What is Right Brain Education and what is the hype around it?

When I first learned about right-brain education or in general about early childhood education, when Ananya was in the womb, and I had no clue about it.  My CEO presented me with a book called "30 Million Words," which fascinated me and naturally started reading about how the brain develops in children. As I researched more and more, on this, I realized all children are born genius; they truly are!

Today, let's delve into the what and why behind early childhood education, and particularly the why behind Right Brain Education.

Understanding Early Education

Have you ever wondered how a child effortlessly picks up an entire language without being explicitly taught any nuances like the nouns, sentence formation or the present or past tenses? Patricia Kuhl a researcher of Speech and Hearing Science did a study that revealed that a baby can learn any language better than an average adult in their lifetime (whoa!). If you were to replace a child born in the US with one in Japan, they would pick up the language just like that. She fondly calls them "citizens of the world." So, How is this possible? How do they do it?

For us to understand this we need to talk about our brain—it's a fascinating organ made of several neurons. These neurons are the ones and nerves that connect, and the more they wire, the better the retention of memory. In a child's brain, millions of neuron connections are made in a mere second. How fascinating!

Also, there is a reason why human childhood is longer than that of other animals. As Alison Gopnik rightly points out in her TED talk it takes all this time to wire our neurons.

Why bother caring about this at such an early age? Because the human brain grows exponentially before the age of 7, with about 90% of the brain forming during this period.

Here's an image to illustrate brain growth:

Image Credit: https://modules.ilabs.uw.edu/module/first-2000-days-matter/tomas-biology-experience/

What is right brain education?

Coming back to our fantastic brain, it's also divided into the left and the right. The left is more logical, and the right is more intuitive. Right brain education is all about stimulating the right side of the brain.

Why?

So why exactly the right side of the brain? It comes with several characteristics, including:

• Emotional Intelligence

• Creativity

• Memory

• Concentration

• Analytical Skills

• Memory

It's often stated that the right side of the brain holds dominance during the ages of 0 to 7. Specifically, within the initial 3 years, the right side exclusively takes the lead, and it's only from the age of 3 onward that the left side begins its development alongside the right. Given the prominence of the right side during these crucial early years and its diminishing growth afterward, it's better to maximize this period to approach brain development in a holistic manner.