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Heguru is a right brain training program that is supposed to help enhance a child’s learning abilities. It is very similar to the Shichida Method explained in this video.

They claim 25 years of research and a proven effectiveness for improving comprehension, memory, analysis, innovation and creative skills. By activating the right brain, we can enhance these areas and improve sporting and artistic skills. The intention of this program is to maximise a child’s potential by developing the right brain and balancing the interaction between the left and right brain.

My SIL who studied brain development once told me that part of the reason why Autistic individuals display genius potential is because there is a flaw in the connection between their left brain and right brain. Without the limiting factors of the left brain, the right brain has the ability to manifest its full potential. The reason why most individuals are unable to tap into this “genius” is because of our dominant left brains. Therefore it makes sense that if we can take advantage of the right brain and develop it properly, we can tap into this “genius” potential.

What Heguru can achieve:

Based on what I saw, children who underwent the program could speed read books and write verbatim what they read. They had the ability to compute complex math problems instantaneously. They could recognise quantities without counting. For instance, if you showed them a card with 67 red dots, they could tell you how many dots were on the card without counting. They could recall patterns exactly after viewing them just briefly.

Heguru has been available in Japan for years and only recently started in Malaysia. The center in Malaysia is in The Boulevard, Midvalley. They have 4 programs:

prenatal (which begins from the fourth month onwards)
infant and toddler (6 months to 3 years)
pre-school (4-6 years)
elementary (7-12 years)

The classes are an hour long and held once a week. Children 3 years and under are accompanied by their parents. Children 4 years and above attend the classes on their own.

Fees:

Registration: RM100
Monthly fee: RM400
Monthly deposit: RM400
Utility deposit: RM500 (refundable upon termination of classes)

To stop classes, you have to provide one month’s notice. The monthly deposit is payment for the final month.

At Gavin’s school, the principal once told me that one of the brightest pupils at school was a girl who attended the Shichida program. However, there were another two boys who also attended Shichida who were not as bright as the girl. Having spoken to a mother who sends her son for Shichida, I was made aware that although the classes were held once a week, parents were supposed to “review” materials at home with their children in between classes for maximum effect.

There are plenty of reasons for the discrepancy between the girl and the two boys. Perhaps the Shichida method worked better for the way a girl’s mind is wired. Perhaps it was because it suited the girl’s style of development. Perhaps it was because the girl’s parents were more diligent at home with reviewing the materials.

The only way I can ensure that Gavin gets the most out of the program is to review the materials with him at home. But when I asked them whether it was possible to buy the flashcards and materials they used in class, I was told that they only sold blank cards and you had to make your own. I also figured that if we had the materials at home then I could replicate what they did in class just in case Gavin refused to pay attention in class (which is a high probability).

So I went looking around for similar materials I could use at home…

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After assessing Gavin’s progress at school with the extended hours program, I’ve decided to cut back to the half day program. My hope that he would follow the herd by eating better and sleeping more regularly during the afternoons does not appear to happening. Although he did nap a couple of times at school, he usually stays up while the other children sleep. According to the teachers, he is still rejecting the food they serve at school except for what I pack for him to eat at school.

So instead of trying to flog a dead horse, I’ve decided to try a few new things. We’ll keep the half day school program. Since he obviously prefers to skip the afternoon nap, I’ve decided to start my own afternoon program with him. We’ll visit the National Museum and other places that I had planned to take him to see but never got around to it because I got pregnant with Gareth and got too tired to go, and finish our tour of the Petrosains Discovery Center that we never completed.

I’ve also decided to start him on a Right Brain Training program called Henguru which I heard about from one of my readers. Based on what I have seen, it looks pretty much like the Shichida Method. The idea is to stimulate the right brain, which is most active from birth to about six years of age, to help develop photographic memory, speed reading skills, analytical skills, innovative and creative skills, and sensitivity to the needs of others. It is said that after the first six years, the left brain begins to dominate.

Hubby and I have always agreed that we don’t want the boys to be bogged down with intense academic programs and loads of homework. We believe they should have an all-rounded education and a balanced lifestyle. We don’t want them to study at school, then rush off to tuition classes and come home with a tonne of homework everyday. We want them to learn to be street smart. At the end of the day, success in the real world isn’t necessarily how well you do at school and what you can learn at school. It is the sum of your experiences.

So why send them to Henguru? The intention is not for them to be the best in their class at school but to make the whole process of learning easier. Imagine if you had a photographic memory and you could speed read – how much easier would it have been at school?

Some people have argued that if you make school too easy, kids get bored and become disruptive. In my opinion, the skills developed at Henguru does not necessarily mean school will be boring. There is too much in life to learn for anyone to know everything. Developing skills such as speed reading and a photographic memory just improves the tools they will have to learn with.

Secondly, if you have read the post on “The Inverse Power of Praise“, you may agree with me that the “smart” kids who are “bored and disruptive” in class are those that have been raised on the wrong kind of praise. They are the ones who have been led to believe that intelligence is finite and that making mistakes makes them look stupid. They are afraid of tackling problems that they could potentially fail at and therefore end up appearing “bored and disruptive” in class.

The classes at Henguru are designed from six months onwards so Gareth is currently too young for the program. However, it does give me enough time to evaluate the classes to determine whether it is worthwhile sending him. On the flip side, it was probably rather brave of me to sign Gavin up given his past history with mother-child classes. My only hope is that he’s much older now with school experience so hopefully he will be more attentive in these classes. If not, well, there’s always Gareth.