Left Brain - Right Brain

Today I watched this amazing video . Yes... it is very new age-ie. (How in heck do you spell that word?)

In watching it I thought, "I am very left brainy".

I remember at a very young age the constant voice in my head telling the story of my life to me, making up games and stories, chattering away as a walked, biked, swung and read. I recognize that voice now when I hear my daughter deep in imaginative play. It is as though her left brain (and my child left brain) offered a voice to the right brain.

But at some point my left brain took over the whole show. It got a dry, sarcastic wit and sometimes my left brain says some mean things.

In fact, sometimes my left brain blathers on as though it is Ferris Bueller. It is almost as though my left brain believes its ongoing monologue is being heard and enjoyed by the masses. Perhaps my left brain is not alone in its narcissistic (see I told you it gets mean) monologuing. Perhaps monologuing left brains is how blogging got so popular.

Something that sticks out to me is that our society has an over dependence on the rational 'serial' thought processes characterized by left brain thinking. Isn't it serial thinking that brought us Ford ism, Modernism and institutionalized everything?

In her book "The Real World of Technology" Ursula Franklin labels 'one size fits all' approaches to problem solving 'prescriptive technologies.' Franklin does not indicate that prescriptive technology is inherently evil, just misapplied in situations that require reflection and involve growth.

In fact, there are two areas very near and dear to my heart that she questions the application of prescriptive technology, pregnancy/birth and education. For these are areas that Ursula (and I ) believe should be approached through 'holistic technologies'.

Yet, schools are designed to teach children in such prescriptive fashions... children are measured and tested and procedures are applied based on the results of the testing. If the procedures are not working, there are meetings with the 'education team'. I think it is worth noting that the child in question is not invited to these meetings. The meetings are a conversation between parents, teacher, social worker and principal. The education team examines the factors and prescribes a mode of 'attacking' the 'problem' presented. The whole process is focused on producing a product. The product, a specific kind of student, worker and citizen.

SHHEEEESH... Ford didn't invent Fordism, the Ryerson Brothers did.

If you read John Taylor Gatto's books, he'll tell you that public schooling has always been this way. In "Dumbing Us Down" he points out that schools have more to do with learning one's place than learning ones sums.

So, I am very left brainy, in a society of left brainiacs. How am I going to offer my child more balance. How am I going to let her keep connection with her right brain and keep her left brain from taking it all over?




GOSH.... I hope you didn't think I had an answer to that!!!!

I am working on it. I think I have a few ideas...