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.) 

On coping with rejection.

The biggest difference between those who succeed in life, and those who fail, is in how they cope with rejection. Some are spurred on by it – others are destroyed by it.

Today, I stumbled on an Internet reference to an Indian Singaporean boy who had shown significant precocity as a child. At the age of 12 or so, he was doing A level exams. He seemed set for a great future. Then he applied for Cambridge, with three A levels in hand...and got rejected. Now, this boy, who had been consumed every day of his young life by Maths and Physics, was totally disheartened by this. He gave up his studies of Maths and Physics. No details were given as to his mental state, but I imagine, from the way he behaved, that he was depressed. He no longer pursued his interests. They no longer seemed to interest him. His relative described him, at the age of 15, as having “lost both his interest and his ability” in both Maths and Physics. He no longer showed precocity. He had become “ordinary”.

It was saddening to read of this case, because I can only say, from my own experience of Cambridge University, that this boy’s rejection from it, may actually have been a good thing. As a young boy, in Cambridge, he would have faced a daunting level of stress and pressure. This may have been damaging and is likely to have been much more than he was prepared to cope with. Looking at his very stark reaction to a simple rejection, I cannot imagine it being even remotely possible that he could cope with life in such a pressured, demanding University. He has given up his life dream simply because one University said: “No.” That is profoundly silly, in its own way. Cambridge reject many good candidates every year...even some great ones slip through, no doubt. They do so, because they are oversubscribed – they are overflowing with good candidates to choose from. Another issue which this young boy seems to have overlooked, is his own age. I am sure that Cambridge is not keen to take on a young boy. They probably rejected him not for his grades (which admittedly were good, but not as good as most candidates), but because of his AGE. They probably didn’t want to cope with the challenges of taking on a thirteen year old, as he would probably have been by the time of admission.

This boy, of such great promise, has given up everything because he could not get into the University of his choice. In so doing, he is showing that he is unable to cope with rejection. Thus, though it is a shame that his talent may now never flower, I can’t help but feel that anybody who gives up, on one rejection, is not going to be able to cope with the difficulties of life. If it hadn’t been Cambridge rejecting him, that stopped him, it would have been something else. For all his evident intelligence and diligence, this boy lacks resilience – the ability to cope with adversity. Thus, whatever the size of his talent the likely dimensions of his success, are going to be limited by this failing. He will never be able to overcome challenges, until he learns to cope with rejection and be resilient in the face of life.

I hope he learns the skill of resilience and the toughness to cope with rejection. If he does not, there is no way this boy is going to achieve the heights his basic intellect and diligence promised. His descent into what seems like depression holds a lesson for all parents of gifted children: do not let your child be put off by a rejection – or indeed, many rejections . People are often rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with their talent. Such decisions should not be allowed to crush a child, but should just be used as a lesson in how life does not always go smoothly or according to our ideal wishes. All children need to learn to overcome such challenges. Children who don’t, are unlikely to ever succeed, no matter how intelligent they are.

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/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.)

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.)

The Open University is closed.

The Open University is a UK institution formed with the idea of opening up a tertiary education to people who would not otherwise be able to access it. Many have taken degrees while holding down full time jobs, pursuing their studies, at a distance, without having to be resident in a University (though they do have short-term residential modules, too). All in all, it sounds like a good idea...but it isn't flawless.

I decided to see just how open, the "Open" University really was. I wrote to them, telling them of Ainan, 7, and his need to continue his studies at a University, in the near future. How near that future is, depends on how long I can keep him satisfied at home, on my own resources - for no educational provision that he is receiving on a formal basis is presently meeting his needs. Obviously, I will not be able to keep him stimulated indefinitely: my home, for one, lacks a lab and there are many things I cannot teach him purely from the context of a book and his Dad. He teaches himself many things, too - but again, there are limits - for we don't have personal access to the equipment he would need to develop the practical side of his gifts.

Therefore, I am looking at the University issue, for Chemistry. I thought that the Open University might make it relatively uncomplicated to move on to higher studies since their courses were specifically designed for distance learning. Ainan would be able to pursue a degree with them, while handling whatever other matters he needed to attend to, here in Singapore. That was the idea, anyway.

However, after a few days, I received the following reply:

Dear Mr Cawley

Thank you for your email.

Study with the Open University is normally open to individuals over eighteen years of age; however, we do have a Young Applicants in Schools Scheme (YASS). Unfortunately, Singapore is outside of the area in which the YASS scheme is offered and therefore I am afraid we are unable to offer any study opportunities for your son.

I replied to them, but they didn't get back to me.

Thus, despite describing themselves as "Open" - and despite having been founded on a principle of opening up education to new people who do not have access, Ainan was refused on the basis of age - and bureaucracy. There is an allowance in their scheme for Young Applicants - but that only applies to the UK as far as I am aware.

It seems to me, that often with institutions, the spirit with which they were founded gets lost along the way - so it seems with the "Open" University. They were brought to being with an admirable purpose, but it is not true to say that they still fully serve it. Ainan is outside the norm with regards to his academic needs - a University founded on serving those who do not fit the norm, really, really should have made an exception to any rules that stand in his way: that would have been serving the spirit with which it was founded - and not the letter of any bureaucratic encumbrance that has since accreted.

Not many children need to go to University significantly early (except perhaps in America, where the academic demands ramp up much more slowly than in Europe) - so it should not be beyond universities to make the few exceptions that need to be made to allow these prodigious children to flourish. It costs them nothing to oblige and support these children - but there is a very high price to pay for their societies, in not supporting them: a price of wasted gifts.

So, as ever, I suspect, with any parent of a prodigious child, I am still seeking a better academic fit for his needs. The matter becomes more urgent over time - for as his abilities grow, so does the demand in having to meet them. At some point, it may not be tenable to do so alone without the backing of an appropriate institution. We will see. In the meantime, I will do what I have always done: whatever I can.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Tiarnan, seventeen months, or Fintan, four years and no 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.)