主播大秀

Obviously this upsets the left-wing sensibilities of Newsnight, however, I would like to listen to a debate on the House of Lords report on Immigration.

I do not care one fig if Ben Elton is upset with the 主播大秀, he is only upset as he has something to sell.

SKY and the 主播大秀's HYS sights have been innaundated with posters wanting to discuss the report, yet on the 主播大秀's flagship NEWS programme we get nothing.

Newsnight is not just for the Guardianisatas of Islington it is instead for everyone, and that includes people who would rather listen to a debate on why our Government got it's figures so wrong (again), and why the 主播大秀 allowed itself to spout bogus Labour propaganda for the last ten years.

I simply ask: would jokes about Islam risk the wrath of Hamas?

That is undoubtedly the test that will be applied to Ben Elton - by
(inter alia) Palestinian women in
the building in Gaza with the logo:
'Women Graduates of Gaza Strip'.

I say: let irony roast in Hell!! and death to all with no sense of humour.

C'mon Barrie: Ben's still working thru Andy Cameron's back catalogue:
you know the one about when the top
Rangers comic worked a Catholic club
in Glasgow and spotting that he was
performing in the chapel in front of
a crucifix says to adoring audience:
'I see you got the guy who nicked yer video!' For God's sake grow up!

making jokes about any religion is wrong and not funny!! there will always be a majority of us who will be extremely offended...do you people want peace on earth or not!! because if you do, this is'nt the correct way of doing it, isit!!

Having seen Jeremy Paxman's trailer for this evening, I am concerned about what currently appears to be a very combatative approach that this programme has for Brain Gym. I have personally benefitted tremendously from this discipline and I know that many others have also. It is particularly benficial in a learning environment. I hope that Newsnight will be fair in their portrayal of Brain Gym which is part of the larger discipline of Educational Kinesiology.

Just watching the Brain Gym article. It sounded immensely dubious from the start, but I pride myself on listening to every side. Then JP got to interview the "inventor", at which point I realised that even if the guy was terrified of a camera (or JP - I certainly would be), he really didn't have a clue about basic physics or chemistry, let alone biochemistry or the complexities of the brain.

I don't like all the way our current government thinks that banning everything is sight is a good idea, but this pseudo-sciencentific claptrap is one of the few things that should be banned!

Where do I sign a petition against this nonsense?

Just heard the coverage on Brain Gym. There have been many adults and children who have benefited from this. There is already an association based in the UK. There has been research showing it has benefits. It has not been published in medical journals, but that does not seem to happen for any complementary(not alternative) therapy. It does not cause any harm, and relaxes and calms children. So what's the problem. Why has the 主播大秀 suddenly decided to have a go at complementary therapys, your interviewers need to keep an open mind. Science discovers new things everyday, there is much that we do not understand about the human body. Have you seen a group of people stand in a line, hold hands and light an electric light bulb. There is electricity in our bodies.

It is always worrying when controversial experimenter Prof Colin Blakemore gets wheeled in to give the voice of science and this again happened in the debate on Brain Gym. For Colin, to be scientifically proven seems to mean demonstrated on an animal. On that basis both accupuncture and accupressure would be scientifically unproven and therefore put into the pseudo scientific (read fraud) bucket. It is of course nonsense to think that these techniques don't work and the lack of understanding on how they work merely reflects the fact that we in the west have been relying on animal tests wheras the only true model of man is man (or woman, wouldn't want to offend anyone!). As a scientist, brain gym only has to pass one test, does it provide benefits. It would be good to see some decent widescale study done on whether it improves performance. As for the claims on how it works, come on guys, lets just admit it, the human nervous system is way too complex for our little brains to understand! Reminding kids about how little we actually know might actually inspire more of them to enter science.

Jeremy asked: 'anyone got an Islamic joke'? In Gaza the humour seemed to me to be physical. Two examples from my limited experience: I was looking in the window of a clothes shop down town in Gaza and the old guy who was in the window rearranging all the mannequins noticed he was being watched out of the corner of his eye and froze - striking a pose with his arms out ... I thought that was very funny .... quick ..... and universal.

Another example: there is a gold market in Gaza City close to the
place where Samson was in prison.
These days money changers gather
there and there is also a market.
Venturing into this alleyway one
young lad selling fruit who had a
knife - and was peeling an apple -
grabs me in an arm-lock and puts
the blade to my throat .... with
a grin ... before falling about
when he saw the expression on my
face ...... I then also laughed!

I am left very frustrated by the contributors to tonights debate on Islam and comedy. They seemed to walk an almost common line over the debate. The view was put over that people don't make jokes about Islam because they have no terms of reference. What utter rubbish as Islam is constantly in the media even if this is unfairly mostly for the wrong reasons. Not only this but it was acknowledge that jokes about Islam are common in comedy clubs but why this is not common on TV also was not pushed, which i thought was the point of the debate. Also no interview with 主播大秀 Comedy, come on 主播大秀 we deserve better.

After watching the piece on "Brain Gym" I have to say I'm disgusted and worried that we have such total idiots teaching our children. This pseudo scientific claptrap has no place in the school system, and the teachers who have bought into this hogwash, hook line and sinker, are a disgrace to their profession.

Might be an idea to sort out the 主播大秀 satilite connection once and for all!

.... and then there was the three year old in Gaza running backwards
out into the street who on turning
saw the foreigner - and raised his
hand in a reflex action as if to throw a stone before giggling ...

laughter is the best medicine when you are a child of the Intifada ..

Hmmm jokes on religion...they are ok if they dont offend, listening to the debate I am thrilled that folks want to debate the subject, as long as people believe in a divine being I'm not worried what it is or what it is "called" more concerining to me is rather than race or religion are, fundimentally no beliefs at all. Jokes about religious sects do not offend me generally. I am concerned for my own childrens' and their peers futures. They need to have a balanced exposure to religion, what ever their personal creed or beliefs. If comedy raises fundamental good values whatever the religous origin, I am all for it.

Jules

Have these Brain Gym fanatics thought of trying Tai Chi, or simple breathing exercises? I suspect they will work just as well, if not better and will not incur payment to some corporation in America.

One interesting aspect of all this is how schools choose to spend money without censure on unproven methods. If the school head decides that employing a clown is beneficial to education, are they allowed to do so?

The Brain Gym, is Newsnight a day behind? I thought that today was 2nd April. What a load of old rubbish, now how did I know that this dross originated in America? I wish I'd thought of it, I could have made a fortune. Alas, I will never be rich because I am a reincarnation of the boy from 'The Empreror's New Clothes'. Thank heaven for pragmatists like Jeremey Paxman.

The day my daughter's school practices such nonsense, that's the day she commences home education. Brain Gym - what rot.

I enjoyed the Brain Gym piece - though a shame you didn't get Dr Ben Goldacre from badscience.net to talk about it.

I don't think you quite did justice to the point that the Brain Gym pseudoscience is _incredibly_ damaging to children's science education (whatever the doubts over its efficacy).

The gains claimed for Brain Gym are also ludicrous! One person asserted that one month of Brain Gym produced two or three months improvement in reading. A moments reflection shows this to be nonsense.

Even if kids had brain gym for only one month a year for (and not several) for primary school and assuming the lower figure of two months gain over six years of primary we'd be talking about kids in Brain Gym schools reading roughly 6 months ahead of their peers. Such a gain would register off the charts on any statistical analysis (and swamp the benefits of every other intervention that has been evaluated).

Six months Brain Gym per year over primary school would show something like three years gain in reading ability.

I'm not surprised that teachers find Brain Gym effective, but there are lots of activities that probably have similar or better results that cost nothing and - in some cases - have some empirical support. I'd thinking about singing songs, brief periods of physical exercise, eating a piece of fruit for starters. Besides: singing a song in class won't muck of your understanding of basic science.

There was a suggestion that there is little about Islam that could be the subject of ridicule, sorry comic observation unless you come from that background. The fact that the religion is based on fairy stories, like all other religions is a place to start. How about fashion sense? No interest loans? You end up paying the same but just called something else. All religions should be held up to equal ridicule whether someone is offended or not. Free speech means the right to be offensive.

hi all

about muslim jokes.

im a muslim.
muslim jokes are already in the tv and in our communities.
for example:

movies like east is east
goodness gratious me
and certainly within the asian/arab tv.

jokes in respect of the Almighty (ALLAH) God and his prophets, be it from Abrahim to Mohammed (may peace be upon them all) are not in good taste and us muslims and (im sure) other real religions dont like jokes of this nature and im sure that any one who has love and respect for anything precoius would like THAT to be made a mockery of.

now as for the media ISLAM is something which is caught up in the whirlpool and wont be going anywhere very qucik due to the worldly affairs that are happening.

i hope this may explain the matter to some extent.

masood
leeds

Regarding God and comedy.
If you want to see proof that organistions are scared of Islam then look to Youtube and if you want to see why then look to the comments left by some muslims on certain videos. When users get taken down for ofending any religious group you can bet it'll be the muslims where as if they said the same thing about christians or jews they would get nothing.
I can't believe that none of the comedians held their hands up and said "you can take the p*ss out of Islam because people are scared of it." I guess they were scared of their honesty being seen as islamophobia.
Just to be clear I know it isn't the majority of muslims who scare organisations like youtube and the bbc but it doesn't change the fact that they are scared.

Every Christian I have told this, no longer original, joke to has found it funny. As it is equally applicable to Jews and Muslims I would like to know if it would cause them offence.

Some people die and go to heaven. They are advised 'before you go in there is one thing you should know about God - She is black'

Reactions please

The brain gym is an obvious fraud; I am appalled that children too young to be able to properly formulate their own opinions are exposed to this form of nonsense. The science behind the brain gym is non-existent; massaging parts of your body will at best relieve stress, which may help concentration. Under taking a course of Brain Gym will not in any way, apart from indirectly, change your brain structure and activity. In my opinion, the brain gym should be kept in same pile as scientology, any head teacher that refuses to stop their teachers from teaching this, should be sacked.

As a teacher I watched the item about Brain Gym with great interest.
I've used various Brain Gym exercises for a number of years now and have found the effect to have been largely positive.
I don't feel it has "rewired" little Johnny's synaptic paths and turned him into a genius. What it does is stimulated him a bit more by creating making him move.
I don't think in anyway has it made the brightest children any brighter.
The explaination by the "expert" was also highly embarrassing and clearly from a point of ignorance.
Personally I think trepanning would help raise standards, starting with OFSTED inspectors.

The debate on religious jokes at the beeb didn't clear anything up for me. Here in Belfast religious jokes are a pound a penny and they're considered funny as long as they're about the other side.
When a Muslim guy came to Belfast he was interrogated by his co-workers as to his religious leanings. He stated that he was a Muslim, which confused just about everyone because they knew little of this exotic religion. However he was not getting off that easy. One guy whispered to him, "Aye but are you a Catholic Muslim or a Protestant one?"
Enough said...

there is undoubtedly not a level playing field where religious jokes are concerned. Many christians would be proud of the fact that their belief is strong enough to withstand humour. However I have heard muslims (who may not be typical) say that it doesn't matter if you make jokes about christianity because christians don't mind. It does matter that tolerance is misconstrued in this way and perhaps it is time we thought about the impression that non christians receive when satirise christianity.
I thought Shapi's joke was very funny and was reminded of my presbyterian grandmother.

Have these Brain Gym fanatics thought of trying Tai Chi, or simple breathing exercises? I suspect they will work just as well, if not better and will not incur payment to some corporation in America.

One interesting aspect of all this is how schools choose to spend money without censure on unproven methods. If the school head decides that employing a clown is beneficial to education, are they allowed to do so?

I found it deeply disturbing to see young children talking about the 'science' behind brain gym as if it were fact. I have no problem with exercises to relax children, and I can see that they might improve their concentration by giving them a break from lessons. However it is unnecessary to justify relaxing exercises by making spurious claims aboout electricity and, moreover, it is irresponsible to indoctrinate young children with pseudo-science which is at best untested and at worst downright wrong.

Brain Gym? Many of my adult students find it helps them keep calm in stressful situations and focused on the task in hand when engaging in intellectual activity. I'm not bothered about a scientific justification for it. It just seems to work. Yes, the exercises may look weird but lets give these new ideas a chance. Don't scoff - Jeremy - you sound as if you could do with a bit of de-stressing yourself!

Brain Gym; I kept checking my calendar, it must be the 1st April, this will be confirmed when we see the spaghetti trees. But no, brain Gym is real. Gave myself a prize for guessing that the Dennison guy originates from that denizen way out West Coast, USof A. Bingo! I googled - brain gym - not surprised as the claims satisfy the desires of healthy improvement in an untangible area so important to us all, such as the brain. Excuse the pun, but this is pure brainwashing and spreading around the world like a virus. In years to come, these children will have happy memories of these halcyon days. Yeah, right!

Jokes on religion,
Humour and laughter is a great assett to us all.Often something is funny because there is a sense of identity and recognition.
At the moment there is such fear surrounding Islam and Muslims,that the jokes would not be about Islam,they would have to be about fear......Would that be a huge pity?Would it further emphasise misunderstandings and show a lack of empathy? Or would it bridge some gaps?
It is also important to acknowledge that cultural identity is a huge aspect of any religion,and in that Islam is no different to other religions.It is a global religion and is vastly diverse,in its manifestations and expressions.
But humour and laughter are just as much part of life for Muslims as for others,religious or not.
The main point is are we laughing with or laughing at.......

Brain Gym - it WORKS.
I was very disappointed by the negative and frankly ignorant approach that Jeremy Paxman took towards Brain Gym.
I am a student at 19 and have, for my whole life, had learning difficulties. I started Brain Gym just over 3 months ago, and in that time the difference has been unquestionable. My focus, ability to take in and understand information, ability to communicate thoughts and ideas clearly and accurately, have all improved dramatically.
Not only this, I study and train in the Bushido academy of Martial Arts, and have done for 4 years, but in the last 3 months (since i started Brain Gym) my reflexes; spacial awareness; physical control and discipline; precision; timing... even physical flexibility and endurance have considerably improved. I don't think this is any coincidence.

I find it such a shame that there are these closed minded people who dismiss ideas of this nature simply because they do not understand them. There are many, many things in this world that humanity does not understand; the beginning of existence, for example - we have theories, but no proof - yet you don't here them denying the reality of that event, do you?

We are humans, not gods. We don't know everything, we never will. But FACTS remain fact, whether we understand them or not.

I did a quick check on the web to make sure that your story on the 'Brain Gym' and the interview with its American 'inventor' was not a late April Fools joke. I was amazed to find a UK site listing dozens of exponents of this nonsense.

All I can say is that usually when you come across a person like that it's hard to resist asking them to fetch a bucket of steam or a pump for the cricket ball

As to "Brain Gym" (it gets 275,000 hits on Google, so this is no April fool hoax), it is all very well to try out "alternative therapies" on ONESELF, such as meditation, accupuncture, etc., but to try such techniques out on chldren en masse (apparently WITHOUT ANY PARENTAL CONSENT)is not justifiable, and it is shocking that such is allowed under the law, when we are living in a society so obsessed with and paranoid about child molestation, that men are afraid to teach young chldren any more (not ONE to be seen in the school in the entire report).

But let us play devil's advocate and suppose that these techniques really ARE having an effect upon body and brain, as allegedly accupuncture does.

The bodies and brains of adults, let alone children, are very sensitive and complex biological structures, and if we play around with these without understanding what we are doing, how do we know that we are not doing more harm than good?

The report implies that there are droves of good intentioned lady teachers using these techniques, but they are likely blissfully unaware for example that techniques like meditation and accupuncture when used wrongly can actually CREATE mental illness and disease and in some cases even cause DEATH.

My opinion is DO NOT DARE play around with these forces that are not understood with young children, which amounts to a wholly unlicensed and potentially dangerous experiment.

Traditional teaching techniques if properly carried out, such as old fahioned methods of learning to read and write, mixed with normal recreational breaks, such as simple PT and playgrond sport should be quite adequate to educate any normal healthy children.

If there are "special needs" children in schools, like the boy shown, they should be in "special needs" schools, and not experimented upon in classes of normal children to boost the egos of the teachers, and make them imagine themselves miracle workers.

The creator of this "Brain Gym" system admitted he has plundered age old knowledge of yoga and similiar practices, and I am warning all teachers and parents that these techniques can be dangerous, especially to young children and people of a sensitive disposition in general.

I personally know of a number of cases of people who used these meditation and "energy stimulating" techniques who ended up needing psychiatric support and 24/7 medical treatment.

Even in the Maharishi's TM, children are only allowed to do a small amount of meditation in comparison to adults.

I believe this widespread use of "Brain Gym" is a disaster waiting to happen, and any sensible teacher should put a stop to it now, before it goes too far.

Do not play with forces you do not understand!

"We are humans, not gods. We don't know everything, we never will"

Which is one of the reasons science is so beautiful (as well as useful), why inane trash like homeopathy and Brain Gym are so ugly and squalid and why these merchants of implausible and unsubstantiated woo should be kept as far away from innocent young minds and public funds as possible.

The way I see it, Europeans find the Danish cartoons funny because they are political satire. The joke that the lady muslim told on the other hand was basically sectarian prejudice.

I like exotic people - in exotic countries. In England I prefer English culture otherwise what is the point of going on holiday abroad - ah! is multicultralism an environmentalist machination to make us stay off the metal birds?

The UN human rights declaration specifically says that we should allow freedom of speech and freedom of religious thought. That means saying that you are offended by a joke is not enough to say your human rights have been abused because you are still entitled to think what you want and to verbalise back. What you are not allowed to do is to threaten life which is what the muslims do everytime they don't like what someone says. And I dispute that Islamaphobia exists but has now been engineeered alongside antisemitism so that the two semite groups have words specifically to stop people criticising them whilst everyopne else has to put up with generic terms such as racism - go figure.

Dear JP鈥� I tried out a few moves of brain gym鈥 regret to report during one of the exercises I seemed to have caused a very loud screeching noise鈥� some sort of feedback loop between the right and left hemispheres of my brain鈥r so I thought鈥�
I later found the noise to be coming from next door鈥� my neighbour as it turns out is Sunni

I thought the Brain Gym item was newsnight's April Fool joke until I realsied it was April 2nd.

How much money, that could be going into critical things like buying classroom equipment, is being wasted on pseudoscientific claptrap? This is generating a whole industry of consultants, training programmes and materials, yet it has no basis in fact at all. What is even more worrying is that the head teacher is lapping it up and appears to have zero ability in critical thinking.

Yes, having a break and doing a few exercises is probably a good idea to give kids a break and freshen them up a bit. But please don't "teach" them rubbish like this that is going to undermine their learning science when they are old enough to get into classes which actually are going to try to teach them about blood circulation, musculo-skeletal system, nervous system etc. If they are growing up with propoganda that pressing on their chest alighs the right and left side of the brain, no wonder this country is producing people who are scientifically illiterate.

Maybe it's time we had the educational equivalent of NICE to evaluate programmes like this.

On last nights Brain Gymn "review".
Firstly I would like to thank the 主播大秀 team for bringing such an important tool to the public eye.
I am a teenage student just preparing to take my GCSE's a year ahead of my peers, and enjoying every minute (before someone accuses someone else of pressuring young children. 3 years ago my Mum discovered brain Gymn. Since then I have done the "exercises" described in the programme as regularly as I remember....OK so not everyday no-ones that good especially not a teenager, but for me BRAIN GYMN WORKS I can't comment on my academic progress because I don't know how much of that was to do with me or Brain Gymn, but I can tell you that after I do brain Gymn in the mornings (usually in the shower) I feel ready to start the day.
When I watched the programme I was disappointed by the biased opinions of all the presenters, I wonder how many people in that studio had read the whole book. I for one knew as soon as the quote " processed foods do not contain water" that Mr. Dennison was referring to the brain ready form of water, as would anyone else who had done an iota of real reading up on brain Gymn, I am not accusing the 主播大秀 of skimping, but maybe looking at the whole picture would be good (another brain Gymn principle). As for calling Brain Gymn Pseudo-Science I would ask you all to remember the famous line "innocent unless proven guilty" although we may not have comprehensive evidence to prove brain Gymn is effective, I believe you would be hard pushed to find someone who can honestly say brain Gymn did them harm or had no effect on them whatsoever.
IF you consider a component of the GCSE science course, biology this time, we are taught about Mendel ( the guy who counted peas and discovered basic genetics using maths as well) his findings were discounted by many scientists of the era because they went against popular belief and many scientists did not understand the maths, surely a parallel to today鈥檚 fix with Brain Gymn, now we are taught Mendel was indeed correct and we are told that it is scientists like this who have furthered our society today!
As for worries about this undermining scientific knowledge taught to children in primary schools, basically circuits, floating and sinking etc., here I would like to point out that I am studying triple sciences am taking all 3 sciences at A-level and am heading for Cambridge to become a vet! Not only has brain Gymn not hindered my scientific exploration, I would say it has made it easier for me to understand the principles and encouraged me to figure out some of the mysteries along the course with my teachers.
The report last night focussed on some of the most basic "excersises" and some of these were incorrect (brain buttons, do not rub the navel, this will cause pain, instead rest your hand over the area, I don't know why but it works), if you're interested in Brain Gymn look into it can help with all sorts of things, including bad eyesight, temper tantrums and learning to juggle (I鈥檓 still learning!).
Finally a plea, to anyone reading this please if you want to make a decision on Brain Gymn, that鈥檚 fine no-one will judge you, but please do research for yourself talk to UK experts on the phone (they won't bite and they're used to people being sceptical) please do not allow the lack of evidence to hinder your decision, I can only hope that many more people discover this wonderful tool that has helped me so much! Oh and also please let us children decide for ourselves, we're people in our own right!
Sorry it鈥檚 so long so much to say!

Jokes about relgion:
It seems to me that Islam and Mohammed get off very lightly in this country and indeed throughout the word. And this is because of the fear off fanatical elements in the Muslim community inspire.
The Muslim comedian on Newsnight was wrong, we know plenty about Islam and Mohammed that could inspire satire. For example, Mohammed was a businessman who had many wifes (some of them considerably younger than himself). He received God's message directly from the Archangel Gabriel and thus there is no scope for interpretation of the Koran. Islam was spread through the sword, in the first couple of centuries of its exsistence, ironic for a religion that talks about 'God the merciful'.
Every aspect of Jesus's life and ministry have been ridiculed at sometime. Yet Mohammed is not treated in a similar vein despite his life providing such considerable scope for satire. This is about sheer terror not ignorance.

On the Ben Elton / Muslim jokes piece:-

The Newsnight production team rather proved Ben Elton's point for him by not showing the Pamela Stephenson Ayatollah video in full.

Instead, we got the sound-track and some stills of the "Not the Nine o'clock News" team.

making fun of jihadis gets deleted on the bbc boards.

making fun of religion on tv has only been about since python. unless one counts the ealing comedies.

comedy can be inclusive and thus gentle such as dads army or as a 'weapon' as with ITMA etc.

Brain Gym

I thought that this was some sort of April Fool's Joke, then I realised it was 2nd April and not 1st April.

Even the so called expert in USA couldn't explain the purpose of this. As an earlier poster stated perhaps he was put off by JP questioning. So if Brain Gym couldn't help him out what hope is there for our children.

So much of what was said in the Brain Gym article reminds me of things said in and about yoga - even down to the idea that releasing physical tension relates to mental tension. You could have put words like "prana" or "chi" in there and had a similar sounding article, and who knows?

I wonder if the reason the exercises seem to work is more that just doing exercise like that has a focusing and calming effect. Getting children to slow down and focus before a class can be a benefit. Making that focus more 'fun' makes it easier.

If that's the case, the effect would be the same whether it's Brain Gym, Yoga, Karate Kata, Tai Chi, patting your stomach while rubbing your head (ever tried it?), even sitting meditation perhaps though going from full play to full stop would be hard.

All of these things seem to help some people. It would be up to the science to work out how. It sounds bad that the children are taught these pseudo-science explanations. They seem so like guesswork.

Also if all it is is a calm down and focus effect it would seem a shame to pay a commercial entity for it when so many other ways come for free. If we note that focus exercises help then bring on a variety of them and teach them as such.

Andrew @45: YOUR NOT WRONG!

Further to post #46: we didn't get a Mrs Billy Connelly video either here
in Scotland ...... instead those who
went online to get round the optout
for Newsnight Scotland got a notice
at ~ 22.10 which read: 'For rights reasons we cannot show this report'

The screen then cut to Jeremy in the studio with all the other comedians!
It never used to be this prudish on
Parky (prickly hedgehog that he was).

Watching analog and digital up here simultaneously also revealed this: a 35 second time-lag between Newsnight
going out in Scotland and in England!
It seems that like the poll taxo Paxo
is tested on the Picts first - before
he's let loose over UK 35 secs later?

Even if brain gym does have some positive results it is still just common sense peddled as science to the gullable.

So much of what was said in the Brain Gym article reminds me of things said in and about yoga - even down to the idea that releasing physical tension relates to mental tension. You could have put words like "prana" or "chi" in there and had a similar sounding article, and who knows?

I wonder if the reason the exercises seem to work is more that just doing exercise like that has a focusing and calming effect. Getting children to slow down and focus before a class can be a benefit. Making that focus more 'fun' makes it easier.

If that's the case, the effect would be the same whether it's Brain Gym, Yoga, Karate Kata, Tai Chi, patting your stomach while rubbing your head (ever tried it?), even sitting meditation perhaps though going from full play to full stop would be hard.

All of these things seem to help some people. It would be up to the science to work out how. It sounds bad that the children are taught these pseudo-science explanations. They seem so like guesswork.

Also if all it is is a calm down and focus effect it would seem a shame to pay a commercial entity for it when so many other ways come for free. If we note that focus exercises help then bring on a variety of them and teach them as such.

DUMMIES/DISTRACTANTS

'Brain Gym' is a distractant, in sporting terms i.e. (to the best of my knowledge), 'a dummy'. It takes the eyes of the less critical from other insidious programmes like SEAL.

I covered this in detail some months ago in this blog (see the analysis of the primary school research report I provided).

Sadly, our Educational, Criminal Justice, and Health Care systems are now awash with such 'ideas'. These services are also now dominated by high verbal types. 80% of 'psychologists are females today.

Is it just a coincidence that most of those defending 'Brain Gym' here appear to be either female or have some problem spelling it?

Jokes and Religion (Self-censored description!)
In spite of Jeremy P's efforts to initiate a meaningful debate - we witnessed 3 unknown and possibly unfunny comedians sidestepping the issue with inane, meaningless and magnolia colured comments.
Had I missed JP's intro I dont think it would have been possible to work out what they were talking about.
Come on the 主播大秀 you can do better.

I'm a secondary teacher and we've had the brain gym people. Its barmy. They sell it as science, got us rubbing ourselves and walking around doing strange movements. Absolutely bonkers. Maybe I wasn't entering into the spirit of it but to me is seemed like pseudo-neurology masking new-age garbage.

Also the debate about religion and comedy was almost futile as they all (except JP) pretty much had the same view that not enough people knew about religion and especially not enough about Islam. I find this ridiculous. Anybody watched Fitna (or whatever it's called?) thought not - because worldwide not many places dare to show it as they've been had death threats.

Also, they suggested that everything is fair game as long as it isn't hurtful. Obvious they don't count the many blasphemies in Jerry Springer the Opera as hurtful. But they again the Christians protested but there weren't any (what the government might call)'Anti-Christian elements within the church with rockets or bombs.

it never ceases to amaze me how qquick people are to condemn something without true experience or representation. As a parent, who was at the end of her tether because her daughter so negative, angry and anti-school and studying for her exams, Educational Kinesiology and Brain Gym were life savers. The resistance to studying and sitting her exams just faded away. Her self-confidence grew and she willingly sat all her exams and passed them all. Only a parent who has experienced the challemge of this oppositional behaviour, without any help from so called experts, can appreciate the relief, joy and gratitude felt when someone does help, and it works. This education system does far more harm through the stress that children are put under to achieve, than people realise or admit to. Surely something that takes that stress away, without resorting to drugs, can only be beneficial and worthwhile.

Hi Ade (post 56)
Where u bin? now wot u meen keep -thinking it is BRIAN GYm

Were is that Ed igglehart

Wos he a fantom of my imagination?

there is a lot that we still do not understand so if some people are genuinely claiming to have gained benefit from BG why should others be so vitriolic? there is a real fear of the unexplained in this country. we only know about 10% of brain function so the eastern system of meridians is certainly plausible if unproven.

on the other hand the benefit seems to be to the extraordinary child more so than to the ordinary and so I think it was quite wrong of schools to allocate public money in this way without any consultation with the public purse holders. I myself, would prefer to see ordinary nurses back in school so that parents aren't called to collect children because they need a plaster.

But what I found most disturbing about the report was the demonstration of a hideous infantalisation of women in this society. It is now only acceptable for women in public to talk like children. In the US women seem to have developed a wierd gravelly sound as if to say, 'I'm only pretending to be serious, I'll still wash your smalls'.

what has happened to women in this country? - if they haven't got a bag over their head then they behave like dolls - the only place to find real women these days is in Australian dramas!

Thanks P.L Hayes I will check out the forums :)
I was talking to a friend about this yesterday, after I posted, and he quite correctly said that trying to measure the effects of something like brain gymn is like trying to find a ruler to measure the beauty of a rose!
It seems to me that until technology advances we will have to rely on the opinions of people who have tried it. So I would ask people again to form their own judgments on the exercises, those who need Brain Gymn will find it. Please don't rubbish brain gymn till you've tried it. The Dr Zeuss Book springs to mind "I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham" (anyone not read it do, its fab!)!
But i'm all open as to whether or not Brain Gymn should be used in schools en masse, i would think it might be something to do as an individual? I believe that was the original debate (not argument!)not the authenticity of Brain Gymn as a principle.

I was extremely disappointed at Newsnight's take on Bertie Ahern's
decision to resign from office. Firstly, Jeremy Paxman's introduction
saying "He isn't the first Taoiseach to leave office over financial
irregularities and won't be the last" left me asking more questions of
the integrity of the 主播大秀 than of our own political system. Sweeping
statements such as these are the stuff of pub conversations at 2am,
not serious primetime journalism.

I was however ill-prepared for the report which was to follow - the
entire commentary was set to some absurd 40-year-old stage Irish
music. This was obviously meant to set the tone, but it merely served
to remove all credibility from the report - you might as well have
thrown in a few leprechauns, a bunch of shamrock and a pot of gold
while you were at it.

I had tuned in for an objective take on our domestic politics, what I
got was a snapshot of what some people in Britain thought we WERE like
in the 80s.
Very poor !

I look forward to tuning in next week where Newsnight's report on
Germany has hordes of men in leather shorts swilling beer and eating
sausages.

The upshot of this is that I now have to wonder, if you are as
out-of-tune with the zeitgeist and politics of your nearest
English-speaking neighbour, how can on earth can we lend any credence
to reports on political issues elsewhere in Europe, let alone in Asia and beyond ?

I was extremely disappointed at Newsnight's take on Bertie Ahern's
decision to resign from office. Firstly, Jeremy Paxman's introduction
saying "He isn't the first Taoiseach to leave office over financial
irregularities and won't be the last" left me asking more questions of
the integrity of the 主播大秀 than of our own political system. Sweeping
statements such as these are the stuff of pub conversations at 2am,
not serious primetime journalism.

I was however ill-prepared for the report which was to follow - the
entire commentary was set to some absurd 40-year-old stage Irish
music. This was obviously meant to set the tone, but it merely served
to remove all credibility from the report - you might as well have
thrown in a few leprechauns, a bunch of shamrock and a pot of gold
while you were at it.

I had tuned in for an objective take on our domestic politics, what I
got was a snapshot of what some people in Britain thought we WERE like
in the 80s.
Very poor !

I look forward to tuning in next week where Newsnight's report on
Germany has hordes of men in leather shorts swilling beer and eating
sausages.

The upshot of this is that I now have to wonder, if you are as
out-of-tune with the zeitgeist and politics of your nearest
English-speaking neighbour, how can on earth can we lend any credence
to reports on political issues elsewhere in Europe, let alone in Asia and beyond ?

I was extremely disappointed at Newsnight's take on Bertie Ahern's
decision to resign from office. Firstly, Jeremy Paxman's introduction
saying "He isn't the first Taoiseach to leave office over financial
irregularities and won't be the last" left me asking more questions of
the integrity of the 主播大秀 than of our own political system. Sweeping
statements such as these are the stuff of pub conversations at 2am,
not serious primetime journalism.

I was however ill-prepared for the report which was to follow - the
entire commentary was set to some absurd 40-year-old stage Irish
music. This was obviously meant to set the tone, but it merely served
to remove all credibility from the report - you might as well have
thrown in a few leprechauns, a bunch of shamrock and a pot of gold
while you were at it.

I had tuned in for an objective take on our domestic politics, what I
got was a snapshot of what some people in Britain thought we WERE like
in the 80s.
Very poor !

I look forward to tuning in next week where Newsnight's report on
Germany has hordes of men in leather shorts swilling beer and eating
sausages.

The upshot of this is that I now have to wonder, if you are as
out-of-tune with the zeitgeist and politics of your nearest
English-speaking neighbour, how can on earth can we lend any credence
to reports on political issues elsewhere in Europe, let alone in Asia
and beyond ?

DYSGENIC FERTILITY -> BRAIN GYM?

This was sent to me by a friend (who ocassional posts here). I thought it was worth sharing given the damage which we now see being inflicted upon our Education, Criminal Justic and Health systems as a consequence of dysgenic fertility, differential fertility (female 'emancipation' essentially) and uncontrolled immigration):

1. Teaching Maths In 1970
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for 拢100. His cost of production is
4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Maths In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for 拢100. His cost of production is
4/5 of the price, or 拢80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Maths In 1990
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for 拢100. His cost of production is
拢80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Maths In 2000
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for 拢100. His cost of production is
拢80 and his profit is 拢20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Maths In 2007
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and
inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the
preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of 拢20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class
participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)

So much of what was said in the Brain Gym article reminds me of things said in and about yoga - even down to the idea that releasing physical tension relates to mental tension.

I wonder if the reason the exercises seem to work is more that just doing exercise like that has a focusing and calming effect. Getting children to slow down and focus before a class can be a benefit. Making that focus more 'fun' makes it easier.

If that's the case, the effect would be the same whether it's Brain Gym, Yoga, Karate Kata, Tai Chi, patting your stomach while rubbing your head (ever tried it?), even sitting meditation perhaps though going from full play to full stop would be hard.

All of these things seem to help some people. It would be up to the science to work out how. It sounds bad that the children are taught these pseudo-science explanations. They seem so like guesswork.

If all it is is a calm down and focus effect it would seem a shame to pay a commercial entity for it when so many other ways come for free. If we note that focus exercises help then we should bring in a variety of them and teach them as such.

The debate on Islam and Comedy was utterly pointless. The woman who spoke is so wrong with her comments about people not being allowed to discus Islam because they dont know enough about it. Also whats wrong with ridiculing fanatical/fundamental elements of a religion - the lady claimed that Hamza doesnt represent the whole of the muslim faith - Of course he doesnt but then George Bush doesnt represent the christian faith.