Perception of the parents of gifted children.

Sometimes, the world thinks strange things about the parents of gifted children, particularly prodigious children. I would like you to imagine what you would think, if you were a University administrator, and someone you didn't know wrote to you about their child – say 8 to 12 years old – and asked about whether the University would accept them, on a degree course – and pointed out that they were already on a degree program elsewhere. What would you think? Be honest.

I have had this experience. I have written to Universities enquiring about whether they would accept my child prodigy son onto their courses, giving them some detail of his achievements. Indeed, I once wrote to the American University of Beirut, Lebanon and asked them that very question. The reason I did so, is I was looking for somewhere for Ainan to continue his studies, at tertiary level. At the time, he was already doing tertiary studies somewhere, but we were considering where he might go for his next step after that. The reason I looked at AUB is because it is the only place I found that offers a full range of American style education, outside of the United States. Not only that, but we know people in that city – and the University states, on its website, that it “supports gifted students”...whatever that means.

Can you guess how their admissions office responded to this attempt at contact? Give it your best shot.

The answer is they didn’t reply at all – despite me writing to them twice, over a five or six week period. Given their long silence after the first attempt to contact them, I assumed they thought I was joking, and so, in my second email, I gave them more details about Ainan’s achievements and needs – and actually said, “This is not a joke. It is a serious admissions enquiry”. Again, no reply was ever received.

Now, I talked this over with my wife and from their silence to what should be a very interesting enquiry, we concluded that the American University of Beirut admissions staff believed one of two things: either that we were joking, or that we were mad. If they at all believed that we were in any way serious or truthful, they would have replied, probably quite quickly.

This kind of situation is a definite problem for the parents of prodigious children. The difficulty is that prodigious children are rare enough such that many academic administrators and professors, have never met one in their field, in the course of their careers. Being unacquainted with prodigies and unfamiliar with what they are able to do, it is quite easy for them, therefore, to doubt the parents, when they are contacted by them. We had that problem, too, long ago, in Singapore, when we first tried to alert the education system to Ainan’s particular gifts, when he was six years old. Their response was not to take our word for it, but to subject Ainan to a several months long assessment and testing period. The Vice-Principal of his school actually SCOFFED at us, when we told him about our son’s gifts, saying, in reference to the tests to come, “We’ll soon see about his so-called giftedness.” I thought their response was bizarre. Rather than give the parents the benefit of the doubt, they assumed, immediately, that the parents were wrong – and set about not to prove them right, but to try to prove them wrong. It was a very unsettling response to witness.

So, again, with the American University of Beirut, I saw this strangeness in their non-response. If they gave us any credit at all, they would have replied, but they didn’t. Thus, it seems they assumed that we were either lying, joking, or just plain bonkers. This, of course, tells me a lot about them. It says that the American University of Beirut had probably never had a child prodigy, in living memory, certainly not one as young and accomplished as Ainan is, for his age. They just didn’t believe me.

This is all very telling and may explain something that I have observed, in the lives of the child prodigies I have become personally acquainted with either directly, or via correspondence. All the ones we have been in contact with, have eventually ended up in the United States for their education. That is right: they all follow the pattern of trying to find local solutions to the problem of educating their child, but ultimately, they end up in the United States. Why do they do this, you might wonder? Well, the American University of Beirut provides an answer: they do this, because they get stonewalled elsewhere. They are either ignored by Universities, or “given the run around”, in their own countries and others they try, nearby, so eventually they give up trying to find a local education – and they try the United States. The USA, on the other hand, usually says “yes, please”, to such children – and so the families relocate for the education of their children. We, personally, know three cases of Asian prodigious children, who have emigrated to the United States, for a tertiary education. We don’t, personally, know of any others who have stayed in their home countries, for such an education. (As you probably know, we left Singapore for Malaysia, at the behest of a University place for our son, here.)

The United States is very familiar with coping with prodigious children. It is a highly populated country, so there are quite a few prodigious children across the nation. The Universities there are accustomed to accepting the occasional child onto their programs. In fact, some American Universities seem specifically prepared to do so. The USA is open to prodigious children in a way that many countries are not.

We have also contacted American Universities about Ainan, over the years. Every single American University replied to us, with positive interest – and usually quite quickly. Even prestigious Universities responded with prompt interest. This is in sharp contrast to the silence of the American University of Beirut, and some Universities in Asia (tactfully unnamed, for reasons of discretion – since we are still in Asia).

So, should you be the parent of a prodigiously gifted child, or know such a parent, I would urge you (or them) to be aware that not everyone will greet your requests on the behalf of your child, with interest or enthusiasm. In quite a few countries, you will be greeted with puzzlement, or disbelief – or even worse. That being said, there are establishments that will take on such children – though you may have to move countries or even continents to find them...after all, we did. Good luck.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Ainan's latest favourite subject.

One of Ainan’s most evident characteristics is his capacity to surprise. He is always managing to find new ways to surprise me, even now that he is 12 years old and I have had 12 years of surprises. He still manages to find new ones.

One of his latest surprises was his reaction to this semester’s selection of courses on his American Degree Programme. Which course do you think is his favourite? I am not going to tell you which courses he is taking, because I want you to imagine out of all possible courses, which one Ainan might consider his favourite. Have a good think about it.

Well, his favourite course this semester is World Civilization. That is basically an ancient history course which he is taking to balance his more scientific interests (other courses this semester include a Chemistry course and a Calculus course, among others). I was surprised to learn that he liked this course so much and so I asked him why. “Because it is new.”, he said simply.

So, Ainan is discovering a liking for more humanistic pursuits than the scientific ones that have preoccupied him all these years. I am pleased at this discovery for it promises that he will end up much more balanced in his education. So far he has studied courses in the areas of Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Biology, Computer Programming, Economics, Computer Animation, English and, now, World Civilization. This is already quite a broad selection of subject areas, but it shall widen much more in the years to come. I hope to see him become broadly knowledgeable, as well as well equipped in his primary interests. That, I believe, would make for a much more effective person.

His World Civilization course is interesting in the way it invites Ainan to think about history and civilization. He is working with a group of his fellow students on designing a civilization, including its own mythologies. He will have to present this invented civilization to his fellow students in class. To my mind, this is a very good challenge to set the students, for it invokes creativity, imagination and the ability to have insights and understandings about the nature of civilizations and what makes them work. It is certainly a much more interesting way to teach students than a standard lecture format. What is most notable about it is the cooperation with other students that it involves. This is, I feel, a good skill for Ainan to develop, since he must learn to work with others, to a common goal. This is a situation which is not natural to many gifted children, accustomed as they are, to thinking alone and working in solitude.

I am happy to hear the occasional remark from Ainan about less familiar (to me) events in history and civilizations I know very little about. It is heartening that, it seems, he will end up with a more comprehensive view of the world than I managed to acquire in my own education. Certainly, if he continues to study broadly as well as deeply, that is a likely outcome. Of course, it is much to his advantage that he is studying an American degree rather than a British style one. In a British degree specialization is encouraged at the expense of breadth. Such an education leads to incomplete understandings of the world. That is not the likely fate of Ainan.

I will write more in future of his reaction to his course selections. It is revelatory to discover what he likes and what he doesn’t. I have learnt that this is not as predictable as one might have thought. Then again, I shouldn’t really have been surprised by that, should I?

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The death of the individual.

People die in various ways. Most nowadays die of old age. Some, however, are killed, as children, by their education. I saw something recently that made me reflect how dangerous “education” can be. It was a simple thing really, something that most might overlook – but to me it was quite disturbing. It was a school art exhibition.

Now, you may be wondering why and how I could find a school art exhibition disturbing. It was, actually, more than disturbing – it was saddening too. What provoked me to feel so was the manner in which the works had been carried out, and the way in which the children had been taught. The works were all in the style of Paul Klee, the painter. There was, perhaps, the work of a dozen children, each absolutely indistinguishable from the next, because all sought to be imitations, as perfect as they could render, of the style of Paul Klee. There were other artists too, in this exhibit, who had been imitated and echoed. It was dispiriting. Each child had been taught to give up their instinctual creativity and in its stead, taught that they must copy to create art. Every child, in that school, under this particular teacher, had had their creativity extracted from them. Not a single piece had anything unique, special, or in fact, artistic about it. They were all slavish copies.

I should point out at this point, that this is not a criticism of Asian schooling, in particular, although Asian schools are just as guilty of this practice – for this school was an international school in Malaysia (I shall not name it). Thus, it is clear that the policy of encouraging students to copy, has crossed over into the international schools.

To teach a child that to create is to copy, is to kill something very fundamental to the mental health of the child. In a way, it kills all that is special about them. These children would be better off not having any art lessons at all. Being taught in this way, ensures, indeed absolutely guarantees that none of these children will become artists. True artists never copy – their art emerges from within them, and is not dependent on external models. None of these children had the outlook of an artist. They had the perspective of photocopiers.

It is hard to understand, for me, at least, how their teachers and their school can consider instruction in imitation, to be an art lesson. Art is not about imitation – true art, at least. Those who think art is about imitation haven’t really understood it.

I have some advice: if your child ever comes home with an artwork in the style of or manner of a famous artist, please withdraw them from the art class. They will learn nothing there, they will, in fact, unlearn their innate creativity. Art lessons like that, will turn your child into a derivative clone. They are better off with no art lessons at all, if all they are teaching is the art of the plagiarist.

Sometimes the best education, is no education at all. It might be hard to accept that, in this world of high pressure schooling and home tutors. However, it might be worth your time to have a good look at the way your children are being taught. Are they learning to copy or create? If the former, no school, would be better than that kind of school.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.htmland here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Are Jane Austen and Charles Dickens science fiction?

Now, my title question might strike you as bizarre, if you know the least thing about literature. However, it is a question that my life experience posed for me, recently.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Times Bookshop in Sri Hartamas, in Kuala Lumpur. I had gone in search of a book for Ainan. (He wanted a copy of Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams, since he had enjoyed Life, the Universe and Everything. Of course, I already have copy many thousands of miles away in England, but that is not much use to me here!) So, there I was browsing the shelves for Douglas Adams’ work. Despite the most careful search, it was clear that they didn’t have a single book by the amusing Mr. Adams. However, they did have something most strange. In a very prominent position, on the top shelf of the Science Fiction and Fantasy section, was a pile of books by Jane Austen. You know the ones: such “science fiction” classics as Emma and Pride and Prejudice. Next to this, were some books by Charles Dickens, such as A tale of two cities. At this sight, I pause a moment, in reverence at the stupendous obtuseness, of the person who had categorized these books so.

Did I miss something? Has period literature of the 18th and 19th century been reclassified as “Science Fiction/ Fantasy”, whilst I was looking elsewhere? Is the modern attitude to the past so distorted, that works of relative realism about past times, can now be seen as so outlandish that they must be filed in “Science Fiction/Fantasy”?

This incident does make me wonder, however, whether the bookshop assistant who did this, is actually able to read the books he or she so files. Are they completely unable to recognize what type of book, a book is, from a brief glance? Do they not know the reputations of some of the most famous authors in history? I would have thought that anyone who had studied English literature for even the most basic qualification, would be familiar with the type of oeuvre of famed authors, even if not with the works themselves. Perhaps this incident is an indicator that a little more effort, in the education system, could be put into the humanities. Like most parts of Asia, the sciences and maths are emphasized, often to the detriment of all else. This is harmful. A scientist who does not read, is probably one who cannot write – and that is one who cannot communicate his or her work. I would suggest, therefore, that an appreciation of literature be inculcated, in Malaysia’s youngsters, in addition to their grasp of maths and science. Otherwise, oddly categorized books, in bookstores will be the least of Malaysia’s problems with its workforce, in the long term.

It should be noted that, although I saw this happen in Malaysia, that it is very easy to believe it could happen in Singapore, too and other South East Asian countries. Here, in Asia, science and maths are all - and the rest can often be forgotten, to an unfortunate degree.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html

and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks. You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

On inspiring the gifted.

Over the last week or two, we have learnt something interesting about the consequences of Ainan's move to Malaysia, to receive an appropriate education. His move has, basically, not gone unnoticed, and is not without its influence.

The other day, I was speaking to someone in education, in Malaysia. They observed that parents of gifted children, from as far away as the United States, had contacted her, with regards to finding a place for their gifted child to pursue an education in Malaysia. She spoke of two specific examples, that she was in touch with: one from America and one from Asia.

Now, just think what this means. I spoke to ONE person in Malaysian education and they had had TWO recent contacts from parents wishing to migrate to Malaysia for the education of their gifted child. Both sets of parents had been prompted to make enquiries in Malaysia, on hearing about Ainan.

It seems clear that, in choosing Malaysia, we have, effectively, endorsed its private education sector as a viable choice, for the parents of gifted children. We have put Malaysian education "on the map".

What is most telling about this is that we have only spoken to one person in Malaysian education - and they were personally handling two cases of gifted children, from overseas, seeking a suitable schooling, in Malaysia. How many others, therefore, are there, throughout the Malaysian education system? As I write, there could be many parents, from around the world, making enquiries of Malaysian institutions.

This is about more than Ainan, of course. You see, Ainan's move only highlighted an existing situation in Malaysia's private education sector: the open-ness to being flexible with a gifted child. This is a property of Malaysia's private education sector. Our discovery that this flexibility existed and the move of Ainan to the system, only brought attention upon this open-ness. Had the open-ness not been there, we would not have moved and there would be no spotlight upon Malaysian education. Thus, the credit goes to HELP University for being open, not to us, for going through the door.

It is fascinating to consider, however, that the move of one gifted child, from one country to another, can actually affect the lives and life choices, of many other gifted children. Thus, the effect of Ainan's life choices (or the ones we make on his behalf to open a way for him), ripple outwards and affect many lives. There is no telling how many lives are changed by that simple decision. As other gifted children investigate Malaysia as an option, and some choose to migrate there, their examples, will, in turn, inspire others. So it is, that the decision of one person, to move to Malaysia for an education could have the effect of making Malaysia, what Singapore strives to be, "an education hub".

Malaysia has certain advantages over Singapore that Singapore can do nothing about. The cost of living in Malaysia is much, much lower than in Singapore. Thus, the cost of securing an education is a mere fraction of what it is, in Singapore - for, not only are school fees lower, but the cost of being there, is lower, too. Thus, families can afford a BETTER education in Malaysia, than they could in Singapore, if their budget is in any way constrained (as most middle class and below budgets are).

Then again, Malaysian people are warmer and more friendly than their Singaporean counterparts - who are usually too busy making a living, to make life comfortable for others. So, living in Malaysia, can be more enjoyable, for many.

Singapore thrives on its own legend, which has been carefully crafted over decades of international PR efforts. Yet, it is all just PR. This public relations has had two sides to it: a) Singapore is no. 1 and b) Malaysia is awful. The funny thing is, that neither statement is true, in any way. Singapore is not no.1 in anything significant (most Europeans consider it mediocre in most respects, except public safety, public transport and predictability) - and Malaysia is actually a very pleasant place to be, in most respects. Sadly, however, many people believe Singapore's PR - because they are Singaporean and don't know enough about the wider world to know that Singapore is NOT "no. 1" - or they have not spent enough time in Malaysia to come to know it, and so believe the negative propaganda that Singapore spews out, about it, on a daily basis.

There is a world beyond Singapore and there are viable education choices, outside of Singapore, in South East Asia. Though it was not Ainan's intention to do so, his simple move from Singapore to Malaysia for an education, has been a revelation for many: it has shown them that an education is possible in Malaysia, in the private sector, that it is viable, affordable...and decent enough to be chosen by Ainan. Already, people are reacting to this news and gifted families are now considering Malaysia, for their children's education. This is something we did not expect, but perhaps it is something we should have foreseen.

It will be interesting to see how many gifted families move to Malaysia. I will keep in touch with my friend in education and see what happens in the cases that come their way.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Did you hear?

Sometimes conversations are strange affairs. They can change one's perspective on life.

Today, while in Singapore, I was engaged in conversation with a very enthusiastic homeschooler. She was really happy that her kids had "never been to school". She spoke of how "free" they were and of how "they actually got to sleep." (For those who don't know, sleep is frowned on for Singapore's children, since they have to get up at about 5.30 am to go to school. Great stuff.)

Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.

"Have you heard about that boy, who is gifted in physics and chemistry?", she began, as if about to broach a matter of some seriousness.

"Yes. I think so." After all, I am his Dad.

"Well, they wouldn't let him homeschool." She frowned at this. "...and now he lives in Malaysia."

I sort of nodded sympathetically.

"It is very sad.", she said, with what seemed like genuine feeling.

Somehow, I didn't feel like telling her quite how I knew the boy she spoke of. It felt better that way. I didn't want to colour her reactions or her feelings, by letting her know. It was better, instead, to observe her genuine sadness that Ainan should have had to leave Singapore because he had not been free, here, to pursue an education to his liking and needs.

It did feel odd, however, to be spoken of, as if she knew of us - and yet, she didn't know me, at all. She didn't even know she was speaking to the boy in question's father. I was just an attentive listener, to her, a sympathetic ear. I can only imagine her surprise if she had known just who I was.

It was good, though, to see that she was sympathetic to Ainan's situation. She understood the need to go elsewhere, to find a more fitting educational environment - and she sided with him, not with the "system".

This encounter has made me aware that our family story has become one shared and related by people in the region. It is a matter to be discussed and reflected on. It was heartening to hear, quite innocently, from this lady, that some, at least, side with us, over the issue. Her words of empathetic support are all the more valuable, in that she had no idea who she was saying them to.

Thanks to that Singaporean homeschooler.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6, or Tiarnan, exactly 4, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, College, University, HELP University College, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Computer Programming, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, prodigy, genie, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDB listing, for which about another fifteen credits have yet to be uploaded. This will take many months before they are approved. Please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ for my listing. Ainan’s listing is at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley’s listing is at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Ainan's first days at HELP University

This week has been a happy one. I have known the happiness of a father seeing his son, happier than he has long been.

After his first day, in class, at HELP University College (Tuesday, 5th January 2009), Ainan came home looking quite upbeat.

"What did you think of your first day?", I asked, hoping for a positive answer.

Ainan paused and looked a little distant, for a moment.

"Nine...", he began, slowly, "Point Five...out of ten."

It was my turn to be upbeat, for that was a very high mark from Ainan.

Before I could ask it, he answered the question I would have posed.

"The classes were much better than anything I have known in school before."

"That's good...so you like it?"

He just nodded, in his minimal way, in which a little gesture, is worth an entire, never uttered, conversation.

This may seem like a subdued exchange but by Ainan's standards, this was a jubilant display. Never have I known him to be so pleased about an educational experience. For him, formal education has always been a disappointment, except for practical classes, in Chemistry. Other than that, he had always found it a matter of personal excruciation.

Long term readers will recall Ainan's incredible disappointment, after his first day in school, in Singapore, several years ago. He returned, very long faced and utterly dejected, at the experience: he had expected so much more, he had expected to LEARN things - but, in Singapore, learning wasn't on the table - the challenge was aimed rather low, for him. They were asking him to do things he had learnt to do a lifetime ago.

So, to understand how pleased I am at Ainan's response to HELP University College, you should hold those two images in your mind: Ainan's utter dejection at his first day in a Singaporean school - and his quiet elation at his first day at HELP University. The former school, he would have rated ZERO out of ten; the latter he rated at 9.5 out of 10. For me, this is likely to be the highlight of my year (well, it would be difficult to top, anyway). You see, it confirms for me what I had long known, in my heart: that if Ainan is given an educational challenge more on his level, that he will come alive and enjoy it. That is, after all, what I tried to tell the Singaporean education system (which consists of people who have ever-moving mouths, but no ears).

I was right. Giving Ainan a more meaty intellectual task, has made him happy. For the FIRST time in his life, he considers school a worthwhile experience.

Thank you, HELP University College, for allowing Ainan to know happiness in his education...and thank you, Malaysia, for being, so far, what Singapore is not. That, by the way, can only be a good thing.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

A contrast of cultures.

Singapore is a strange place. One only discovers how strange, when it is compared to other cultures. Unfortunately, most Singaporeans get little chance to make such a comparison and so, truly, never come to understand their own culture.

Ainan has achieved many things which have never become publicly known. We just haven't mentioned them. Recently, we communicated one of these achievements - a pretty big achievement, actually - to some people we thought should know, since it was relevant to them. One of them was the Principal of his school, another was an institution in Singapore that has contact with Ainan. We also contacted an interested party in Malaysia and another in Australia. What really surprised me, was the difference in responses among these different parties.

Before I tell you what happened, I would like you to consider what you think would a) be the natural response to good news of an unprecedented academic achievement for a young child. b) what was the most likely response by a particular party c) how quickly that response should normally come.

Have you thought about it? Have you come up with answers? Please do not read on until you have.

Right. Are you ready? Well, the Australian University responded in less than TEN minutes, with warm words of congratulation. The Malaysian party responded within a few hours, with effusive congratulations and two pages of advice and leads for further development. The Singaporean institution that Ainan has had contact with, responded, after ONE WEEK, by WITHDRAWING ALL SUPPORT OF AINAN. As for Ainan's Principal - after TWO WEEKS, she has NOT replied AT ALL.

I must confess myself to being rather shocked by this. It is abundantly clear, and could not be more clear, that Singaporean institutions and educational parties, do not wish Ainan to progress. They seem to take news of his progression as BAD NEWS. Their responses are unnatural and unsupportive in the extreme. It defies belief that Ainan's own country should show such a lack of enthusiasm and natural warmth where his progress is concerned - and other countries, such as Australia and Malaysia should respond with congratulations, warmth and offers of further help.

Singapore is a place that does not deserve the excellence of its citizens. For those citizens who are excellent soon discover that other nations are more welcoming of their excellence, than is Singapore. Perhaps that is why Singapore has such great trouble retaining its citizens: they discover, eventually, that the rest of the world appreciates them better than Singapore does. It defies belief that places we have never even been to - such as Australia - should be warmer, more human and more natural in their responses to Ainan - than Singaporean people in authority and educational institutions.

What makes this all the more sad, of course, is that we have tried very hard to remain in Singapore and to make a way for Ainan to progress here. We have been very patient with a system that is pretty inflexible and rather difficult to worth with. We have shown great forebearance with them...yet, when we contrast the degree of local response, with the responses we receive internationally, we can only conclude that there is something wrong with Singapore. The responses here, are unnatural and unhelpful. Singapore is a nation that TALKS about breeding local talent, but what it actually does is IGNORE local talent and IMPORT foreign talent - mainly PRCs. Truly, local talent finds it quite difficult to get access to what is needed to develop optimally. So many barriers exist and are put in the way. The philosophy appears to be that it is easier to bring in "talent" made elsewhere, than to go to all the trouble of properly nurturing it at home.

It is common to hear praise for Singapore's education system - but I find this praise usually comes from people who don't really understand what the education system here is for, or what it does. Very few Singaporeans can understand their own system, because they have no experience of other systems and so have no contrasts to make. Singapore's system is about conformity and efficiency. It is about, not encouraging creative talent to prosper and grow, but about creating predictable cogs in the economic machine. It is not really an education system, it is an ECONOMIC system. Hence, they probably don't think it is worthwhile making Ainan's path ahead as open as possible, because they don't see how he fits into the standard economic model. Indeed, since they can't see where he is going, they would rather bring in a PRC who is already what they want, than to nurture Ainan to become someone who would contribute to society. The same reasoning will be applied to any child who does not seem to fit the economic system. Their value will not be seen.

So, it is that we find that Malaysians and Australians are very quick with their congratulations, warmth, support and advice - whereas Singaporeans either do NOT reply at all - or reply by taking a sanction against Ainan - in this case withdrawing support previously offered. My conclusion is that, if you seek to achieve anything out of the ordinary in Singapore, the system will either ignore you (as Ainan's Principal did) or punish you (as the educational institution did). The last thing you will receive is congratulations or support.

Mind you, it is good to see the truth of the system in action - it tells us, of course, that we are wasting our time with such people and such institutions - and so, of course, we will not waste our time with them, in future.

From our vantage, the future of Singapore is looking pretty mediocre - since excellence is shunned by the system, discouraged and opposed. In a way, it is darkly funny...because publicly the nation's ministers speak of nurturing home grown talent - but privately, what actually happens, is that such talent will find walls everywhere. Singapore is, ultimately, a hypocritical nation: it says one thing and does another. No doubt, this observation doesn't just apply to the field of education - but I make it, initially, as an observation regarding education.

The hardest thing to understand about this behaviour on the part of Singaporean authority figures and institutions is that, if I imagine myself to be them, I cannot see myself ever doing as they are doing. There is no positive motivation, emotion or thought, that would lead to their behaviours. It is only when I start to imagine myself to possess negative motivations, emotions and thoughts, that it becomes possible to imagine making the choices they make. I can only conclude that they are driven by a negative value system that is life denying, growth opposing and, essentially, unethical. The system, here, does not have a good heart. It is not run by good people - because, basically and most obviously, good people don't behave as they are doing. It would not be within the range of behavioural choices of good people, to do as they do. That, in itself, is a startling and rather saddening realization. It is also something that many locals appear to be unaware of - perhaps because they have never been in a position to put the local authorities in a position to reveal themselves for what they are.

To put it most simply. It is the most natural thing in the world to congratulate a young child on an unprecedented achievement. It is the response one would expect, automatically, from 100% of people who were not mentally impaired and unable to understand the situation. In Ainan's case, it was the response of both the Malaysian and the Australian party. However, it was not the response of the Singaporean parties. Their responses were silence and punishment, respectively. It is in this strange contrast of responses that Singapore reveals the true nature of its culture and its educational system. I think it speaks most clearly.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Singapore's educational edge.

Singapore has an educational edge, over its erstwhile imperial master. About twenty years ago, the UK dropped the rigorous O level examination, in favour of the more democratic GCSE. By "democratic" I mean that it is an exam meant for everyone, and not for the better students, as O level was. Singapore, however, wasn't fond of the democratic idea of the GCSE and continued to favour the elitist O level. The results are clear.

Twenty years later, Singapore continues to use the O level examination. (This is the one that Ainan took. He is the youngest person to have done so.) I think this is a promising situation for Singapore - and the other former colonies and members of the Commonwealth that use the O level - and a terrible situation for the UK.

The O level challenges the student on two levels: in terms of the level and detail of knowledge required - and in terms of the level of reasoning needed to use that knowledge to solve the problems set. GCSE is much weaker. Less knowledge and less reasoning are required - so much less, in fact, that those who pass the GCSE with good grades probably wouldn't pass the O level at all.

Now, this is a serious problem for the UK. Their students have been set a bar that is too low. This means that the more able students are not being stretched up to the age of 16. The bar was deliberately lowered because only the top 20 % of students were able to handle the O level at 16. This was was thought unfair, so the bar was lowered, with a new exam which more people would be able to cope with. In Singapore (and many other countries around the world), the decision was made to keep the bar high and challenge the students to reach it. Their thinking was not that things should be made easy for the students, but that the students should just get on with meeting the challenge. (However, Singapore did recognize the situation in its own way, not by scrapping O level, but by bringing in a second-tier exam, the N level, for the kind of students who would need GCSE in England. This meant the standard was preserved, at O level, and all were happy.)

I rather think that, in substituting an easier exam, for a harder one, the UK is undermining its own national competitiveness. By lowering the bar, they have lowered the potential of an entire nation.

The rest of the world did not follow the UK's lead. The old style UK exams of the O level (and A level) are still popular around the world. This means that the rest of the world is leading the UK, in educational standards, simply by keeping the standards that the UK once had. It seems somewhat ironic that the rest of the world could overtake the UK simply by aping what the UK once was - but the UK no longer remains.

My sons will take the O level. I don't want them to be underchallenged and I see no point in taking an exam that lowers the bar. There is no achievement in achieving less than they could achieve.

In the UK, however, when Ainan is mentioned, they say that he passed his "GCSE". This is wrong. He took O level - a much harder exam. However, I understand why the newspapers do that. It saves them from having to explain to their readers that the rest of the world did not dumb down by adopting the GCSE when the UK did - and that much of the rest of the world still takes O levels. It would, of course, be rather embarrassing, to have to explain that.

I do not want to see the nation of my childhood go into long-term decline. Yet, I cannot help but feel that by lowering its own internal standard, by dropping the "elitist" O level, in favour of the "democratic" GCSE, it is ushering in age of just such a decline. I rather hope that something is done to reverse it before it is too late.

Isn't it funny that the rest of the world remembers the standards of UK's bygone age...while the UK itself has forgotten them? In that memory, will the rest of the world find success, while the UK finds a long slow decline.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Of cheers and jeers in the classroom.

I have been in Singapore for many years. I have seen things here, that I have not seen elsewhere. Many of these things are to do with a difference of culture and mentality, a distinctness of outlook and beliefs. One of these differences is in how school children treat each other.

In two schools, now, I have seen an unusual reaction that I never once saw in the quite a few schools I attended, when I was growing up in England. In one classroom, of foreign Asian students, studying in Singapore, there was a talented student. He was the brightest boy, in one way, in the class (though not the most creative). As a teacher should, I would ask several people to speak in front of the class, either to read or think before the others. Whenever I asked anyone else, there was generally silence. Yet, when I asked this particular boy to speak, they would CHEER him. This was most unexpected when they first did it. The reason they CHEERED is that they delighted in his skill. They cherished his intelligence. They admired his gift. Whenever it came his turn to do anything academic, they would herald his words, with a universal cheering in the classroom.

Now, this boy's work was indeed consistently very good. He was the most skilful, in a conventional sense, of all of the students. Noting their reaction to him, I decided to ask another student to read - one who was less obvious, less a known factor, to the other students. It was the Indonesian boy of whom I have written before - the one I have termed the best student writer in Singapore. Now, his writing was brilliant for an unconventional reason: it was imaginative in writing, content, choice of words and originality of expressions - but it was not perfect in grammar and spelling (unlike the class hero's work).

Knowing that he would not, perhaps, be the best of readers of his own work, I took the Indonesian's writing from him and stood still in front of the class and began to read. No-one said anything before I began. There was no heralding of the work to come. I read, with care, depth and feeling. All the room was silent. As I said the last word and looked out over the classroom, a murmur of appreciation went around the room. They had realized something: this boy, this very quiet boy from Indonesia, whom they had overlooked, had something very special. They did not react with jealousy to this discovery - but with a kind of awed admiration. I had just created another class hero. He didn't receive cheers in the way the other one did - but he did, thereafter, receive a murmur of appreciation, a strange, almost inaudible communication that passed swiftly around the classroom each time I chose him. It seemed as if his quieter personality (for he never spoke in class) warranted a quieter response.

So, that class of Asian foreign students admired people of gift, and welcomed them with cheers and other cries of appreciation. I have seen the same thing in another class, in Singapore - this time of Singaporeans.

It was a Secondary One class and what struck me about it was that every time a WEAKER student had difficulty with a task, the class would urge them on. Once the task had been completed, the class would cheer the student for their efforts. This is a complementary attitude, therefore, to the response I observed in the other class - but it has, essentially, the same meaning. In both classes, the striving for greatness is appreciated and rewarded by the rest of the class. I recall one student in particular. She was the sole foreigner in the class, from China. She was older and taller than the others and it was difficult to judge her brightness or otherwise, since her English was a little too weak for a decision to be made. When it came her turn to speak before the class, the whole class cheered her on. She was quite a shy girl and I could see she was very touched by the support of the class - she didn't know whether to smile or shed a grateful tear. It was sweet to watch. Then she began to speak, unsteadily, stumbling over words and structures. Throughout, the class was silent, but intent, their eyes and their encouraging nods urging her on. I could see that she felt their support, that their united attitude of care was allowing her to do this most difficult of all tasks: public speaking. At last, she was done - and the classroom was filled with "whoops" and cheers. The tall, awkward Chinese girl walked fluidly, bouyantly back to her seat, with a smile that could not have been broader - a smile of relief to have achieved her aim and gratitude for their support.

Now, I have spent this much time on description of these two classrooms: one of Singaporeans and one of foreigners, for a good reason. I would like to constrast that with what I experienced in many different schools in England, when I was growing up. At the time, there was a common response to anyone who excelled: the jeer. The scenes I have written of above could not have happened in any school I observed in England (and I observed many, having moved around quite a bit). There, excellence of the academic kind always attracted a venomous reaction. There was no surer way to unpopularity, in all schools that I experienced, than to be brighter than the rest. If you were smart, you were an exile. That is the way it was and no doubt, given the dumbing down of the UK, since then, that is the way it remains. There is an anti-intellectualism that undermines the health of the nation, there. The best people have to learn to mask their greatness and blend in, in some way. However, should they blend too vigorously or too long, there is the risk that they will lose the essential difference that made them great in the first place. I saw many people excel, in my schools, in England. Yet, never once were such students cheered, and not a few times they would be jeered. The jeers would not come in the classroom, before the teacher, but in the playground, later, where jealousies and spite would be taken out on the gifted student who had dared to show them up, simply by existing.

Never once did I see a class in which the other students supported the most gifted members of the class. Never once did I see approval of achievement or excellence, as a general response. The teachers, too, were often poor at rewarding greatness. They would usually not comment on the relative achievements of students - and so it was that the achieving student would receive no positive feedback from the students and none from the staff, either. They would be left to generate their own positive feelings, to understand their own position in the world.

I do not know how common this phenomenon of cheering on the greater and the weaker is, in Singapore. I only know this: I have only ever seen this in a Singaporean classroom. In UK classrooms it was the jeer, not the cheer that came readily to every throat. I wonder what this means for the long term future of the UK and of Asia. I note that the classroom that cheered on its best student (academically) was a pan-Asian classroom, with children from all over Asia. The gifted boy in question was Malaysian. So, if this cheering of the great is a pan-Asian phenomenon it could very well be, that in decades to come, Asia could emerge as a greater power than one might suppose. For nothing more is likely to help the flowering of the gifted, than that they should find support from the wider community. I have witnessed that force at work in Asia - I have never seen it at work in the UK.

The UK would do better, I feel, if its students could learn to cheer the greater on (and urge the weaker to achieve). Singapore would benefit if what I have seen in two classrooms could become a property of all.

How much more likely is a gifted child to succeed if they hear cheers in their ears, rather than jeers? Correspondingly, how much more likely is the child who hears jeers, in their ears, to fail?

The answer to this question will be found in the corresponding fates of Asia and the UK in the decades to come.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

Homeschooling in Singapore and the USA: a comparison

Without knowing how common homeschooling is, elsewhere, it is not possible to assess the Singaporean situation, fully. So, how common is homeschooling in the United States?

Well, Dr. Patricia Lines wrote a paper, found on the Discovery Institute site, that estimates that, in 2001-2002 there were up to 1,320,000 homeschooled children in America. The growth rate for the years 1995 to 1998 was noted to be 11 per cent, year on year - so there could be many more such children by now. Even at these figures, however, we can see how rare homeschooling is in Singapore, with its 280 homeschooled children.

As a ratio of population, the homeschooled children in America in 2001 to 2002 constituted about 1 in 227 or so. In Singapore, that figure is 1 in 16,428.

Apparently, 2 to 3 per cent of American children are homeschooled. Virtually none are, in Singapore. From the figures above, one can see that homeschooling is more than 72 times more common in America, than in Singapore.

Singapore has a long way to go before it can honestly speak of a homeschooling trend. If one were to look at the situation, impartially, with a global perspective, one could say, without doubt that there is almost no homeschooling at all happening in Singapore. The freedoms that would make it possible for homeschooling to be common, are not readily given. Until they are, homeschooling will remain a rare, mostly expatriate phenomenon in Singapore.

One big step towards making homeschool more likely for Singapore's children would be changing the name of the government department responsible for it from "Compulsory Education Unit" to virtually anything else. How about "The homeschooling unit" or "The Alternative Education Unit". Such names would inspire greater confidence in the positive intentions of the unit in question. As it is, the very name of the unit says you haven't got much hope of being allowed to homeschool.

I haven't got any figures to hand at this moment, but I would be very surprised if anywhere else in the world could challenge Singapore for the rarity of homeschooling. Singapore is probably "no.1" in not allowing children to homeschool. However, I don't think this is a "no.1" to be proud of. Parental choice is always a good idea in such important matters. You see, the parent is much more likely to know what is best for their children than the state. That appears to have been overlooked along the way.

If any of you are thinking of homeschooling your children in Singapore, I wish you luck. It is not an easy path to get permission. A year and a half into seeking it, we are still being fobbed off.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and four months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and nine months, and Tiarnan, twenty-six months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind, niño, gênio criança, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The Nature of American Education on TV

A few days ago, I chanced upon a TV programme that made me wonder about the nature of American education.

Now, I should point out that I have never studied in America. I have not been to school, there, nor University (although I worked in one, once). I have not personally, therefore, gone through the process of an American education. I am left, therefore, with the evidence that comes my way through other sources. One of them was a TV programme shown in Singapore this week, entitled: "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?".

This TV programme was a quiz show. It challenged participants, who were adults, to pit their wits against the knowledge base of an American elementary school fifth grader. I should rephrase that: it is not their wits that were being pitted, but their memories, for no wits were actually required. I should explain. I noted, with some puzzlement, that all of the questions consisted of a simple exercise in recall. They were all factually based questions that required a quantum of knowledge as an answer. There were no questions in which actual thinking, or any kind of rational process, was required to produce an answer. This puzzled me. Does this accurately reflect the true nature of American elementary school education, or does it simply reflect the choices of the quiz show producers?

I would like comment, therefore, from Americans, if possible. Is American education based too much on simple rote learning of facts, or is there actually thinking involved? Is elementary education largely an exercise in factual recall?

I would be interested to find out.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The 2006 Pisa survey on OECD education.

The results of the 2006 Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) survey have just been released. They make interesting reading.

The Pisa report is a comprehensive survey of the skills in science, reading and mathematics of 400,000 15 year olds tested in 57 countries around the world. Singapore is not one of them.

The survey is conducted once every three years and serves as a snapshot of international students' comparative abilities.

The OECD is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. An average performance for the OECD across the three areas was calculated. Before I discuss who was below average, however, I will state the results for the top three positions in each category. There are some surprises, here, at least for me.

In Science:

Finland was no.1. (average score 563)
Hong Kong was no.2 (average score 542)
Canada was no.3 (average score 534)

In Reading:

South Korea was no.1 (average score 556)
Finland was no.2 (average score 547)
Hong Kong was no.3 (average score 536)

In Mathematics:

Taipei was no.1 (average score 549)
Finland was no.2 (average score 548)
Hong Kong and South Korea were equal at No.3 (average score 547).

Now, firstly, it is remarkable that both Finland and Hong Kong appear in the top 3 for all categories. This shows that there is a distinct correlation between performance in each of these areas. Perhaps it reveals that bright students, on average, do well in all subjects. Alternatively, that well-educated students do well on all subjects (depending on whether you ascribe the results to nature or nurture).

32 countries were statistically below the average of all OECD countries in science. These included the United States, Spain and Italy.

Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and, oddly, given Finland's astonishing all-round performance, Norway, were below the OECD average in reading.

For mathematics, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Portugal were all below the OECD average.

Interestingly, South Korea beat Finland in reading. This is notable because Finland topped the reading results in both Pisa 2000 and Pisa 2003. Even more interesting, for what it says about the education system in South Korea is the source of the improvement. South Korea improved its average, not by bringing up the performance of the lower end students - whose quality of work remained essentially unchanged - but by enhancing the performance of its more able students. The stellar students shine more brightly in South Korea.

It seems to me that the South Korean approach is more likely to result in truly capable adults, who are able to do something worthwhile. As a nation, they seem to be aiming for peak performance of their best students. Most countries (like the United States and its famous - or infamous - No Child Left Behind Act) appear to aim at strengthening their weakest students. I think this has limited utility from the point of view of getting the best out of a student population. The results of Pisa 2006 seem to show this, with the United States lagging behind most other nations in Science and Mathematics.

The students were generally asked to carry out paper and pencil tasks, in the three areas of Science, Reading and Mathematics.

One of the most interesting results of this study is that Canada came third in Science, but the United States was below average for an OECD country. I am not familiar with the differences between the Canadian systems and the US systems. Perhaps a reader of this blog post can enlighten both myself and my readers by suggesting why Canada came third but the United States was below average. Do Canadians spend more time on Science than US students? Are they just more gifted at it? Is the education system simply better in general? I would welcome any insights on the conundrum.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

What does "Early College" mean?

Everywhere, the world over, educational systems and standards differ. This makes it very difficult to understand what one nation's educational accomplishments mean without some research.

In America, there is a phenomenon known as "Early College". This is where a child aged under 18 goes to a "College" where the usual age of admission is 18. The procedure is undertaken not infrequently to address the educational needs of gifted children, showing precocity, who might otherwise become bored, disheartened and otherwise switched off, by an unchallenging education, at school. This seems like a good idea, therefore: but what does it mean? What is College?

Every country above the most primitive level, has Universities. Yet, not all Universities are the same. In particular, there is a divide between what an American University is and does - and what Universities in the rest of the world tend to be about - and provide.

In many countries, University is meant for an elite: it is not meant for all. In America, "College" is a much more common experience than it is for the nationals of many other countries. There is a reason for this. In most Western countries, a first degree is used for professional education. In America, a first degree is usually used for general education. What this means is that American Universities are actually doing what is done in secondary school/high school in Europe and all those countries that follow a European style of education (which includes Australia and parts of Asia, and even Africa, as I understand it).

In England, general education is completed, normally, at the age of 16. This is a typical age around the world for general education to have been completed. Then specialist education begins. In America, general education is completed by taking a four year degree: thus it is complete at the age of 22. This means that there is a very important difference between American and European education systems that must be understood if the two are to be compared. An American with a first degree has just completed their general education. A European with a first degree, has, in many cases, completed their professional education, AND their general education.

So, how may we compare the American system to the rest of the world? Well, the website of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, compares requirements for admission to a medical degree, by applicants from different countries of the world. Distilling the essence of what it says is simple. A school leaver from secondary school/high school, aged 18, from anywhere in the world is, in theory, ready to start a medical degree in Ireland (if they are of good grades etc.). Yet, for an American applicant, A BACHELOR'S DEGREE is required for Admission to the normal program. Otherwise candidates have to undergo a special extended program longer than the usual degree.

This site equates an American Bachelor's degree as being equivalent to a high school education in the developed world - or in fact less. It states that an American Bachelor's degree is comparable to Year 11 of the Australian education system: that is, the age of attainment reached at the age of 17, by an Australian "high school" student.

Thus, back to my first question: what does Early College mean, in the American context? It means a high school educational opportunity, in the context of almost all the developed world. It does not mean "University-level" when compared to those who follow a European model.

As I have noted before, in other posts, this difference between the American system and the rest of the world, is due to the emphasis on breadth, at the expense of depth, in the American education sytem up to and including a Bachelor's degree. Most of the rest of the world looks into subjects at depth, much earlier on in a student's education.

This analysis of education systems helps us understand an interesting cultural observation. There are quite a few American kids in Early College, if internet boards are anything to go by. There are virtually none in University in the rest of the world. The reason for this is now clear: like is not being compared with like. An American student in Early College is studying material that a sixteen year old would study in High School/Secondary School in the rest-of-the-world system. Thus to compare like with like, we must look for rest-of-the-world students who have been accelerated to the later stages of High School/Secondary School. We do, in fact, find such students - although they are rare. (I do not have access to numerical data, but I have read of a few cases, in my lifetime). Furthermore, we also find some children who ARE in University while quite young - but these are few, in the rest-of-the-world. They are studying a Bachelor's degree in the main: this is equivalent to an American Doctoral degree.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and eight months, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults, and gifted children in general. Thanks.)