Is gifted education properly funded?

How much of a priority is gifted education, in the modern world? Gifted people contribute disproportionally to the development of mankind, so it seems natural that education systems would try to support them to grow to their best – after all, this is for the betterment of all, as they blossom into contributors to science, society and culture.

If a society were seeking to maximize its own cultural, intellectual, scientific and technological growth, it would choose to spend a disproportionate amount of its education budget on the gifted, in reflection of their disproportionate contribution to the future of that society. Now, I would like you to consider this: gifted people comprise approximately 2% of the population of America. So, what percentage of America’s education budget is spent on gifted education? Is it democratically fair, at 2%...or is it more or less? Please have a good think.

Well, Jonathan Wai, a research scientist at Duke University’s Talent Identification Program, has revealed that the United States spends just 0.02 percent of the Federal education budget on the gifted. That means that the gifted in America receive 100 times LESS funding per head, than the ordinary child receives. Isn’t “democracy” wonderful?

There are a number of things one can conclude from this. Firstly, America’s education system is run by dumb people. Secondly, America’s politicians have no foresight and cannot understand the cause and effect relationship between effective creative genius and creative products. Quite simply, they don’t seem to understand who makes culture, science and technology happen. The third conclusion one can draw from this is that America is destined to decline pretty steeply in the coming decades, as its ability to draw foreign talent to its shores dries up – because native talent is likely to be in too short supply, since it will not have been nurtured, in any way at all.

The most forward looking education policies would assign a greater than average allocation per head, to gifted education, than the general population receive. The reason for doing so is quite obvious: should those gifted children develop to their best, the entire society would be raised up by them, culturally, scientifically and technologically, just as mankind has been raised by its geniuses since the first breath of the first human. Spending such a proportion of resources on people of less potential would result in no particular gain for that society.

As a minimum, the gifted should receive an equal portion per head, as other students do – yet, in America, they do not. They receive just 1% of the normal allocation. That can only mean one thing: the American education system either does not believe that the gifted need educating, OR it is trying to “level the playing field” by HAMPERING and HINDERING the development of the gifted, so that the eventual outcome is more equal – that is, the gifted are to be PREVENTED from developing to their best, precisely so that they DON’T OUTSHINE the dumber members of society. That, of course, is a prescription for a mediocre society and a moribund economy – which is precisely where America is headed, if all recent indicators develop as expected.

As I am often reminded, we live in dumb times – but the kind of dumb times America is experiencing have been created by EDUCATIONAL POLICY. America’s leaders WANT America to be DUMB. The whole emphasis of the education system is seeking just that outcome.

It is time to change the name of the USA, to the USI: the United States of Idiots...because that is just what the design of the education system is seeking as an outcome.

I am hopeful, however, that other education systems will learn from the mistakes of America and that their gifted children will be nurtured to be their best. Should any country do this effectively, then that country will become a leader among nations, in culture, science and technology. The prize is there for the taking – a nation need only decide to educate its best to be their best. If America doesn’t want to do this for its people, no matter – let other nations take up the mantle of the future of the human race. Such nations might even be Asian ones. Should these nations become the cultural centres of the second half of the 21^st Century, America will only have itself to blame, for not taking care of its own and trying to nurture them to become the best they can be.

Which nations do you think are going to become the new thought leaders, in the second half of this century? Write your views, please, below.

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.) 

Where all the artists go.

I had an interesting conversation with a local businessman in Malaysia, the other day. He is in the fashion business and thus is an habitual observer of all things related to his passion – and that includes fine art.

My wife is an artist, as some of you will know. He asked her if she intended to make a career of it and make money out of it. She gave a nod and a simple “I do.”

He grew reflective. “Many artists in Malaysia just have one exhibition and then disappear.”, he observed a little tiredly, at the thought. “I think it is just a hobby for them.”

In my view he had understood it precisely wrong. It is not that artists in Malaysia only tinker with their art, as a “hobby”, show it once then disappear. What is happening is much more sad than that. What is happening, it is clear to me from observing the situation and speaking to artists, is that the artists are DISAPPOINTED with the response. What frequently happens with artists in Malaysia is that they hold an exhibition and the response is muted. Perhaps the artist doesn’t sell many pieces. Indeed, usually, I would say they lose money on their exhibition. After all, many spaces here charge a daily fee to exhibit – MAPS, for instance, charges an enormous 1,000 RM per day, for the privilege of showing one’s art. These fees almost ensure that new artists lose considerably, if they decide to exhibit in such galleries/spaces.

In a way, the prompt disappearance of these artists from the art scene, after one show – which is quite common – is a rational decision. The disappointed artist is left with the bitter thought that “there is no money in it” or “they hated my stuff” – and they will never, ever go to the expense, bother and effort of exhibiting again. So the artist disappears and is never heard from again. In this way, I am sure that many good voices never get to sing of their art and their world views – their work is lost to us all, forever.

The problem here is not with the artists, but with the system. The way the art market is organized, makes it difficult for the young artist to establish themselves, without incurring considerable cost – or without being deeply disappointed. What is needed is some public art spaces, which are open to newcomers – but which are FREE to hire. This public subsidy for young artists, will ensure that these voices do not fall silent prematurely and that they have a chance to reach their ultimate audience. The public can also play a role here. Why not go to exhibitions of young artists, take a look at their works – and, if you like them, buy one or more? You should note that art makes a good long term investment, since, on average, art prices rise faster than property prices – so, not only will you be helping an artist develop a career and give them hope for their futures – but you will be helping to build your own future wealth too, by building a particularly attractive (in many ways) investment portfolio. Were this to be the common response to young artists, Malaysia would have a much more vibrant art culture than it does. In a way, the depth of art in a nation is precisely related to the willingness of the people to buy it, when the artists are young and starting out. If Malaysian art is shallower than it need be, it is only because the people wait a little too long, too often, to appreciate the outpourings of creativity of their young artists. If not supported at the beginning, there will, most often, be a swift end to such nascent careers.

Part of the problem, perhaps, is the local obsession with “branding”. I note, for instance, that older, establish artists, in a recent Henry Butcher auction, commanded prices up to 1 million Ringgits per piece of work. These are healthy prices and it is good to see local investors supporting such venerable names. However, it seems clear from the phenomenon of disappearing young artists, that the same support is not there, often, for those just starting out in their art careers. Thus it is that the pipeline from first show to venerable, brand name status, is not being properly supported. So it is that many artists fall silent.

The most important stage at which to support an artist, by buying their work, is at the beginning – for that will encourage them to continue. That is also the time to buy to realize the highest long term gains. So, seek out young artists, and invest in their work – you are not only investing in your own financial future, but in the future of the nation’s culture, itself.

(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.)

A creative future

It is interesting to contrast Singapore and Malaysia. These two nations, once one, have taken a different path - and whilst many would think that Singapore is the more "successful" of the two, I am not at all sure that this will always be so. After all, it is not so great a secret that many of the "talents" that make Singapore a success actually come from Malaysia. The contribution of Singapore's homegrown talents is not as great, in many ways, as it should be. If the contribution of all foreigners, of all kinds, is added up, that makes up a great deal of Singapore's "success".

Anyway, the way things are now, is not, necessarily, the way it will always be. I read, today, something that suggests that Malaysia may have a brighter future than its neighbour, in decades to come. It is all a matter of what the education systems want to achieve. Singapore is presently focussed on glistening A grade students: only those with straight As are approved of. Yet, it doesn't take much observation of these youngsters (whom I have had much time to observe in my time as a teacher), to note something very much lacking in them: creativity. The way they are taught leads them to shine in exams, but to be utterly unable to think of anything new. In creative terms, almost all of Singapore's star students are "dead wood"...blockheads if you like. The one thing they never learned how to do was to think for themselves.

Malaysia has recently expressed the wish to do something different. Not for them the focus on "straight As" or rigid educational atmospheres where conformity is sought as a prime objective. No. Malaysia is going to adopt a mellower kind of education, one that encourages individuality, allows for creativity and doesn't demand perfect grades from all, as a basic requirement. What they are seeking is an education system which will allow creativity to grow and genius to be born. The whole PUBLIC education system is going to move away from being focussed on exams - as Singapore's is - and focus instead on nurturing creative young minds. (This announcement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister/Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in the nation's newspapers including the New Straits Times - see below).

Now, if this change can be achieved - and I do wonder at how teachers who were themselves brought up with rigidity and conformity can be expected to give something different to their students - then Malaysia will soon become a very interesting place indeed. If the promise of this idea is kept, Malaysia will become a very special place indeed: it will produce generations of creative young minds, able to change the world, with their ideas. I hope they succeed. It would be refreshing, indeed, to be in a country focussed on creativity and not "grades". It is good to see that Malaysia realizes which, of the two ideals, is the more important.

Note: Source for the above news: New Straits Times, page 1 and page 6, several articles, 24th February 2010.

(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.)

Differential support of the gifted.

There are, no doubt, gifted children in all nations of the world, however, are they all treated as well?

Recently, I corresponded with a Malaysian writer. She was very interested in what kind of support Ainan was receiving. Her assumption was that Ainan would be supported directly by the government, in some way - or by private sector involvement, to optimize his chances and development and remove as many barriers as possible. I had to let her down on that one. You see, Ainan is receiving no direct governmental support and no private sector assistance either. The only, though valuable, support is his attendance at Singapore Polytechnic to do Chemistry, which we arranged ourselves. That, however, was not the kind of support she was thinking of. She was thinking of the kind of assistance that allows special personalized programmes to be put in place and the funds provided for them. Yet, Ainan, despite his evident need has no such support.

Singapore has a "Gifted Branch" which, ostensibly, is supposed to support gifted children. As long term readers of this blog will know, Ainan was involved with them from the age of seven. However, we gave up on them because they were repeatedly and consistently unhelpful and obstructive. Their mantras were two fold: "There are no resources available" and "If we do it for him, they will all want it." Thus, little or nothing was done by them to support Ainan and many obvious interventions were point blank refused - for reasons similar to those above.

Singapore prides itself on being a leading nation in the South East Asian region yet, surprisingly, it is not leading in the way it supports prodigious children. The Malaysian writer assumed Ainan would be receiving special support because, in her nation, that is what happens to prodigies: they tend to get direct state support. I have heard of cases where the local government has funded the special educational needs of prodigies, in Malaysia. This, however, just does not happen in Singapore. In Singapore, the parents of prodigious children (of which there appear to be very few, since it is hard to think of any), will experience nothing but frustration at the hands of the Ministry of Education.

My question is, therefore: how is it that a developing nation, like Malaysia, has the wit to realize the importance of special support for its most unusual children...whereas a "developed" nation, like Singapore does not support them, getting hung up, instead, on the idea that no-one should receive any "special treatment".

There is, of course, a short-sightedness here on the part of Singapore, which, perhaps, explains its lack of contribution to the world's greatest thinkers. By not supporting its most able children, on an individual basis, Singapore is hampering the growth of its most promising minds. This can only lead to a stunted intellectual future for the nation. However, perhaps that is what they want: maybe they are uncomfortable that anyone should rise too far from the communal pack...standing out, here, is "just not done".

In a way, it is truly surprising that Singapore should be less able to respond to a prodigious child productively, than Malaysia. It is not what one would think. However, it does tell me something. Perhaps countries like Malaysia, while lagging in some ways, may go on to produce a sprinkling of thinkers, who bring lustre to their national name.

Will Singapore have any such shining individuals or will it just have a great big herd of conformist, rubber-stamped, cookie cutter educated people?

(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.)