Shichida Right Brain Training - Discussion
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Hi all, have been to this website many times to gather information on parenting my kids and am really thankful for its existence. Just join today so that I can share my view as well.
With regards to SM, some parents doubted it because it lacks evidence to back up its claims. My view is, if it works for your child, then why the need for justification? Every child is different, so the method may work on one child but not the other. As parent, we ourselves must know what works for our child.
My elder boy has been with SM for 5 terms before we withdraw this month. Some of the kids in his class who have been with him since we started have shown tremendous progress. This is evidence, to me at least, that SM does deliver the result it promised if, we as parents do our part at home. My boy is one of the weakest in class and I fully take the blame for it because I did not do any home practice with him. As many here have pointed out already, the 1-2hrs per week in class is just not enough to make any teaching method effective.
I have no regrets sending my boy to SM because it gave me an insight into teaching stuff more creatively and my boy do absorb better when the learning is fun. And SM is not all about building good memory, it is actually quite well-rounded covering languages, maths, science etc.
In fact, the reason why we withdraw is because it is too well-rounded. My boy will be in K1 comes Jan 09 and I feel he needs to go to more subject-specific programs to prepare him for primary school. -
notabox:
Hi notabox, thanks for your views on SM! SM and its variants use a scatter-gun approach - just fire and see how much your kid can absorb... WITHOUT actually understanding what they are absorbing, ie. the RIGHT-BRAIN method. It works best for children under 3yo, and becomes increasingly difficult to achieve its goals after that age. I'm happy that it has worked well for your kid, and I think you are making the right decision to move on to what you call \"subject-specific\" programmes....With regards to SM, some parents doubted it because it lacks evidence to back up its claims. My view is, if it works for your child, then why the need for justification? Every child is different, so the method may work on one child but not the other. As parent, we ourselves must know what works for our child.
...I have no regrets sending my boy to SM because it gave me an insight into teaching stuff more creatively and my boy do absorb better when the learning is fun. And SM is not all about building good memory, it is actually quite well-rounded covering languages, maths, science etc.
In fact, the reason why we withdraw is because it is too well-rounded. My boy will be in K1 comes Jan 09 and I feel he needs to go to more subject-specific programs to prepare him for primary school. -
[quote]WITHOUT actually understanding what they are absorbing, ie. the RIGHT-BRAIN method[/quote]
not too sure about whether that sums up the \"right-brain\" method. Personally I think that all the tlk about \"right-brain\"/\"left brain\" is really more for marketing purpose. From the 1+ yr observation, the benefits kids get SM is really a combination of
1. Learning Relaxation Techniques
2. Memory & speed training
3. Training in Observation and listening
4. Early intro to words, numbers, counting, writing.
5. Practicing and building confidence in Intuition
6. Music and movement
7. playing games that are beneficial for building logic and encouraging imagination.
8. Showing parents how to teach the above. -
Mincy wrote [quote]From the 1+ yr observation, the benefits kids get SM is really a combination of point 1 to 7[/quote]
Mincy, would you be able to give examples as to why SM serves as point 1 to 7? -
It’s actually my own interpretation from the activities we did throughout the last year + here are some of the activities.
1. Learning Relaxation Techniques
At the start of every class, there are songs followed by sequence of actions presented in a fun way that included relaxation/calming activities like rubbing palms together, thinking of something they like, breathing in an out.
2. Memory & speed training
activities include learning/ practicing of memory techniques/activities like linking memory, flash memory, peg memory, photo memory. There are also speed reading and learning activities e.g. reading stories while listening to v.o in different speeds.
3. Training in Observation and listening
Photo memory activities, (look at a picture and remembering how things are place) listening to a sequence of sounds and remembering the sequence it is played. Spotting the difference.
4. Early intro to words, numbers, counting, writing.
Work sheets are done during class and games that involve counting, matching words with pictures, letters with words, words with pictures are played. Quite a number of advance words and terms are introduced throughout the rest of the activities. e.g. words like parliamenthouse, triceratops
5. Practicing and building confidence in Intuition
There are guessing games like. e.g. kids are shown a picture e.g. a house and given a choice of a few items (e.g. cute pics of animals) and ask to choose which one is hidden inside.
6. Music and movement
Sing songs/ read poems with actions and gestures.
7. playing games that are beneficial for building logic and encouraging imagination.
Block games, tangram puzzles, maze, pretend games e.g. children are given a number of "food" - grass, bananas, carrots and given the task to feed different animals (pictures of) behind the classrooms. -
Thanks mincy for sharing. Does seem like a fun program for very young kids to attend.
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There is confounding and bias in a big chunk of this. The story with red wine, does red wine really confer health benefits or is it just that those who drink it regularly are wealthier and look after themselves better?
It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are an on-the-ball parent who spends whopping amount of time and effort on coaching, for the same substrate (i.e. child), there will surely be a greater benefit. The human brain has evolved over millions of years, have a few researchers through uncontrolled means somehow unlocked the codex for accelerated learning? Bleah...
Studies comprising monozygotic (including separated) and dizygotic twins have shown that a big chunk of an adults' personality and behviour (and presumably intellect) is genetically predetermined, with only a small contribution from the environment -->
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/264/5166/1700.pdf
There is a theory about the 'good-enough parent' that I subscribe to, both scientifically -->
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=GoHfZApDrAgC&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=the+%27good+enough+parent%27+theory+AND+twins&source=web&ots=0dIP37ncrw&sig=R36Oy6gzN9vrpXjfj18QJTZ_Y5E&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA106,M1 (I quote \"Being reared in one family or another....makes little difference in children's personality or intellectual development\")
and philosophically -->
http://www.mothering.com/articles/body_soul/inspiration/good-enough-parent.html
Yes, you can delay destiny, move your child above his natural line of development for a while by hothousing. But reversion to the mean is a statistical truism, it always happens, the house always wins.
Give yourself a break and spend time with your kids to coach them. Given the highly astute observations of the many folk who post here and the motivation level, I don't think anyone is in need of Dr Shichida or his cronies. Just be good enough and its good enough. -
thanks for recommending the interesting & insightful articles 3Boys.
Especially like that one from the good enough parent article on how enjoying time with the kids is the most important beyond any enrichment. Totally agree with that.
It is also interesting to read about research on how kids in rural parts of England who learn to read later—\" did better in higher grades and achieved more prestigious school placements than did children exposed to earlier education.\" So basically, the conclusion is introducing kids to academic stuff formally at an early age don't make much difference in the long run...
and then there is the age long nature vs nurture debate ..every thing falls back to the genes. Will skip that one.
On the whether there is any effects on accelerated learning methods such as GD and Shichida, there are indeed lots of researchers who critic such methods and who belief that children who went through accelerated learning probably do well not because of the accelerated learning stuff but because the parents are highly motivated (aka kiasu) and generally belong to a better educated bunch.
Wish some one will research on the effects for children introduced to such of such methods with more or less equally educated and motivated parents. But then, even if some study is conducted now, the findings will only be out by the time my kid grow up. It’s like the research red wine, vitamin C, supplements etc, it is ongoing and inconclusive but parents have to make judgement base on the information available and the results they can observe.
on the program itself, for the past year, my feel is that the bulk is not academic but rather getting kids to feel good about learning and exposing kids to learning techniques and games. Academic stuff are presented in a fun way. So far, my son had enjoyed classes, telling us that he wants to go for class almost everyday of the week. I enjoyed the class too and my time with him during and after class doing some of the activities introduced to us during class.. which is why I continued enrolling him. -
Hi to all mummies and daddies who have kids in Shichida,
I just went to Shichida for a preview today(Jan) and was told I have to put down a deposit to be put on a waitlist for a place in the June class. I was wondering if the wait is usually that long? And also, after the deposit, does that mean a place would definately be reserved for me in the June class ? Thanks! -
When I registered a yr plus ago, we did not have to to wait for very long. I thnk we register in June/July for the september term and they called us in August to cofirm- that’s when we pay for next term fees. I don’t remember putting down any deposit before that.
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