brained people are more creative, subjective, and thoughtful.
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