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Recent research in neuroscience finds that learning is a deeply emotional process, not just a cognitive one.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Jacqueline Ho
In her best-selling memoir Totto-chan, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi tells the story of how she was expelled from school as a first-grader for her disruptive behaviour, but eventually flourished at Tomoe Gakuen, an alternative school.
Whereas she was distracted and disengaged in her old classroom, her new school gave each student the flexibility to begin the day with whatever learning activity most appealed to them. Totto-chan formed lifelong friendships at Tomoe, and even made a promise to her headmaster that she will return to teach there as an adult.
