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).
And teachers report more and more right-brain dominant kids in their classrooms. So how will these kids succeed in high school and college? And what if they want to go on to medical school, law school, maybe become engineers? How can we help them?Learning to use the whole brain solves the problem. Learning how to diminish right-brain or left-brain dominance so they're using both sides equally. So what does this mean? And how do you do it?
First, let's take a look first at how the frontal lobes of the brain's neocortex work. This is the part of the brain right behind your forehead. The left side and the right side are connected by a fibrous band in the middle called the "corpus callosum." In order to use both sides of the brain, neurons on the left side have to be connected to neurons on the right side. In other words, the electrical charge between brain cells has to pass across the corpus callosum. O.K. that's the theory part.
Our memories, our verbal skills and our understanding of meaning are spread through different areas of our brains, a complex network that we draw on without even - well - thinking! And this is where poetry finds a remarkable niche. Why do children memorize far more easily when they are given information in rhyme? Why do YOU still remember songs and poems that you learned when you were small? You probably even still use some of those mnemonics, and you're definitely passing them on to your own children, helping them to learn nursery rhymes and the letters of the alphabet that way.
And beyond the obvious aid to memory, poetry also offers an enhanced understanding of language. It forces our brains to think laterally, to join together different sensory impressions and associations. That kind of layered thinking has been shown, in live MRI tests, to wake up multiple areas of the brain at once. For kids who struggle with language skills, poetry offers an engaging, memorable stealth technology, a way of getting past the brain's standard verbal filters to a deeper language network.
There are lot of difference between right brain and left brain. The right brained generally has specific characteristics such as,Concentrates more on images and visual,Act according to intuition,Use mind camera to remember,things or write down things,Checks the whole image and then turn to details,Lack of organization,Randomly makes plans,Difficulty in finding spelling or collecting word,No punctuality,Like more to touch and feel,Never follows instruction before handling any equipment,Express with hand gestures,Very creative brain
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).
And teachers report more and more right-brain dominant kids in their classrooms. So how will these kids succeed in high school and college? And what if they want to go on to medical school, law school, maybe become engineers? How can we help them?Learning to use the whole brain solves the problem. Learning how to diminish right-brain or left-brain dominance so they're using both sides equally. So what does this mean? And how do you do it?
First, let's take a look first at how the frontal lobes of the brain's neocortex work. This is the part of the brain right behind your forehead. The left side and the right side are connected by a fibrous band in the middle called the "corpus callosum." In order to use both sides of the brain, neurons on the left side have to be connected to neurons on the right side. In other words, the electrical charge between brain cells has to pass across the corpus callosum. O.K. that's the theory part.
Our memories, our verbal skills and our understanding of meaning are spread through different areas of our brains, a complex network that we draw on without even - well - thinking! And this is where poetry finds a remarkable niche. Why do children memorize far more easily when they are given information in rhyme? Why do YOU still remember songs and poems that you learned when you were small? You probably even still use some of those mnemonics, and you're definitely passing them on to your own children, helping them to learn nursery rhymes and the letters of the alphabet that way.
And beyond the obvious aid to memory, poetry also offers an enhanced understanding of language. It forces our brains to think laterally, to join together different sensory impressions and associations. That kind of layered thinking has been shown, in live MRI tests, to wake up multiple areas of the brain at once. For kids who struggle with language skills, poetry offers an engaging, memorable stealth technology, a way of getting past the brain's standard verbal filters to a deeper language network.
There are lot of difference between right brain and left brain. The right brained generally has specific characteristics such as,Concentrates more on images and visual,Act according to intuition,Use mind camera to remember,things or write down things,Checks the whole image and then turn to details,Lack of organization,Randomly makes plans,Difficulty in finding spelling or collecting word,No punctuality,Like more to touch and feel,Never follows instruction before handling any equipment,Express with hand gestures,Very creative brain
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.
