brit school children are dumber than paris hilton, but i guess they feel absolutely fabulous about themselves...
Posted on 04/07/2008 3:18:22 PM PDT by TChris
Man the lifeboats. The idiots are winning. Last week I watched, open-mouthed, a Newsnight piece on the spread of "Brain Gym" in British schools. I'd read about Brain Gym before - a few years back, in Ben Goldacre's excellent Bad Science column for this newspaper - but seeing it in action really twisted my rage dial.
Brain Gym, y'see, is an "educational kinesiology" programme designed to improve kiddywink performance. It's essentially a series of simple exercises lumbered with names that make you want to steer a barbed wire bus into its creator's face. One manoeuvre, in which you massage the muscles round the jaw, is called the "energy yawn". Another involves activating your "brain buttons" by forming a "C" shape with one hand and pressing it either side of the collarbone while simultaneously touching your stomach with the other hand.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Just a FYI ping now. I know this is in Britain, but it's something to keep an eye out for here, someday.
Won’t massaging yourself make you go blind?
It’s even too goofy for the staff of the Guardian!
Here in Richmond, Virginia, the local PBS station was using a two hour segment about Brain Gym to raise funds several weeks ago. They re-aired it twice in the same week. You donated $365 and in return got the book, the DVD, a test to find out how well you did and the actual computer program itself.
As the saying goes, if you believe in nothing you’ll believe in anything.
I love that phrase!
I love that phrase!
Every once in a while, the Brits remind us that English is their language, and they turn a truly beautiful phrase!
PBS in Arizona featured a doctor who offered some form of high tech brain scan. PBS was not selling the services of the doctor directly, but in order to promote the fund raising effort they sure touted the diagnostic and clinical capabilities of this guy.
I did a quick check on the internet and found that at least one site listed him as bordering on fraudulent. Their complaint was that his claims of the efficacy of his diagnostic procedures was not based on standard clinical procedures; i.e., no use of blind studies. Instead, he relied on conjectural data. They said that the type of scan he used was not demonstrated to provide the information that he claimed. For instance, he claimed to be able to diagnose early Alzheimer’s.
From reading the review and listening to him, I concluded that he probably believed in his methods and they might be legitimate, but he certainly could have deluded himself.
Meanwhile, PBS hacks stand up in front of the phone banks giving him legitimacy while asking for money and bragging that they are somehow more “pure” than broadcast TV since they are not beholden to “evil” [not said, but certainly implied] corporate sponsors.
brit school children are dumber than paris hilton, but i guess they feel absolutely fabulous about themselves...
This will come in handy after graduation, when they open that big Energy Yawn factory.
If you can pronounce it on the second try - you get an "A".
No!
Not an "A".
How neanderthal...you get a "pass".
BRAIN GYM & ME by Paul Dennison $39.00
Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning
Paul Dennison is the founder of Brain Gym and co founder of the world wide modality of Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K). In this book he tells how he overcame severe learning challenges to become an internationally known educator and shares his vision of children and adults learning in a way that is most natural: through movement. An enlightening story of discovery that is both inspirational and informative.
Sounds harmless to me. At least it's better than medicating the kids.
The old three-part sensory modalities model always seemed like a compelling idea for public ed. Dunno what this is supposed to be though. :’) Thanks Fred.
“...Dunno what this is supposed to be though.”
I have a sense that he’s picked up a method used to stimulate children with behavioural problems and a whole crowd of dumb adults are paying him lots of money...
Links to useful information for individuals and communities.
Community Information and Services/Disabilities/Learning DisabilitiesADD/ADHD, Dyslexia and similar disabilities
Description
Brain Gym is an educational, movement based programme which uses simple movements to integrate the whole brain, senses and body, preparing the person with the physical skills they need to learn effectively. Brain Gym can be used to improve a wide range of learning, attention and behaviour skills.
(Simply an expensive, tax payer funded substitute for growing up in the country, climbing trees, swimming in water-holes, riding horses, picking fruit off the trees, and maybe reading a book now and then.)
I thought it put hair on your palms.
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