Fintan on teaching reading.

The other day, Fintan, just turned four, took out his book, as he likes to do, and began to read aloud.

However, this day was a little more special than a preschooler reading for himself. He was sitting with his grandmother and he took it upon himself to teach her to read.

He took hold of his grandmother's finger and moved it across each word as he said them aloud carefully to her, to make sure that she understood. He was concerned that the lesson should be clear.

After he had read each line, he wanted his grandmother to repeat it. She did so. At one point, however, to tease him, she read, "Dog" as "Cat."

He paused. He looked at her and very patiently corrected her: "Dog, not cat...why did you say cat?"

"Because the dog looks like a cat.", she explained, inaccurately.

Fintan looked long at the dog, examining it for "cat-ness". After a while, he looked up and said, as if to reassure someone who wasn't quite all there: "It's OK...".

He was very nice about it - but I am sure it did plant some doubts in him about his grandmother's perceptions, eyesight or both. Yet, he was patient with her.

I think Fintan makes a good teacher.

(If you would like to read more of Fintan, four years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and seven months, or Tiarnan, seventeen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The importance of personality

I have been pondering the relationship between the observer and the observed with regards to a gifted student. Does what the teacher sees depend on which teacher is looking? I have reason to believe that it does.

In recent times, I have come to observe Ainan in different teaching situations. With some teachers, he opens up and is more fully himself than with others. In fact, with some teachers he is open, energetic, enthused, interested and alert: a delightful student. With other teachers, however, something in him goes on guard and he closes down. He becomes almost inert in their presence, unwilling to engage or contribute, with a tendency to be unresponsive. The child is the same. What is different is the situation he finds himself in. I think this phenomena will not be restricted to Ainan but may apply to many children: the environment in which they find themselves - in particular the match of their personality with that of the teacher will affect, greatly, the effectiveness of the teaching experience. With some teachers, the child - gifted or otherwise - will come alive. With other teachers, the child will close down and disengage and fail to co-operate fully with the learning experience.

What is it that makes Ainan respond as he does? Well, I think that he responds to warmth of character. In the presence of a warm character, he relaxes and opens up and becomes a very engaging and engaged student. In the presence of a cooler character, however, or even a cold one, he withdraws and disengages and doesn't wish to connect with either the teacher or the subject matter that the teacher wishes to relate.

Sometimes, therefore, if a child is not performing as they should in a particular class, you may need to look beyond the child and at the relationship with the teacher: what kind of person are they? How do they behave in the class? Is that kind of person likely to be accepted or rejected by your child?

This question is particularly important when it comes to deciding on the giftedness of a child. More than one teacher's views should be sought. Different teachers will have elicited different behaviour and seen different things. Some teachers may overlook a child's gifts because they have inadvertently switched the child off: other teachers will glow with remembrance of the wonderful child they have had the privilege to teach. The child is the same: it is the teacher who is different.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and five months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, three or Tiarnan, fifteen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The importance of a good teacher

About a week ago, I took Fintan, three, to school on foot, rather than going by bus. Although this was an accident, at first - he had missed the bus, by a minute or two - it turned out to be a pleasant ten or fifteen minute walk with him.

As I walked, I realized that in the midst of a typical busy day, there isn't so much time for talking as one might wish.

I looked down at Fintan beside me, with his curly hair, so unusual in Singapore, a land of straight, jet black heads of hair and asked him:

"Fintan, what do you like most about school?"

I wasn't sure that he liked school at all, but by asking the question in a positive way, I thought I would direct his attention to the positive aspects of it.

"Chinese", he said, without delay.

Now that surprised me. My wife is Malay, not Chinese and no-one in his acquaintance actually speaks Chinese around him. It seemed to me the least likely of choices given such an unpromising linguistic background - though I have noticed him dropping the occasional Chinese word into conversation as far back as two years ago, even to me, when I don't actually speak it.

"Why do you like Chinese?" I prompted, curious at this odd choice of a difficult language as his favourite subject.

"Because my teacher likes Chinese.", he replied with a smile, as if remembering her enthusiasm.

How interesting: the enthusiasm of his teacher, had become his enthusiasm, too, even when the subject matter was difficult, given his background. I understood, in that moment, just how important the attitude of a teacher is, for a student.

I was happy for him.

"Do you want to speak Chinese when you grow up?" I pursued.

"Yes.", he nodded his curly head, his smile bigger than before.

"Good."

I had had no idea that he liked Chinese so much. Walking him to school was so much better than putting him on a bus: it is called bonding, I suppose.

(If you would like to read more of Fintan, three, Ainan, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and two months, or Tiarnan, twelve months, 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, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)