In my previous posts on right brain education, I have made many references to Makoto Shichida, one of the pioneers in right brain education. By now, I think the name Shichida is probably synonymous with the term “right brain education” because of the work Makoto Shichida has done over the years. After the recent parents’ seminar from Heguru, however, I think there is another person who should also be recognised for the significant contributions she has made to right brain education – Ruiko Henmi, one of the founders of Heguru and Principal of Henmi Educational General Laboratory.
Why I find Ruiko Henmi so inspiring is because she not only observes the theory of right brain education but she has also had a lot of practical experience helping children to develop their right brain. If you look through the old videos on right brain education, you will see Ruiko Henmi at the heart of the right brain classes. This amazing woman has been in the trenches leading the children and watching them develop over the years. If there is anyone who should understand right brain education, I think Ruiko Henmi would be that person.
Even now, she continues to assist in refining the Heguru right brain program to ensure that the classes offered provide the best chance of success for developing the right brain. Come June 2011, Heguru will be implementing a new pre-school program that is currently running in Japan which has yielded even greater successes in right brain development.
I was also impressed by the commitment of HEGL (Henmi Educational General Laboratory) to the Heguru school in Malaysia. They personally evaluate their senseis and provide feedback for improvement to ensure that the classes are conducted correctly. They also watch video recordings of the classes while they are back in Japan so they can monitor the progress of the school here.
To help parents understand right brain education, the Henmis have made arrangements to keep in contact with the KL senseis via Skype so they can answer any questions from the parents about right brain education. I had previously felt that Heguru lacked adequate information and support to help parents understand right brain education. I’m really glad to see that they have addressed this gap.
Meeting Ruiko Henmi has given me a renewed confidence in right brain education. It has also given me greater clarity on the priority of early childhood development programs for my children. If I could choose only one early childhood development program to enroll my children in, it would have to be a right brain development program first and foremost. All the other programs – sports, music, languages, etc. – can be picked up later as and when the time and resources become available.
If right brain education has been done right, school becomes easier for your child. This affords him more time to pursue other areas of interest instead of having to attend tuition classes to help him get through school. Enabling your child to pursue his interests allows him to live a more fulfilling life because he has the time to discover what he really wants to do with his life.
When I was going through school, I was told, “You can’t always do what you love, so you should learn to love what you have to do.” Honestly, I could never find it in me to learn to love what I had to do. After graduating from the wrong course, it took me years to discover my passion – wasted years I could have spent developing my abilities in a field I loved and making a meaningful contribution to it.
Too many people I know are in the same boat – they have no passion for what they do and they go through week after week waiting for the weekend so they can enjoy their lives. My cousin once said, “Every Monday, I wish for the weekend to come. When the weekend comes, it’s over in a flash. Then I’m back to wishing for the next weekend. It feels like I’m wishing my life away.” If we were all doing what we loved, there would be more fulfillment and enjoyment of life. Society benefits because happy people are productive people and productive people achieve greater things and so on.
The first question Hirotada Henmi asked at the Heguru Parents seminar was: “Why are you sending your child for right brain education? What do you hope to achieve with it?”
My answer would be this: so my children can do what they love.
Irene says
shen li,
what is the difference between heguru and shichida? I think Gavin has attended both classes, what do you find that they do differently?
thanks.
Irene Ng says
Hi there, They are going to start a pre-school program? That means like a kindy? That would be interesting. Because part of the reason I dont go is because it needs daily practice and I cannot do that. But I think if it is daily, it will be VERY expensive! Haha! Thanks for sharing!
Joey says
A convincing article! I’m still contemplating between Shichida & Heguru for my one year-old. The waiting list in the former is horrendous and while it’s more convenient to travel there, I don’t mind driving the extra distance to Heguru from what you mentioned. If we are still not offered a spot in Shichida for its April intake, Heguru it is for sure! Thanks, Shen-Li.
Shen-Li says
Actually, Gavin has never attended Shichida. I have read a lot about the Shichida Method through books, but that is about all I know about their classes. I do know mothers who have attended both Heguru and Shichida and it sounds like the program is pretty similar. There are some minor differences. For instance, I was told the Shichida program is slower. The children also do more puzzle-like activities, although I think that is changing in Heguru because I’ve noticed an increase in puzzle activities for the kids since Gavin first started.
The general program is pretty similar because both Shichida and Heguru stem from the same source. All I know is that there was some falling out and they split into two separate schools. I cannot tell you much else about Shichida classes but I can tell you what is happening in Heguru. According to Ruiko Henmi, they are about to speed up the classes at Heguru and speed is the essence of right brain education. They are also implementing a new program which they have been using in Japan with great success. What I can see in Heguru is that they are constantly updating their program and changing it to make it better. The support from their headquarters is Japan is strong and their founders are committed to the team in Malaysia. That gives me a lot of confidence that Heguru is a good right brain school.
Without knowing more about the Shichida school, I’m afraid I can’t tell you much else about them.
Shen-Li says
Irene – actually it isn’t like kindy. It is a new pre-school class – once a week like they have now – but following the program they are running currently in Japan that has had more success. I think even if you think you can’t do home practice, it is worth while to consider doing the classes with Ben. Whatever you do at home – reading, flash cards, memory linking – if he will do it, then you do it, if he doesn’t want to, then you leave it until he is ready. Ruiko Henmi says the children go through phases and you just have to cater to your child’s individual needs.
Shen-Li says
Joey – Yeah, the waiting list at Shichida put me off as well, plus it was a lot less convenient for me to get there anyway. But based on everything I’ve been seeing and hearing, I am very glad my son is at Heguru. I plan to send my second son soon, too. I sent him when he was a baby, but I stopped because he couldn’t sit still. But now I think this is definitely the program to go all out for, so it’s better if we figure out how to help him settle into the class. Ruiko Henmi has suggested using the 5 minute suggestion, so I’m going to try that.
Chan says
Hi Shen-Li, Irene & Joey,
I’ve sent my kids (age 4+ & 14+mths) to Shichida, TweedleWink and Heguru.
Some parents I’ve spoken to have certain preference for their children. For example, in Shichida (toddlers class) they ‘input’ colors with flashcards followed by ‘output’, hands on activities about colors. Some parents like it because they say it’s got input and output. At Heguru, everything are done at ‘super speed’ and their input activities seem to be more than output but these are changing rite? They are already teaching 600, 700, ft, sq, km, hectare etc to infants. At former TweedleWink, my son loves the movements, the perfect pitch sessions and both love the flashcards dvds (I hug & sit with them while watching it most times).
It really depends on what you’d like your kids learn, if they enjoy the class, if you believe in the school’s philosophies, location convenience, schedules and budget. Shen-Li has got great articles to help shed the light.
We are really blessed to have all the best right brain schools and tools in Malaysia. And let’s pray that we are raising a remarkable generation – wise, brilliant & compassionate 😉
Shen-Li says
Chan – yes it is so important for parents to feel comfortable with the school they are sending their child to. Children feed off our emotions so if we feel uncomfortable, unhappy or if we disagree with any of the philosophies, it will have a negative impact on our children’s learning experience. We are indeed very lucky to have a choice to choose between three right brain schools where some parents in other countries have none. Each school has its own strengths and as much as I would love to send my children to all three, financial constraints require me to choose. I have found it very hard to make that choice because there are elements I like in both TW and Heguru. I, too, hug my children when we watch the TW DVDs.
Hasnaa says
Thank you all very much for your contribution through this very informative and eye opener articles and comments.
I belong to the category of the parents who have no schools of right brain education whatsoever int he region where I live (United Arab Emirates)
Can you please let me know if there is anything or any course that I can do on line or via books …etc to educate my child myself?
Please help me and guide me if there is any way to achieve that.
Many many thanks
Hasnaa
Shen-Li says
Hi Hasnaa,
My pleasure. I am glad to be able to share what I know. Thank you for reading my blog.
Online courses, there is one by Right Brain Kids – They have the TweedleWink and Wink Programs which teach parents how to develop their children’s right brains. TW is for 0-6 and wink is for children 4 years and above (and even adults, too). This is the same group that does the TweedleWink program locally. Their online program teaches parents how to do their own right brain development program at home. They also have a range of products and activities available from their online store.
Shichida wrote a number of books on right brain education. There are four which are written in English (the rest are in Chinese and Japanese). You can buy them directly from the Shichida Japan website. The problem with these books is that they aren’t very specific with the methodology. Another book is Quantum Speed Reading by Yumiko Tobitani. You can read the program outline here:
https://www.figur8.net/right-brain-training-home-practice-guide/
https://www.figur8.net/quantum-speed-reading-practice-program-for-children/
https://www.figur8.net/quantum-speed-reading-practice-program-for-adults/
I also have a list of right brain activities that you can do at home here:
https://figur8.net/baby/2010/07/27/right-brain-activities-for-home-practice-part-1/
Hope that helps!