The flipside of reservation in the classroom.

There is a flipside to my previous post which I think I should explore.

Society can be most unkind to those it needs most. No-one is more necessary to the future progress of society than its most gifted members - yet, how are those gifted people, young and old, treated in the world's societies?

Well, many a gifted child finds out, quite quickly, through harsh social feedback that, in many societies, being gifted is about as acceptable as being a leper. The more outstanding a child, the more they tend to find that they are not accepted. Of course, there will be exceptions. There will be schools and perhaps even societies that are more welcoming but, in general, this is a global truism.

Ainan has learnt discretion. He has learnt to keep quiet with his thoughts, his observations, his knowledge, in a social setting. He has, it seems, absorbed the lesson that, to stand out, is to be excluded.

This is not as it should be. No gifted child should fear to be themselves and show themselves in public - yet, in so many parts of the world, they are. Giftedness is often something to be masked, to be hidden, to be denied, so that the gifted child might blend in and be accepted. Of course, in doing that, the gifted child is dying, day by day: they are denying themselves and, in so doing, are also destroying themselves. In time, they may forget who they once were. By submerging their gifts, over time, they may lose ready access to them. A child who doesn't express their gifts, is a child who is not developing them, either. The day may come when they truly do blend in - and what kind of victory is that? Their acceptance has been at the price of their true self.

No child, anywhere in the world, should have to hide who they are. I understand that that is an ideal statement that has little hope of being met by the reality of the world we live in, as it is today but, in time, the world may change. One day, the gifted children might be accepted as they are, in all classes, of all schools, in all aspects of life, in all nations, everywhere. I would like to see that world - but I may not live long enough to do so. Such deep change is slow to take hold in the world.

I coined a word, long ago, on this blog: "Giftism". I would say that Giftism is the last prejudice that still seems to be socially acceptable. It is time that it was no longer accepted.

Every gifted child should be free to be themselves, everywhere. They should not need to consider what is socially discrete - nor what is likely to win friends or lose them. They should just simply be allowed to be, free of any social encumbrance, hindrance or penalty.

Wouldn't that be a better world, than the one my son is adjusting to, in his ever-so-discrete way?

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eleven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and four months, and Tiarnan, twenty-one 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.)

On disability and ability: society's obligation

It is taken as obvious that the mentally disabled should receive assistance in developing the skills and behaviours necessary to allow them to function in society. Yet, it is seen as controversial, in some countries, to make any special provision at the opposite end of the ability spectrum. Is this rational?

What does it mean to be disabled? It means one's abilities are different from the norm, in the sense of being lessened. What does it mean to be gifted? It means one's abilities are different from the norm, in the sense of being heightened.

You will note that the situations have a logical identity and a logical difference. It is the identity to which I wish to draw your initial attention. With both the disabled and the gifted, there is an essential difference from the norm. These people are not typical of humanity in general - and it is their lack of typicality that requires that they be given special attention. The general provision of society for its members is equally inappropriate for both classes of individual: the disabled and the gifted (or the enabled, as one might call them).

There is a view, often stated, though never intelligently held, that the gifted do not need special provision because they are MORE able than others. This view fails to understand the ways in which extreme ability can be a kind of disability, too. The truly gifted child will be set apart by their gifts, from those around them. They are likely to be isolated not only in being mentally different to those around them, but also in terms of being rejected, by them. They are unlikely to fit in. They may have communication difficulties. They may have difficulty in both being understood and in understanding those they meet in the everyday world. Think about my last four sentences. They could have been written about a mentally disabled person - and they would still hold true. The gifted and the disabled both a share a communication gap - they both share a social disability. To be in either state is to be divorced from society - and this is a burden whether it is at the lower or upper ends of the spectrum. The difference, in many societies, is that the burden of the disabled is recognized by all, but that that of the "enabled" or gifted, is recognized only by those who have experienced it for themselves, in most cases.

To both constituents, the gifted and the disabled, a humane society must make a special effort to reach out to and accommodate them and their needs. The key phrase is "humane society". So many voices on the internet seem to be espousing an inhumane, uncaring, cold society - well, I for one, would not vote for such a society.

Both kinds of people need special help in fully integrating into society: the disabled with basic functioning, the gifted with, if you like, "optimal function" - finding the niche that best expresses their abilities and least encumbers them.

A society that ignores either constituent is at the very least inhumane - but it is also something else: it is a society which will fail for obvious logical reasons. A society which does not enable the disabled to function, is one that will be burdened by them; a society which disables the enabled by not allowing them to function at their best - is one that will never enjoy the benefits of such people in their midst.

I will write more on this in future, for otherwise this post would become too long.

How to educate a child: prodigies and the gifted

My earlier post on whether child prodigies should be given the chance to develop their skills has attracted an interesting comment. Should a child develop his or her strengths - or bring up their weaknesses? Is balance important in the modern world?

The answer depends very much on what the child is going to do with their life. If the child shows great passion for something, allied to great ability and this passion remains steady over a long period, it is likely that that passion will turn into their adult work. In this case, building their strength can only be good: it will make them more effective in their chosen discipline or disciplines.

Ainan shows a passion for science, in particular Chemistry (but he has a general interest in Science, too). I would be very surprised if he did not at least spend part of his adult life as a scientific researcher. He already has much of the knowledge and he certainly has the aptitude for investigation. He is already a scientist in every important respect. All he needs now are to further strengthen his knowledge - and get those "no-one will believe in you if you don't have them" credentials. I don't know how many years it will take - but theoretically, it might not have to be that many. He could be a working scientist at rather a young age.

What, however, about developing other areas?

This is already a problem for me - and for him. I see that he has aptitude in other things - but he has less interest and motivation in other things. Ainan is good at music. He became a pianist at six - but has since lost interest. He was even composing music. Yet, that has been shelved for his scientific interests. He is very good at Art - and was able to draw 3 D perspective drawings at 3 or 4 years old. Very mature. Perhaps that will be his second fiddle: just like Einstein had his violin, maybe Ainan will have his Art.

Now, at this time of his life, his drive is to grow scientifically. It would be foolish to try to suffocate that wish in the interests of imposing "balance".

In modern life, balance is not as important, in terms of education, as it used to be in earlier days, before society became specialized. Now, we hire people on the basis of single strengths and a genius may only have one towering strength (though as intellects they are often good at several or many things, they will naturally focus on one, in most cases, as it aligns with their passions).

I have great balance in my own gifts and experiences - but as I have posted before, many gifts are not necessarily better than one. The division of attention between them, weakens the overall effect. There are many things I can do well - but my son Ainan knows more Chemistry than I do - and he is only seven. That is despite the fact that I took Chemistry up to my first year at Cambridge.

Perhaps there are roles in life in which great balance of gifts is appreciated and of use. But most roles in modern life are increasingly specialized. Here, a "balance of gifts" is largely wasted effort, since they will never find their proper outlet. It is the individuals with great individual strengths that find their proper match and welcome in an increasingly specialized society.

So, for those parents worried about their children focussing on their strengths and ignoring their weaknesses I would say this. If your child learns faster in their strengths - and learns with difficulty in their weaknesses, it is logic alone that they will go further, in terms of reaching greater heights if they are left to grow their strengths, than if they are forced to bolster their weaknesses.

There is one caveat. There should not be any imbalances that lead to ineffectiveness. Everyone should be able to write halfway decently. Everyone should be able to handle reasonable maths etc. There should be no absence of basic skills.

Therefore there are two possible models: the "balanced" individual with many well developed skills. This person will have many choices and probably a varied career. Then there is the specialized individual with a few, perhaps one, great strength. This person will have a focussed career but may, in the modern world, find that success comes readily. They may, after all, be the best person for the job.