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.

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The Left-Right Brain Continuum -Part 1

I didn't belong as a kid, and that always bothered me. If only I'd known
that one day my differences would be an asset. Bette Midler

I'm reading Jeffrey Freed's book: Right-brained children in a left brained world at the moment. Not finished yet. There is some kind of a quiz that can very much tell you if your children are left-, right-, or whole brained. This quiz is for children ages 5-13.

Page 49: Learning Styles Inventory
1. Is your child extremely wiggly?
2. Does your child have difficulty with coloring or handwriting?
3. Was your child a late walker?
4. Is your child extremely sensitive to criticism?
5. Does your child have allergies or asthma?
6. Is your child good with building toys, such as Lincoln Logs, Legos, and Tinker Toys?
7. Is your child good at puzzles and mazes?
8. If you read a book to your child two or three times, is s/he capable of filling in missing words with almost perfect recall?
9. Is it extremely important that your child like his or her teacher in order to do well in class?
10. Is your child easily distracted, or does he daydream a lot?
11. Is your child unable to consistently finish tasks?
12. Does your child tend to act first and think later?
13. Do you have to cut labels out of your child's clothes? Does he only want to wear clothing that's especially soft and well worn?
14. Is your child overwhelmed at sporting events, loud parties, amusement parks?
15. Does your child tend to shy away from hugs?
16. Does your child need constant reminders to do certain things?
17. Is your child extremely competitive and a poor loser?
18. Does your child have a good sense of humor? Does he have a better-than-average ability to understand and create puns?
19. Is your child a perfectionist to the point that it gets in the way of trying new things?
20. Can your child recall a summer vacation or other event from one or two years ago in vivid details?

The more Yes responses you have, the more to the right your child will be.
0-4: yes answers indicate your child is very left-brained.
5-8: somewhat left-brained.
9-12: whole-brained.
13-16: somewhat right brained.
17-20: very right-brained.

Hikari's score is 15.

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Cerita Hikari

- Hikari lahir normal, tapi harus divakum berat. Itupun setelah tiga kali vakum baru berhasil. Tidak jelas apa penyebabnya. Saya sendiri sudah hampir pingsan setelah mendapat 2 kali suntikan perangsang kontraksi. Setelahnya, Hikari harus menginap di inkubator selama 10 hari tanpa bisa digendong karena kulit kepalanya luka.

- Hikari bukan bayi yang anteng. Selama 3 bulan pertama, dia sering bangun malam dan menangis tak henti. Kami sampai hilang akal untuk mendiamkannya. Setelah 3 bulan, dia juga sangat sensitif, secara emosional, terutama, kalau saya -mamamya- juga sedang emosional.

- Usia 3 bulan, setelah imunisasi DPT pertama, daya tahan badan Hikari menjadi rentang. Dia mulai sakit-sakitan. Badannya mengurus, nafsu makan berkurang drastis, alergi berat terutama kepada sea food. Pada usia 1 tahun, baru ketahuan kalau dia menderita immuno deficiency, kerentanan pada sistem kekebalan tubuh. Tingkat sensitifitas/alergi-nya juga tinggi, melebihi level normal orang dewasa. Dan, menurut dokter yang merawatnya, Hikari tidak tahan pada beberapa bahan dalam vaksin. Sejak itu Hikari berhenti diberi vaksin.

- Hikari baru bisa berjalan usia 16 bulan. Terlambat, kata banyak orang. Tapi, usia 17 bulan, dia tiba-tiba bisa berseru lantang dan jelas, "Gajah". Semua orang kaget. Apalagi setelah itu, kemampuan bahasanya berkembang lebih pesat dari kemampuan berjalannya.

- Hikari itu accident prone. Kalau berlari satu meter, belum sampai satu meter pasti jatuh. Kalau berjalan, pasti kakinya nyenggol kaki meja atau kursi, lalu jatuh. Orang-orang tua bilang ini karena dia a late walker. Konsultasi dokter tentang kemungkinan kelainan pada indra penglihatannya, memberi hasil negatif.

- Hikari punya daya imajinasi sangat tinggi, terutama sejak dia bisa berbicara. Kami pikir karena dia senang pada buku. Hikari juga mampu mengingat dengan detil setiap cerita yang dibacakan kepadanya.

- Kemampuan mengingatnya yang tinggi membuatnya mampu mengingat sesuatu sampai kebagian yang paling detil. Suatu cerita, gambar, film, suasana, tempat, wajah orang, semua bisa diingat dengan sangat baik.

- Hikari sangat-sangat aktif. Dia bisa seharian berlari, berlompatan, berguling-guling, dan sebagainya, tanpa merasa capek. Orang-orang disekitar kami berpikir dia hiperaktif. Beberapa bahkan menyebutnya dengan ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

- Hikari sangat senang main balok atau Lego. Dia mampu merakit Lego menjadi suatu bentuk yang impresif (untuk anak seusianya), tanpa melihat manual book. Dia sanggup bermain balok atau Lego selama berjam-jam. Beberapa orang kemudian melabeli dirinya dengan Autis.

- Usia 2 tahun, Hikari mulai sekolah di play group, yang ternyata tak bisa membuatnya diam. Di play group itu dan disekolah TKnya yang sekarang, tingkah laku yang sama terlihat: tidak bisa duduk diam, cenderung memisahkan diri dari kelompok, tidak betah pada kegiatan belajar yang duduk-menyimak-menghafal. Tapi, dia terlihat menikmati kegiatan outdoor. Tingkah lakunya ini tidak terlihat pada saat Hikari sekolah di Jepang (usia 3-4.5). Menurut pengamatan kami, ini terjadi karena di Jepang (TK), kegiatan indoor tak pernah berlangsung lebih dari satu jam. Pelajaran indoor selalu diselingi dengan kegiatan outdoor. Materi pelajaran juga selalu hands-on dan real-life.

- Hikari anak yang sensitif. Dia bisa merasakan emosi orang-orang di dekatnya.

- Hikari juga cenderung untuk "act first, think later".

- Gurunya di TK A mengeluhkan Hikari yang dirasakan kurang involved di kelas, tak mau duduk diam, dan tak tertarik pada caranya mengajar. Guru ini meminta kami untuk mengubah cara belajar Hikari. Catat: Mengubah Cara Belajar (dan bukan mengubah CaraNYA MEngajar).

- Usia hampir 5 tahun, psikolog sekolah (Indonesia) mendeteksi Hikari sebagai Right-Brained. Semua tingkah lakunya yang dilabeli orang sebagai ADD atau Autis, ternyata adalah ciri-ciri dari anak Right-brained.

- Berdasarkan hasil dari observasi 3 psikolog (1 psikolog dari kami, 1 dari luar sekolah atas permintaan sekolah, 1 dari sekolah), kemampuan akademis Hikari dinyatakan diatas rata-rata. Rekomendasi dari ketiga psikolog adalah dia (dan teman-temannya) mendapatkan cara pengajaran yang tepat. Rekomendasi ini kami berikan ke kepala sekolah. Pihak sekolah kemudian memberikan training dua hari tentang different learning styles kepada guru-gurunya.

- Teori brain dominance (Jeffrey Freed, MAT) mengatakan, kontinum Otak Kiri-Kanan itu sebagai berikut:
1) pada sisi paling kiri sekali adalah orang-orang penderita schizophrenia.
2) pada sisi kiri setelah penderita schizophrenia adalah otak dari orang-orang (sebagian besar) akademis atau guru-guru. Tidak heran bila dunia akademis (sekolah) itu didesain secara left-brained.
3) pada sisi tengah, orang-orang yang mempunyai whole-brained dominance. Orang-orang ini unggul karena mampu menggunakan kedua bagian otaknya secara seimbang.
4) pada sisi kanan, setelah whole-brained, adalah orang-orang yang right-brained, (terutama) para arsitek, desainer, dan kreator yang lain.
5) pada sisi ke kanan lagi, adalah orang-orang penderita ADD.
6) lebih ke kanan lagi, adalah orang-orang penderita Dyslexia.
7) paling kanan dari kontinuum, adalah orang-orang penderita Autism.
(Right-brained children in a left-brained world: Jeffrey Freed, MAT. Page 52)

- Hikari berada di kelompok nomor 4. Tugas kami sekarang adalah memastikan kalau dia bisa survive di dunia pendidikan yang di desain untuk anak-anak berotak kiri. Termasuk juga, memberi pendidikan kepada orang awam tentang anak-anak dengan learning style berbeda.

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