School’s ‘Brain Gym’ method blasted on TV

Apr 25 2008 by Laurie Stocks-Moore, Chester Chronicle

CONTROVERSIAL techniques employed by a Chester primary school met criticism in a national TV news report.

Film crews from BBC’s Newsnight programme visited Acresfield Primary School in Acres Lane, Upton to watch headteacher Sue Smith put Brain Gym mind exercises into practice.

During the programme Mrs Smith, who has been teaching for 37 years, said: “I’m so pleased that Brain Gym has come into my life. We have a calm school, we have a joyful school, we have a successful school.”

Karen Corner, whose son Sam attends Acresfield and has special needs, supports the activity which has been endorsed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

“It has helped him to focus and remain calm and helped with spacial awareness, with reading and writing,” she said.

Brain Gym’s creators argue it helps pupils remain focused, clears blockages, improves memory, raises academic performance, reduces stress and improves behaviour.

But their claims were rubbished on Newsnight by experts who say a pseudo-science is permeating the school system.

The Brain Gym teachers manual, written by American creator Paul Dennison, contains 26 exercises including instructions on “pressing the brain buttons” under the clavicle to increase the flow of electromagnetic energy.

Professor Colin Blakemore, a neuroscientist from Oxford University, was “amused” by the idea massaging areas of the body could improve performance.

He said: “It’s a bit like trying to regulate your central heating system by pressing on the wall of your house because the pipes are behind them.

“By dressing up what might be very useful distracting little classroom exercises with this almost cult-like, ritual-like dogma of pseudo-science is a great pity and the residual misperception that that will leave young children and teachers with is much more damaging than the consequences of the exercises themselves.”

Enthusiastic pupils were filmed gathered around a desk at Acresfield to offer their opinions on the exercises.

One boy insisted: “Say you’re stuck in a maths test per se, you do a little bit of ‘energy yawn’, you find the answer just like that.”

Cheshire County Council spokesperson Shirley Wingfield would only say: “As a local authority, we support any evidence-based strategies that support learning.”

Mrs Smith declined to speak to The Chronicle.