Brain Dominance: Part 1

He is different
Ever since we put Hikari at preschool (age 2 years old) then we realized that he was different from other kids in his class.

He was not behind other kids in terms of academic intelligence. He was just... different.
- He couldn't sit still, like other kids.
- He was more kinesthetic than other students.
- He had different-imaginative answers for every question.
- He was not interested in reading books for his age at school, while he could concentrate for hours in books I read for him at home.
- He saw the world differently and seemed to live in his own imaginary world.
- He could create stories more advanced and imaginative than other kids his age.
- He had exceptional vocabularies for his age.

People -mostly his teachers- could see that he was different. But, they didn't see him as imaginative. They saw him as hyperactive and difficult to reach, instead.

Something wrong?
We were worried. We were wondering if there was something wrong with him.
While he amazingly excelled in some areas, he wasn't able to behave like normal kids, his age.

The problem with school disappeared when we moved to Japan and he studied at a local school in Honjo city. Later we suspected that the difference happened because his school curriculum supported his kinesthetic style better. But, when we returned to Indonesia two years later and he started his new school here, the problem arose again.

Brain Dominance
Not until the age of almost 5, though, that we found out that he is indeed different from other kids.

The answer of his mystery behavior is his brain works differently. He belongs to few people whose brain dominance is RIGHT, while most people are left-brained.

How the Brain Works
The brain is made up of two halves, or hemispheres called the left brain and the right brain. According to Karen M. Gibson, a good analogy of brain work is that of two separate, incredibly fast and immensely powerful computers, each running different programs from the same input, connected by a network cable. Most kids (and most people) think by relying on their left side of the brain. Hikari thinks by relying on his right side of the brain.

According to most scientists, there are definite differences in the way each part of the brain works.
-> The right brain is more visual, intuitive, holistic, and random. The left brain is more logical and sequential.
-> The right brain deals with emotions, feelings, creativity, and intuition. The left brain deals with more logical subject areas, such as mathematics and speech. (Roger Sperry)
Can you see now how different these two hemispheres work?

You can check how your brain works by doing this.

Brain Functions
Left-brained people:
-use logic
-are detailed oriented
-focus on facts
-think in words and language
-think in present and past
-excel in Math and science
-have order/pattern perception
-know object name
-are reality based
-form strategies
-are practical
-prefer to be safe

Right-brained people:
-use feeling
-think in "big-pictures"
-regard imagination highly
-think in symbols and images
-think in present and future
-excel in philosophy and religion
-have spatial perception
-know object function
-are fantasy based
-present possibilities
-are impetuous (act first, think later)
-are risk takers

What Brain Works Tell Us
It tells us that:
- each person process information differently from the others. How a right brainer processes information is exactly the opposite of how a left brainer processes information.
- the brain works determines each person learning styles.

What We Have to Remember
Before I write more about Brain Dominance, one thing that we have to remember is Brain Dominance doesn't determine how intelligent someone is.

Read More..