Well, I'm with Ben Goldacre in this affair. I won't deny that some of the brain gym exercises may have benefits for the student, but not because of stimulation of carotid arteria or other of this BS!! It's because students get a break, some water and physical exercise.
From personal experience, during long stretches of studying, I felt more refreshed and ready for another stretch of learning after a glass of water and a nice walk for 10 minutes.
Maybe I unknowingly stimulated my brain buttons???
Brain Gym is part of why teachers are not thought of as professionals. If they can be duped by this quackery, what else will they fall for? In what other profession would this junk science be so widespread?
There should be a jail for these bloody charlatans. This is sickening.
Why am I not surprised that this shite comes from the USA? They'll be wanting to teach religion in schools next! Keep this bullshit to yourself and leave the children alone (execpt that little twat at 9:02 - per se, my ass!).
@Nilguiri I do not see what is wrong with understanding other religions. I do feel it is a problem if it is being demonstrated as scientific fact. I hope that this was the point you were making. However, I agree with your point on brain gym.
I agree, religion must be studied in an anthropological context; it has shaped human history since it was invented.
If people choose to sign up to a church and listen to this superstitious mumbo jumbo, they are obviously free to do so, but to teach "theology" or pseudoscience like this as if it were in any way factual is an abuse of students of all ages and hijacking the country's education system to promote their own particular fairy stories.
the problem is that no university or enyone else want to make reaserch on brain gym. Well, when I was little I was doing this excercises. I have dyslexia. And it think it helped me (I also read a lot of books this time so maybe it was reading). It couldn't be placebo beacuse I didn't like this gym and my parents made me to do it.
@Caraboo1992 The placebo effect has nothing to do with one's willingness. In every proper study ever done, its been shwn to be based on the preconceptions of the parties involved (whether or not the patient and doctor believe the treatment will work for example). It's obvious that more exercise, fun and drinking water in schools can improve concentration in pupils. Almost all school classes are beter behaved after settling back in from lunchtime, especially compared to just before a break.
i dont give a toss about brain gyms.........just the dress of the woman presenter 24/03/2011...she looks like she's been dragged thru a hedge backwards.
Sorry if what I was saying was interpreted in a manner which deserved the tone of your reply. I was intent on a bit of a good natured sparring debate. But if you feel I came across as unconstructive and a total dick. I apologise. It wasn't my intent, but perception is reality. So again - sorry. I kinda get a kick out of antagonising the "lost knowledge ancient genius!" discovery channel/ancient medicine type assertions. Mostly I figure it's safe because they're long dead:D
The point was - and is - framing the ancient knowledge as informed by an understanding of subjects of which they were ignorant by a matter of millenia is highly questionable and a misappropriation of responsible origin. To the point it offers not only little to understanding, but detracts from it. "certain pressure points on the body are directly ..." How many misses from that domain are you ignoring to cite your hit, attributable to coincidence.
@ForCurrentUse ah - the ancient knowledge fallacy. The scientific method, and from that a fully formed understanding of human physiology are very recent achievements. What the ancients knew has little bearing on whether or not their knowledge was correct. The assertions must be tested with according scientific rigour to establish their accuracy. There's a great divide between what we want to be, and what actually is. The more emphasis on the former typically blinds one to the latter. Just stop.
those poor misinformed children! it was a little like watching poor children of creationists answering the question, "how was the earth made?" the crap they've been taught! the nonsense they believe! and if braingym is successful, they why did that little ginger boy misuse 'per se'? (he's gonna be so embarassed by this footage when he's twenty!!!) hippies.
what a fucking surprise! a teacher with a class of twenty, white, well-scrubbed darlings, in the heart of Cheshire believes that chanting 'walawalawalawala' is the cause of academic success.
I wonder if any of these people writing negative comments here, have any studies on the brain, education or anything related to this. Are all of them just writing here because? Or they have proven scientifically that these exercises don't work?
At my school we have a activity week and according to my timetable tommorow I have braingym. Oh dear. This was made more than 2 years ago .Have we not learnt?
There is nothing comical about this - it's a tragedy. Instead of being educated, our children are being inducted into a New Age cult by gullible teachers at the behest of the overpaid quangocrats who constitute the real, unelected (and therefore unaccountable) executive in our unfortunate country.
You might as well trust public education to the Moonies.
Did you know that there is a new part to the brain gym? Its specifically targets males and improves their hand writing as well as their cognitive activity. Heres how to do it! Firstly hum "oooooo" like they do in the video at 1:15 . Secondly put your fingers in a C shape and twist your bollocks, this should make your "oooooo" go at least an octave higher. Finally, if you believe in brain gym and you're a teacher. Please go back to school, don't say a word. Study biology until you understand it!!
@ Oneworld87. There is nothing wrong with using ritualistic behaviour to improve attention etc... However teaching that there is a 'scientific' basis for these activities is completely wrong. Science teaching and literacy is important, really important, and this sort of rubbish undermines that very purpose,.
@Oneworld87 because it sends completely the wrong message about what constitutes science. We should be teaching our students why this stuff is bullshit NOT pulling the wool over their eyes.
@wideheadofknowledge The placebo effect is both, an effective means and a shrouded phenomenon in science. However, I do agree that a "cheaper" placebo would be most efficient over the cost for a Brain Gym program to be employed throughout the school system; further, anything acquiring a greater effectiveness over an educational oriented placebo should be migrated over this too.
@Oneworld87 You miss my point, I think. Brain Gym makes specific claims that are demonstrably false. This kind of New Age nonsense, fostered in students at a vital age, could have far reaching effects in the future. We need our future generations armed and ready to tackle things like CAM. This will not help.
Mr Dennison said he's very keen for scientific enquiry into Brain Gym, I don't think he's trying to trick anyone. He also said the teachers manual will be revised. I have the teachers manual myself, and use it in training choirs. The difference is marked!
Whether the science is right is up to the scientists to prove or disprove. Interesting that the Cambridge scientist interviewed did not say Brain Gym doesn't work, nor did he say the science is wrong? He just doubted it was right. Jury is out?
Actually the "science" is up to the Brain Gym people to prove. At first presented Brain Gym theories which should have been supported by evidence and peer reviewed. The aim of science is to test different hypotheses with experiment to find the most succesful explaination. Without the experiment they are just making up stories and selling them.
He didnt say the science was definately wrong because as a scientist, you can never be certain that Brain Gym will never be right... its just very likely
Brain Gym started with the work of opthomologists and reading specialists. If your eye doctor told you to do a certain exercise to strengthen your eye teaming ability would you tell him he is a liar and making money off his unsuspecting patients? And since you do not know the science that is actually behind BG, why don't you ask those who do, instead of trusting news presentations that clearly have derogatory agendas. A child who can now read/write...brainwashed? Now there's a clever deduction.
if the exercise he advised wasnt supported by properly conducted research I wouldnt continue to consult him.I do know the science behind braingym or rather the fakescience.I have a degree in psychology,another in physiology and a postgrad in cognitive pschology.Like homeopathy,it may help some people but its completely unfounded in fact.
Don't you just love witchcraft in the class room? I have all the books and shite from this group of frauds, what a load of tripe. Although I have to admit, sometimes when I touch myself just right, the blood does tend to rush.
There is not a one of you on here deriding Brain Gym who has done any of it, or studied the system. That neuroscientist from Cambridge...he wasn't even doing that one exercise correctly, and didn't describe it accurately! Some scientist! There is peer reviewed literature for those who want to see it, and anyone who has actually experienced a BG balance for themselves or their child can tell you it is effective. Ask a parent who's child can now read, write or speak clearly who couldn't before.
There is not a one of us on here deriding Brain Gym who needs to have done any of it, in order to realise that it is bullshit. A modicum of critical intelligence and a decent science education are perfectly sufficient to warrant its dismissal.
If you told anyone that the right hemisphere was as functionally important as the left 100 yrs ago they would have thought you were also lacking in that same "modicum of critical intelligence" you believe you have. No matter...the basic tenants of Brain Gym or any other movement based educational system continues to change people's lives all over the world. And it does so despite those who lack the integrity it would take to actually check out what is being ignorantly spoken of.
Whether the peer review studies show that Brain Gym has any positive effects is irrelivent. The point of the debate is that this movement has presented loads of untested hypotheses as scientific fact. Look how brainwashed those children were. How are these kids supposed to learn how to practice science whilst simultainiously being fed unscientific "facts" by the same teacher.
We use Brain Gym and Rhythmic Movement training in our preschool. I used to think it was ridiculous and waste of time. But, seeing a bunch of hyped up preschoolers willingly settle into a work routine after finishing the PACE routine of Brain Gym and other reflex integration exercises, I see the value. I use it for stress. It helps my ADHD son focus on homework. What scientific evidence supports lack of Phys.ED., pumping kids full of junk food and letting them play on computers to learn?
first of all, this is highly biased journalism. obviously if reporter starts the story with a condescending, mocking tone, everyone who watches is going to be skeptical.
U british should be thankful that at least schools try stuff like this. In America, if kids have trouble focusing, we just give them amphetamines or methylphenidates. exercise in general improves focus and learning. So even if there is no research on these particular exercises, they are still exercise, therefore, work.
The reason why Mr Paxman begins the article in a condescending tone is simply because he is a highly intelligent individual who will not treat ridiculous and foolish concepts such as "Brain Gym" with any degree of seriousness. Why should he.
Expecting Mr Paxman to take Brain Gym seriously would be an insult to his integrity, as the whole concept of Brain Gym is unabashed foolishness.
Newsnight does it again. This is a TERRIBLE piece of reporting. Brain Gym can be a tremendous way of focusing young people and helping them to learn. Are there ANY parents of children who use some of these techniques writing such purile knee jerk comments as seen here? Don't believe Paxman and Co.'s bad journalism.
I used to think Brain Gym was a bunch of baloney. But, in the last two years, using Brain Gym and Rhythmic Movement Training in my preschool and with my family, I have seen major shifts in ability to focus and use logic.
Without Brain Gym would you have expected to have seen any improvement in your family's ability to focus and use logic? I have never used brain gym, but I distinctly remember my young children getting much cleverer in the two years between their 6th and 8th birthdays. Weird huh?
Wow its funny how people make uninformed comments how "brain gym" is bullshit. However I will agree that many of its claims are over exaggerated, but the fact is most of the exercises are designed to increase concentration and multi-tasking. Which is something alot of people are generally lacking in today. And from what I've seen first hand from the progress it has made at durning my senior year of highschool
Brilliant! Brain Gym really works, it is scientifically researched and proven! Instead of just beeing so dam narrow minded, why do you not investigate it properly before making stupid unimformed comments!
Gee Amazing Arthur, DO YOUR RESEARCH...New Age quackery? Homeopathy and acupuncture have been around for centuries. And here is a history lesson for you. Homeopathy used to be taught in all the medical schools until Rockafeller used his financial clout to get our wonderful government to force medical schools to teach hospital and pharmaceutical-based medicine if schools wanted money...Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls.
Can anyone say "argument from antiquity?" Because they used to do it in ancient times, it must be good now? Homeopathy along with reiki, acupuncture, etc..is all fake. Check out the peer reviewed science on all of this supplementary, complimentary, alternative medicine or s.c.a.m. for short.
Poo has been around for millions of years that doesnt make it anymore or less worthy.
Just cuz something has been around a long time doesnt mean shit.
People think our bodies react however they wanna think. In my opinion or body is a pretty crappy machine that has it moments. But peaks and then drones on.Brain and body.
Having dealt with a few primary school teachers over the years this is unfortunately not surprising. You only have to listen to the wimpy waffle of the headteacher featured to spot her as a soft target for snake oil salesmen.
I don't doubt that some of the exercises *could* improve learning performance (e.g. by relaxing the pupils), but without proper scientific studies to prove it Brain Gym has no place in our schools. It's clear that the (pseudo)science behind it is hideously wrong.
I know people who have done BrianGym and benefited greatly from it. The people behind it may be holistic loonies but who cares, as long as it helps people.
It would be great to get some real scientific facts behind it though.
Brain buttons, energy yawns and hook ups, this stuff is brilliant. I am off to do a brain fart. It scares me the the uk education have fallen for this crap, even the children are feeding back this bullshit.
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Why people bullshit this and bullshit that before really understand what is it?
If teachers, special needs educators, kids and parents find this technique is useful for them after experiencing it. Why others (non-user) barking around? Then, who is the real nonsense? If it doesn't help, why teachers bothered to teach their students? Do they have extra money to do so or they do so from their heart and love?
The thing is, Brain Gym has no basis in reality. Any benefit gained from practicing it could just as easily be gained from standing on your head, or writing your name backwards if it were under the auspices of "improving your cognitive abilities through exercise and neural cross-wiring." It costs a school system money to include Brain Gym in their curriculum. This money could be put to use on programs that have been proven to help beyond the placebo effect.
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If the media clip had encouraged the benefits of the program and not a negative critique, all of your comments would be different...you would be Oooing and Ahhing and trying every exercise yourself. The media's spin is what influenced most of you, not an informed opinion. There is nothing wrong with this program, it just needs some updating, having been written some years back. It's a great way to direct kids into legitimate movement while they are confined to desks during assignments/tests.
You're a very keen spokesperson for BG aren't you MoroccoIce? I notice you registered with youtube 2 days ago, shortly after this video was put up... You couldn't possibly be an employee of BG by any chance could you?
No, I am truly not. I am a special ed. teacher and a colleague mentioned this to me, so i checked it out. there is no agenda here, just voicing my opinion, as I've used the exercises with kids, many of which enjoy them. As with everything, the media tries to control the thinking of others. There are positives and negatives to every program. Take from it what works for you, or don't....
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With a Masters of Science in Brain Research, I am hardly gullible on the subject. Yes,the program can use updating. I took it from face value, as an EDUCATED educator, and simply tried the exercises with the kids: not looking for a 'cure-all', but from the perspective of exercise being beneficial.
I joined YT only a few days ago b/c I have better things to do. If leaving anonymous, slanderous msgs is how you all get your jollies on YT, I definitely don't need to 'credit' you w/a damn thing
If you have an MS in 'brain research' then why on earth would you support a system that gives kids an entirely unscientific spiel about the brain? Yeah excercise is great, they do it in PE, without having to surrender their education to some new-ageist bullshit doctrine of 'brain buttons' and 'energy points'. If excercise is useful in the classroom then use it, but why all the mumbo-jumbo?
For an 'EDUCATED educator', you seem rather relaxed about what the children are actually being educated in.
Beautiful argument from authority there. Bravo! Doesn't change the fact that there is ZERO evidence to back the claims of BrainGym. You gullible twot!
Exercises such as these are wonderful for our special needs kids. Some others on here are over-reacting for sure. As I said, people should take from it what works for them, if not, so be it. I am glad it is working for your son, as it had for many of my students.
Sounds more placebo than anything in how it works.
Placebos can be incredibly powerful though. Now doubt this can help young children relax and focus more, but the same thing could be accomplished without lying to them and telling them rubbing there face will make them smarter. Tell them its to make them relax.
Lying to them like this can only serve to make the children more ignorant in the long run even if it makes them focus more in the short term imo.
God help us all. We're turning into a nation of stupid New Age idiots. I'm getting out before these poor kids become coppers or politicians or judges.
Even the ancient Greeks knew that regular exercise improves your ability to think. The form of the exercises is not important, it's important that they are exercising. Many schools have eliminated recess since it is 'not academic' and only academic goals are thought worth pursuing in many cultish school districts. The exotic parts of the BrainGym theories are silly, but you have to have this sort of presentation to get permission from the administration to allow kids to exercise.
look, they're not actually exercising! They're performing meaningless New Age rituals with no scientific benefit. There are real gym programs which could be put into practice instead of this.
Oh I agree with you a real gymnastics program would be a far better program, but these days you'll never get funding and approval from a school board for that. Exercise, art and music are all considered frivolous wastes of time that take away from time that should be spend memorizing facts for quizzes.
The most horrifying moment is when the kids at 8'48'' start regurgitating the drivel they've been force-fed, about blood flow and "connecting the two sides of the brain."
I did like the little pretentious kid who misuses the term "per se"- chuckle.
Why do the speaker's lips not coincide with the dialogue (2'05")? It's like a very badly dubbed foreign film or one of those IRA interviews during the "broadcasting ban".
It was disturbing to hear the kids spouting nonsense about energy, blood flow and connecting two halves of the brain. They'll probably go through their whole lives believing that.
Someone should pass fake exercises off as 'genuine' brain gym and seeing if there's any difference.
This has been going on for ages. Over a year ago, when I went to my daughter's school for a maths evening, they asked all us parents to stand up and do these activities.
I was the ONLY ONE who refused. I could tell straight away that it was bullshit.
I was responding just below to a very old post someone made who had considered the efficacy of the system. It seems it was placed out of sequence. I'll respond to captainmadguns separately.
There has to be a public enquiry into this. One of the worst and shocking scandals to hit British education in decades! Where were the procedures, safe guards to stop a cult like Brain Gym infecting British schools?!? Many heads should roll at ofsted they failed abysmally to protect our children.
It's no big surprise that exercise and contemplation can have significant advantages. Even though the science is wrong, the effects are good because exercise does improve learning.
Schools already teach religion. We should block that too if working pseudo-science has no place there either.
One of my teachers made me do that shit! she had us hop around while playing "flight of the bumble bee with the lights off. NOT KIDDING!!!!!
bassbass99able 2 weeks ago
Brain buttons? Why did no-one mention these in the two years of anatomy classes I took?
0mniaV1nc1t 1 month ago
Well, I'm with Ben Goldacre in this affair. I won't deny that some of the brain gym exercises may have benefits for the student, but not because of stimulation of carotid arteria or other of this BS!! It's because students get a break, some water and physical exercise.
From personal experience, during long stretches of studying, I felt more refreshed and ready for another stretch of learning after a glass of water and a nice walk for 10 minutes.
Maybe I unknowingly stimulated my brain buttons???
99smite 1 month ago
hahahaha i went to this primary school
04davenportd 2 months ago
Brain Gym is part of why teachers are not thought of as professionals. If they can be duped by this quackery, what else will they fall for? In what other profession would this junk science be so widespread?
jayhawkpaula 3 months ago
There should be a jail for these bloody charlatans. This is sickening.
Why am I not surprised that this shite comes from the USA? They'll be wanting to teach religion in schools next! Keep this bullshit to yourself and leave the children alone (execpt that little twat at 9:02 - per se, my ass!).
Nilguiri 9 months ago
@Nilguiri I do not see what is wrong with understanding other religions. I do feel it is a problem if it is being demonstrated as scientific fact. I hope that this was the point you were making. However, I agree with your point on brain gym.
theshadowling1 4 months ago
@theshadowling1
I agree, religion must be studied in an anthropological context; it has shaped human history since it was invented.
If people choose to sign up to a church and listen to this superstitious mumbo jumbo, they are obviously free to do so, but to teach "theology" or pseudoscience like this as if it were in any way factual is an abuse of students of all ages and hijacking the country's education system to promote their own particular fairy stories.
Nilguiri 4 months ago
the problem is that no university or enyone else want to make reaserch on brain gym. Well, when I was little I was doing this excercises. I have dyslexia. And it think it helped me (I also read a lot of books this time so maybe it was reading). It couldn't be placebo beacuse I didn't like this gym and my parents made me to do it.
Caraboo1992 10 months ago
@Caraboo1992 The placebo effect has nothing to do with one's willingness. In every proper study ever done, its been shwn to be based on the preconceptions of the parties involved (whether or not the patient and doctor believe the treatment will work for example). It's obvious that more exercise, fun and drinking water in schools can improve concentration in pupils. Almost all school classes are beter behaved after settling back in from lunchtime, especially compared to just before a break.
SAPer28190 9 months ago
Someone ought to come up with a less ritualistic version of this without the pseudoscience, and then distribute it round schools for free.
Teghead 10 months ago
i dont give a toss about brain gyms.........just the dress of the woman presenter 24/03/2011...she looks like she's been dragged thru a hedge backwards.
urbeinghunted 11 months ago
God Help us! A head teacher in modern-day Britain apparently thinks there is such a word as "languaging".
MrTobytwirl 1 year ago 5
disgrace to our nation and educational system
AVJRoutledge 1 year ago
@ForCurrentUse ok.
Sorry if what I was saying was interpreted in a manner which deserved the tone of your reply. I was intent on a bit of a good natured sparring debate. But if you feel I came across as unconstructive and a total dick. I apologise. It wasn't my intent, but perception is reality. So again - sorry. I kinda get a kick out of antagonising the "lost knowledge ancient genius!" discovery channel/ancient medicine type assertions. Mostly I figure it's safe because they're long dead:D
GraeHall 1 year ago
@ForCurrentUse: Fortunately I did not say that.
The point was - and is - framing the ancient knowledge as informed by an understanding of subjects of which they were ignorant by a matter of millenia is highly questionable and a misappropriation of responsible origin. To the point it offers not only little to understanding, but detracts from it. "certain pressure points on the body are directly ..." How many misses from that domain are you ignoring to cite your hit, attributable to coincidence.
GraeHall 1 year ago
@ForCurrentUse ah - the ancient knowledge fallacy. The scientific method, and from that a fully formed understanding of human physiology are very recent achievements. What the ancients knew has little bearing on whether or not their knowledge was correct. The assertions must be tested with according scientific rigour to establish their accuracy. There's a great divide between what we want to be, and what actually is. The more emphasis on the former typically blinds one to the latter. Just stop.
GraeHall 1 year ago
those poor misinformed children! it was a little like watching poor children of creationists answering the question, "how was the earth made?" the crap they've been taught! the nonsense they believe! and if braingym is successful, they why did that little ginger boy misuse 'per se'? (he's gonna be so embarassed by this footage when he's twenty!!!) hippies.
MrTonyInchpractice 1 year ago
what a fucking surprise! a teacher with a class of twenty, white, well-scrubbed darlings, in the heart of Cheshire believes that chanting 'walawalawalawala' is the cause of academic success.
MrTonyInchpractice 1 year ago
@FlyingLinguini Not at all.
34roberees 1 year ago
I wonder if any of these people writing negative comments here, have any studies on the brain, education or anything related to this. Are all of them just writing here because? Or they have proven scientifically that these exercises don't work?
34roberees 1 year ago
My mom paid a lot of money and made me go to this stupid lady to do brain gym exercises when I was younger. I would have rather had a new Xbox...
LIGHTRONIX 1 year ago
At my school we have a activity week and according to my timetable tommorow I have braingym. Oh dear. This was made more than 2 years ago .Have we not learnt?
Josephfuture 1 year ago
There is nothing comical about this - it's a tragedy. Instead of being educated, our children are being inducted into a New Age cult by gullible teachers at the behest of the overpaid quangocrats who constitute the real, unelected (and therefore unaccountable) executive in our unfortunate country.
You might as well trust public education to the Moonies.
JekyllBoote 1 year ago
This is beyond embarrassing.
wideheadofknowledge 1 year ago
Did you know that there is a new part to the brain gym? Its specifically targets males and improves their hand writing as well as their cognitive activity. Heres how to do it! Firstly hum "oooooo" like they do in the video at 1:15 . Secondly put your fingers in a C shape and twist your bollocks, this should make your "oooooo" go at least an octave higher. Finally, if you believe in brain gym and you're a teacher. Please go back to school, don't say a word. Study biology until you understand it!!
fishfishdogwoof 1 year ago
I did this here in New Zealand about 10 years ago. I don't know if it worked but it beat maths!
oOJimmySueOo 1 year ago
I think you'll get like 500% of the effect of brain gym just by going for a jog in the morning and drinking more water
Chewy427 1 year ago
I love that
"qualified brain gym instructor"
I have just had a brilliant idea
"the brain toilet"
freezatron 2 years ago 3
@ Oneworld87. There is nothing wrong with using ritualistic behaviour to improve attention etc... However teaching that there is a 'scientific' basis for these activities is completely wrong. Science teaching and literacy is important, really important, and this sort of rubbish undermines that very purpose,.
samwardell 2 years ago 5
It IS up to the BG people to prove their claims just like medical companies test their products before they go on the market.
It MAY help kids but then again a lot of exercise is relaxing. Why not just get the kids to do tai chi or go for a swim?
More science in schools and less mumbo-jumbo.
AnCrubag 2 years ago 3
There's no harm in them receiving a placebo effect if it helps them develop, so why not employ it?
Oneworld87 2 years ago
@Oneworld87 because it sends completely the wrong message about what constitutes science. We should be teaching our students why this stuff is bullshit NOT pulling the wool over their eyes.
wideheadofknowledge 1 year ago
@wideheadofknowledge The placebo effect is both, an effective means and a shrouded phenomenon in science. However, I do agree that a "cheaper" placebo would be most efficient over the cost for a Brain Gym program to be employed throughout the school system; further, anything acquiring a greater effectiveness over an educational oriented placebo should be migrated over this too.
Oneworld87 1 year ago
@Oneworld87 You miss my point, I think. Brain Gym makes specific claims that are demonstrably false. This kind of New Age nonsense, fostered in students at a vital age, could have far reaching effects in the future. We need our future generations armed and ready to tackle things like CAM. This will not help.
wideheadofknowledge 1 year ago
Mr Dennison said he's very keen for scientific enquiry into Brain Gym, I don't think he's trying to trick anyone. He also said the teachers manual will be revised. I have the teachers manual myself, and use it in training choirs. The difference is marked!
Whether the science is right is up to the scientists to prove or disprove. Interesting that the Cambridge scientist interviewed did not say Brain Gym doesn't work, nor did he say the science is wrong? He just doubted it was right. Jury is out?
ChoralMusicServices 2 years ago
Actually the "science" is up to the Brain Gym people to prove. At first presented Brain Gym theories which should have been supported by evidence and peer reviewed. The aim of science is to test different hypotheses with experiment to find the most succesful explaination. Without the experiment they are just making up stories and selling them.
He didnt say the science was definately wrong because as a scientist, you can never be certain that Brain Gym will never be right... its just very likely
captainmadguns 2 years ago 6
Brain Gym started with the work of opthomologists and reading specialists. If your eye doctor told you to do a certain exercise to strengthen your eye teaming ability would you tell him he is a liar and making money off his unsuspecting patients? And since you do not know the science that is actually behind BG, why don't you ask those who do, instead of trusting news presentations that clearly have derogatory agendas. A child who can now read/write...brainwashed? Now there's a clever deduction.
houndzark 2 years ago
if the exercise he advised wasnt supported by properly conducted research I wouldnt continue to consult him.I do know the science behind braingym or rather the fakescience.I have a degree in psychology,another in physiology and a postgrad in cognitive pschology.Like homeopathy,it may help some people but its completely unfounded in fact.
billysue2 2 years ago
the jury isnt out,this 1 doesnt even make it to court its so ridiculous.
billysue2 2 years ago
Don't you just love witchcraft in the class room? I have all the books and shite from this group of frauds, what a load of tripe. Although I have to admit, sometimes when I touch myself just right, the blood does tend to rush.
glekozip 2 years ago 2
There is not a one of you on here deriding Brain Gym who has done any of it, or studied the system. That neuroscientist from Cambridge...he wasn't even doing that one exercise correctly, and didn't describe it accurately! Some scientist! There is peer reviewed literature for those who want to see it, and anyone who has actually experienced a BG balance for themselves or their child can tell you it is effective. Ask a parent who's child can now read, write or speak clearly who couldn't before.
houndzark 2 years ago
There is not a one of us on here deriding Brain Gym who needs to have done any of it, in order to realise that it is bullshit. A modicum of critical intelligence and a decent science education are perfectly sufficient to warrant its dismissal.
leawardseif 2 years ago
If you told anyone that the right hemisphere was as functionally important as the left 100 yrs ago they would have thought you were also lacking in that same "modicum of critical intelligence" you believe you have. No matter...the basic tenants of Brain Gym or any other movement based educational system continues to change people's lives all over the world. And it does so despite those who lack the integrity it would take to actually check out what is being ignorantly spoken of.
houndzark 2 years ago
Whether the peer review studies show that Brain Gym has any positive effects is irrelivent. The point of the debate is that this movement has presented loads of untested hypotheses as scientific fact. Look how brainwashed those children were. How are these kids supposed to learn how to practice science whilst simultainiously being fed unscientific "facts" by the same teacher.
captainmadguns 2 years ago
Brain gym is nonsence!!!!!
richardmoores 2 years ago
We use Brain Gym and Rhythmic Movement training in our preschool. I used to think it was ridiculous and waste of time. But, seeing a bunch of hyped up preschoolers willingly settle into a work routine after finishing the PACE routine of Brain Gym and other reflex integration exercises, I see the value. I use it for stress. It helps my ADHD son focus on homework. What scientific evidence supports lack of Phys.ED., pumping kids full of junk food and letting them play on computers to learn?
pennyarcos 2 years ago
first of all, this is highly biased journalism. obviously if reporter starts the story with a condescending, mocking tone, everyone who watches is going to be skeptical.
U british should be thankful that at least schools try stuff like this. In America, if kids have trouble focusing, we just give them amphetamines or methylphenidates. exercise in general improves focus and learning. So even if there is no research on these particular exercises, they are still exercise, therefore, work.
hosmani2 2 years ago
The reason why Mr Paxman begins the article in a condescending tone is simply because he is a highly intelligent individual who will not treat ridiculous and foolish concepts such as "Brain Gym" with any degree of seriousness. Why should he.
Expecting Mr Paxman to take Brain Gym seriously would be an insult to his integrity, as the whole concept of Brain Gym is unabashed foolishness.
Meoldson 2 years ago
Newsnight does it again. This is a TERRIBLE piece of reporting. Brain Gym can be a tremendous way of focusing young people and helping them to learn. Are there ANY parents of children who use some of these techniques writing such purile knee jerk comments as seen here? Don't believe Paxman and Co.'s bad journalism.
thedialogueproject 2 years ago
I used to think Brain Gym was a bunch of baloney. But, in the last two years, using Brain Gym and Rhythmic Movement Training in my preschool and with my family, I have seen major shifts in ability to focus and use logic.
pennyarcos 2 years ago
it is a bunch of baloney.Any improvements you see have nothing to do with the brain gym per se.
billysue2 2 years ago 3
Without Brain Gym would you have expected to have seen any improvement in your family's ability to focus and use logic? I have never used brain gym, but I distinctly remember my young children getting much cleverer in the two years between their 6th and 8th birthdays. Weird huh?
kromasome 2 years ago 5
WHAT THE????????????
scasafrass 2 years ago
it makes the smarter ones go wtf is this
felic70 3 years ago
It could just see someone at the SAT rubbing their face, and wasting their test time.
scasafrass 2 years ago
There's a great chapter on this quackery in Ben Goldacres' book "Bad Science".
swinkyuk 3 years ago
Wow its funny how people make uninformed comments how "brain gym" is bullshit. However I will agree that many of its claims are over exaggerated, but the fact is most of the exercises are designed to increase concentration and multi-tasking. Which is something alot of people are generally lacking in today. And from what I've seen first hand from the progress it has made at durning my senior year of highschool
PsyonicSililoquys 3 years ago
High School right?
I strongly suggest read - inform yourself before Giving an opinion.
This actually works at all ages>)
Would be an excellent idea to watch your mouth>
apbmusica2007 3 years ago
"Wow its funny how people make uninformed comments how "brain gym" is bullshit."
Why's that uninformed? Brain gym IS bullshit.
RebelVoDKa 3 years ago 4
Brilliant! Brain Gym really works, it is scientifically researched and proven! Instead of just beeing so dam narrow minded, why do you not investigate it properly before making stupid unimformed comments!
dorotheaLiveandlearn 3 years ago
please point me to this, "scientific research"
blingwave 3 years ago 2
scary. our schools are run by idiocy! Wake up UK, USA, everyone!
kentmage 3 years ago 4
Why aren't more people skeptical of this new age quackery? I guess a lot of Europe embraces homeopathy too. Do your research people!
amazingarthur 3 years ago 8
Gee Amazing Arthur, DO YOUR RESEARCH...New Age quackery? Homeopathy and acupuncture have been around for centuries. And here is a history lesson for you. Homeopathy used to be taught in all the medical schools until Rockafeller used his financial clout to get our wonderful government to force medical schools to teach hospital and pharmaceutical-based medicine if schools wanted money...Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls.
ellenmg 3 years ago
Can anyone say "argument from antiquity?" Because they used to do it in ancient times, it must be good now? Homeopathy along with reiki, acupuncture, etc..is all fake. Check out the peer reviewed science on all of this supplementary, complimentary, alternative medicine or s.c.a.m. for short.
amazingarthur 3 years ago 3
Poo has been around for millions of years that doesnt make it anymore or less worthy.
Just cuz something has been around a long time doesnt mean shit.
People think our bodies react however they wanna think. In my opinion or body is a pretty crappy machine that has it moments. But peaks and then drones on.Brain and body.
lord69z 3 years ago 2
Having dealt with a few primary school teachers over the years this is unfortunately not surprising. You only have to listen to the wimpy waffle of the headteacher featured to spot her as a soft target for snake oil salesmen.
I don't doubt that some of the exercises *could* improve learning performance (e.g. by relaxing the pupils), but without proper scientific studies to prove it Brain Gym has no place in our schools. It's clear that the (pseudo)science behind it is hideously wrong.
Sahmeepee 3 years ago 5
I know people who have done BrianGym and benefited greatly from it. The people behind it may be holistic loonies but who cares, as long as it helps people.
It would be great to get some real scientific facts behind it though.
TomZAm80 3 years ago
Brain buttons, energy yawns and hook ups, this stuff is brilliant. I am off to do a brain fart. It scares me the the uk education have fallen for this crap, even the children are feeding back this bullshit.
dannyom 3 years ago 4
I bet she watches most haunted and eats tofu!
dyspraxia 3 years ago 3
Commercial program from California. Doesn't that set alarm bells ringing?
tardegrade 3 years ago 3
"Can even clear blockages".
Brilliant.
nrubdarb 3 years ago 3
Oh dear.. I thought we were slightly less vunerable to this nonsense than the Americans.. but I guess not.
TawntheAtheist 3 years ago 14
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Why people bullshit this and bullshit that before really understand what is it?
If teachers, special needs educators, kids and parents find this technique is useful for them after experiencing it. Why others (non-user) barking around? Then, who is the real nonsense? If it doesn't help, why teachers bothered to teach their students? Do they have extra money to do so or they do so from their heart and love?
funnymoss 3 years ago
The thing is, Brain Gym has no basis in reality. Any benefit gained from practicing it could just as easily be gained from standing on your head, or writing your name backwards if it were under the auspices of "improving your cognitive abilities through exercise and neural cross-wiring." It costs a school system money to include Brain Gym in their curriculum. This money could be put to use on programs that have been proven to help beyond the placebo effect.
bofthem 3 years ago 16
This comment has received too many negative votes show
If the media clip had encouraged the benefits of the program and not a negative critique, all of your comments would be different...you would be Oooing and Ahhing and trying every exercise yourself. The media's spin is what influenced most of you, not an informed opinion. There is nothing wrong with this program, it just needs some updating, having been written some years back. It's a great way to direct kids into legitimate movement while they are confined to desks during assignments/tests.
MoroccoIce 3 years ago
You're a very keen spokesperson for BG aren't you MoroccoIce? I notice you registered with youtube 2 days ago, shortly after this video was put up... You couldn't possibly be an employee of BG by any chance could you?
murrayg 3 years ago
No, I am truly not. I am a special ed. teacher and a colleague mentioned this to me, so i checked it out. there is no agenda here, just voicing my opinion, as I've used the exercises with kids, many of which enjoy them. As with everything, the media tries to control the thinking of others. There are positives and negatives to every program. Take from it what works for you, or don't....
MoroccoIce 3 years ago
Please credit us with the ability to distinguish media spin from the essence of the story. After all, we're not the gullible ones here...
murrayg 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
With a Masters of Science in Brain Research, I am hardly gullible on the subject. Yes,the program can use updating. I took it from face value, as an EDUCATED educator, and simply tried the exercises with the kids: not looking for a 'cure-all', but from the perspective of exercise being beneficial.
I joined YT only a few days ago b/c I have better things to do. If leaving anonymous, slanderous msgs is how you all get your jollies on YT, I definitely don't need to 'credit' you w/a damn thing
MoroccoIce 3 years ago
If you have an MS in 'brain research' then why on earth would you support a system that gives kids an entirely unscientific spiel about the brain? Yeah excercise is great, they do it in PE, without having to surrender their education to some new-ageist bullshit doctrine of 'brain buttons' and 'energy points'. If excercise is useful in the classroom then use it, but why all the mumbo-jumbo?
For an 'EDUCATED educator', you seem rather relaxed about what the children are actually being educated in.
murrayg 3 years ago 3
Beautiful argument from authority there. Bravo! Doesn't change the fact that there is ZERO evidence to back the claims of BrainGym. You gullible twot!
naimad75 3 years ago 6
Guys, come on, wise up!
I do the exercises as part of my day and I have noticed the improvements that I have made. Anyone who speaks against this CLEARLY has not tried it.
bgwebs 3 years ago
I think this is GREAT. My 5 year old Autistic son's intervention specialist suggested this and so far so so GREAT!!!
nkirksey0114 3 years ago
Exercises such as these are wonderful for our special needs kids. Some others on here are over-reacting for sure. As I said, people should take from it what works for them, if not, so be it. I am glad it is working for your son, as it had for many of my students.
MoroccoIce 3 years ago
looking at the date added I,m hoping this is an april fools prank carried on too long ????
Perhaps not!. Could someone not sue these people for wasting taxes. I'm so f**king angry with this shit.
bardot777 3 years ago
Sounds more placebo than anything in how it works.
Placebos can be incredibly powerful though. Now doubt this can help young children relax and focus more, but the same thing could be accomplished without lying to them and telling them rubbing there face will make them smarter. Tell them its to make them relax.
Lying to them like this can only serve to make the children more ignorant in the long run even if it makes them focus more in the short term imo.
Chronicss 3 years ago
God help us all. We're turning into a nation of stupid New Age idiots. I'm getting out before these poor kids become coppers or politicians or judges.
pedroborough 3 years ago 2
Even the ancient Greeks knew that regular exercise improves your ability to think. The form of the exercises is not important, it's important that they are exercising. Many schools have eliminated recess since it is 'not academic' and only academic goals are thought worth pursuing in many cultish school districts. The exotic parts of the BrainGym theories are silly, but you have to have this sort of presentation to get permission from the administration to allow kids to exercise.
nonoctave 3 years ago
look, they're not actually exercising! They're performing meaningless New Age rituals with no scientific benefit. There are real gym programs which could be put into practice instead of this.
zuplexis 3 years ago 4
Oh I agree with you a real gymnastics program would be a far better program, but these days you'll never get funding and approval from a school board for that. Exercise, art and music are all considered frivolous wastes of time that take away from time that should be spend memorizing facts for quizzes.
nonoctave 3 years ago
I would be hesitant to classify rubbing your cheek muscles excercise, this is bullshit from th ground up.
JamMcFar 3 years ago 3
Very glad that it helps us to improve our 'languanging'.
catbirdtree 3 years ago
The most horrifying moment is when the kids at 8'48'' start regurgitating the drivel they've been force-fed, about blood flow and "connecting the two sides of the brain."
I did like the little pretentious kid who misuses the term "per se"- chuckle.
sjamoon 3 years ago 4
What utter, utter shite.
Why do the speaker's lips not coincide with the dialogue (2'05")? It's like a very badly dubbed foreign film or one of those IRA interviews during the "broadcasting ban".
horsedick99 3 years ago
It was disturbing to hear the kids spouting nonsense about energy, blood flow and connecting two halves of the brain. They'll probably go through their whole lives believing that.
Someone should pass fake exercises off as 'genuine' brain gym and seeing if there's any difference.
vagabondflow 3 years ago
This has been going on for ages. Over a year ago, when I went to my daughter's school for a maths evening, they asked all us parents to stand up and do these activities.
I was the ONLY ONE who refused. I could tell straight away that it was bullshit.
TheboyPaj 3 years ago 4
And yet... the scientist said there was evidence that it improved response times. So maybe it's not 100% bullshit.
If it produces measurable improvement, is it worth it?
Iomarca 3 years ago
You also get much improved response times and reactions playing Counter Strike so maybe all kids should play that for an hour a day at school...
Dangermousey 3 years ago 2
Not if it costs millions of pounds for a load of manuals that are full of utter quackery.
freefrench 3 years ago
The explanations certainly are bullshit. Even the people spouting them don't understand what they are saying.
And where are the double-blind controlled tests that prove its effectiveness?
TheboyPaj 3 years ago 2
Wow...a lone voice from someone who actually is using their whole brain! Sad to see it is the minority here. Whoever you are...good for you!
houndzark 2 years ago
I was responding just below to a very old post someone made who had considered the efficacy of the system. It seems it was placed out of sequence. I'll respond to captainmadguns separately.
houndzark 2 years ago
There has to be a public enquiry into this. One of the worst and shocking scandals to hit British education in decades! Where were the procedures, safe guards to stop a cult like Brain Gym infecting British schools?!? Many heads should roll at ofsted they failed abysmally to protect our children.
Englishgrammar 3 years ago 5
It's no big surprise that exercise and contemplation can have significant advantages. Even though the science is wrong, the effects are good because exercise does improve learning.
Schools already teach religion. We should block that too if working pseudo-science has no place there either.
bigbold2 3 years ago
Yes. Yes we should.
johnnye87 3 years ago 4
ohh from California too! shocking, that! we're fucked as a species.
10mintwo 3 years ago 2
Perhaps I can get a job as a state-funded phrenologist.
LaFinDuMondale 3 years ago 2
what a stupid idea - pseudo-science, idiotic, I can not believe this is being used in this country! Outrageous.
mandscat 3 years ago 3
This is disturbing.
insomniajo 3 years ago 4
I can't believe this rubbish is being given the time of day.
Jackttennil 3 years ago 6