SingaporeMotherhood | Baby & Toddler

June 2015

Right-Brain Education in Singapore: Why it’s Important for your Child

As a parent, you probably want your child to be well-rounded, to excel in all areas, and to do so in a happy, self-assured, and confident manner. While there are varying schools of thought about how this can be achieved, one has prevailed since 1975, when brain specialists discovered the workings of our cerebral cortex. The right brain, they found, had superhuman-like abilities. As principal of Heguru @ Fusionopolis Mrs Agnes Ng, 36, explains, “It is the side of the brain that allows children to learn fast, process a large amount of information as well as be able to think faster, processing information fast.” The mother of two children (aged six and four years) tells his more about the right brain, why children need to learn to use it, and how this ability can help your child, not just in primary school, but for life.

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Why is right-brain education important? 

A child’s brain is divided into the right brain and the left brain, the left brain’s characteristics is that it understands information at a very low speed and one at a time. It is only able to process a small amount of information. That is what we call the linguistic function brain, with the dominant part being the language function. In simpler terms, it means that the child learns words, numerals and alphabets. That is the usage of the left brain. 

On the other hand, the right brain is the image brain, which will process the visual imagery, comprehend and make sense of what the child sees. In order to activate the right brain, we use flash cards to stimulate and exercise the right brain. The brain is like a muscle and the more you exercise, the stronger it gets. The reason we want to tap on right brain training is that the right brain is very important; it is the side of the brain that allows children to learn fast, process a large amount of information as well as be able to think faster, processing information fast.
 
Image cc licensed (CC BY 2.0) flickr photo ‘Feed Your Head’ by Philippe Put

Can right-brain education turn my child into a genius?

Right brain education is a long term process to unlock the potential of a child’s brain. Continual training will enable a child to form much more neuro connections within the right brain as compared to children who do not attend right brain training. These extra neuro connections will increase the capacity of the brain as well as increase the speed at which children can absorb information and form linkages to solve problems.
 

Can you tell a right-brain trained child from one who is not?

A right brain trained child is usually able to concentrate better, focus for longer periods of time and possess superior comprehension ability. They will also be able to articulate their thoughts better and will be more confident. They will be able to absorb concepts faster and usually do not need many reiterations for them to learn a new thing. 
 

What is the best age to start?

The earlier the children start, the more effective the training. However, keep in mind that we cannot turn back time. It is important to expose the infants and toddlers to right brain training during the critical period of brain development. We recommend Heguru Method of right brain training for children from six months to six years old.
 

How much work must parents do?

We encourage parents to do home practice as it helps to reinforce learning at home. It is also an important process for parent and child bonding. We encourage parents to have consistent and regular in practising the activities that we have done in Heguru class at home. Most important is consistency to achieve better results.

Principal Mrs Agnes Ng Heguru FusionopolisMrs Agnes Ng, Principal, Heguru @ Fusionopolis

What are the benefits of right-brain training?

 

We believe that right brain training is essential to children because if they tap on this ability, they will have very good memory, excellent focus, and be able to process information very quickly. These abilities can be applied to all areas of learning, including sports and music. Imagine the amount of information and knowledge that these children are able to absorb if they are able to use their right brain to process it. They will be able to benefit greatly in their lives. It is our goal at Heguru@Fusionopolis to train children to be confident learners and go on to lead successful and happy lives.
 

Can it help a child who has special needs, or one who has learning difficulties?

Right brain training can help children with special needs and learning difficulties. Most of the mainstream education for children has been focused on the left brain which can be challenging for special needs children and right brain training is used as an effective method to make up for deficiencies in the left brain.

Why is right-brain training even more necessary now?

 

Every child, at a young age, should receive right brain training because the development of their right brain can allow them to learn much faster and make learning much more enjoyable. 

Learning is a long journey. With right-brain training, they will be able to process whatever they learn in the future, even in large amounts. They will be able to process it, remember it, and focus. In this information age, where there is information overload, right brain training helps one to sieve through information with speed. So right-brain training will help children in their formal learning, from primary school all the way to university.

Kee Xandus

What Parents Say

Muxing and Shuying, both in their 30s, are parents to Xandus Kee, age four. Xandus has been taking lessons at Heguru @ Fusionopolis since February 2014.
 
“We first heard about Heguru in 2013 from a friend whose daughter is still in the programme. Prior to registration, Agnes (Heguru @ Fusionopolis’s Principal) also provided an overview of the programme for all parents who are interested in it. 
  
We chose Heguru @ Fusionopolis even though the distance is quite far for us because it is easily accessible via MRT. The teachers there are friendly and passionate teachers and the learning environment at the centre is very conducive. These are the two most significant factors in our consideration! 

We noticed that Xandus is able to stay focused for a longer period of time. We also see a tremendous result in his ability to have a good memory and also his ability to recognise words, both in English and Chinese. He is also very creative and observant, taking note of little details which adults can miss out.”

Images without credit courtesy of Heguru Method Learning Centre.

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Right-Brain Education in Singapore: Why it’s Important for your Child