Education should be free.

Education should be free, everywhere, everywhen. There should be no fees at any stage of the educational process. To do otherwise, is to compromise the whole purpose, nature and intent of education itself.

Why do I say this? Well, to ask a fee for education - any fee at all - is to ensure that some potential students will be excluded not on the basis of ability but on the inability to pay. The higher the fee, the higher the barrier to those of limited means and the more who will be excluded.

Singapore, like America charges for its education. Thus, like America it is an unequal system where opportunities differ depending on the wealth of one's family. This should not be so.

Today, Ainan returned to Singapore Polytechnic to continue with Chemistry. Unprecedentedly, however, he laboured alone in the labs, the seat beside him, where his lab partner had sat, on all other occasions, remained empty.

Half-way through the class, I asked the lecturer if she knew where Ainan's lab partner was: was she sick...or had she dropped out of the course?

The answer was as feared. Ainan's experimental partner had returned home to Malaysia. The lecturer then voiced my own thought: "I don't know why...she had no problems with the lab work."

I agreed with her. Ainan's partner had been as competent as she had been warm, to Ainan. I very much doubted whether a lack of ability to cope was the reason.

"I think it is probably financial. Singapore is very expensive for a Malaysian - and the economy is not good now."

The lecturer agreed. "Such a pity...she was such a nice girl, too."

"Yes." She had been a very good partner for Ainan.

As I returned to the bench to sit beside Ainan, I reflected on what this meant. Ainan's lab partner had come all the way from Malaysia, to secure a "better education" for herself. She had parted from home and family to do so. Now, however, in all likelihood, she had been forced to give up her dream to return home to Malaysia, her qualification incomplete, her education cut short. The probable reason: money.

I don't think that a lack of money should be allowed to impede anyone's education. Education should be regarded as a basic right - and should be as free as the air we breathe (presently free anyway...). To place a charge upon it, is to ensure that many cannot benefit from it. This means that families whose circumstances are straitened may pass on their limited circumstances to their offspring, whose limited educations will perpetuate the same straitened circumstances. A greater injustice is harder to imagine. Each generation should be allowed to be set free from the limitations of the one before - and the only means to allow that is to ensure that all education is free to all.

Some will object that the girl in question is Malaysian and should therefore pay for a Singaporean education. However, were education free to outsiders Singapore would find little trouble in drawing the best from around the world to its doors - some of whom would go on to settle here. So, there is an advantage even in such a policy.

Whether or not education should be free to non-nationals is not a central issue. The point is that education, in Singapore and America, is not even free to nationals. It should be.

When I grew up, in the UK, Universities were free to all. Indeed, the State paid a fee to each student to cover their living costs at University. This meant that there was social justice: even the poorest could afford to get a University education. It meant that there was great social mobility, with those of poorest background able to rise to the top of the professional tree, if they made the necessary effort - for the doors were not barred by financial means. It strikes me as a better system than those nations that seek a fee everytime knowledge is imparted. Such countries are paying a very high price in the lost potential of their youth.

I wonder, now, whether Ainan's lab partner will ever become the Chemist she had dreamed of being. Will her family be able to afford her education? Will she have to settle for a lesser role in life, wishing away her days on might-have-beens? It is sad - for she would have been a warm and welcome presence in any lab - for not only was she able, but amiable too.

I wish her well on finding a way forward - and I wish well, too, all who are in her situation: stalled in their educations for want of the money to pay for them.

There is a better way: education should be free for all, everywhere, everywhen.

(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)

When is a hand big enough?

There was a story, some time ago, distributed by a news agency, based in America, about Ainan. They put together this story without checking any of the facts with us - and so it came out, rather distorted.

The story was a simple one. They said that "boy genius" Ainan was too small for the labs at Nanyang Technological University, and that his hands were not large enough to hold beakers and the like.

Well, it is true that NTU have expressed reservations on Ainan with regards to his size, in their labs. The benches, for instance, are rather tall. Yet, simple measures could be taken to obviate this. A simple platform, for instance.

That, however, is not my concern in this post. My interest is in just how big or small my son's hands are, in relation to what they need to be, for NTU's labs (or any other lab).

Today, quite spontaneously, Ainan measured his hand span. He then set about measuring everyone else's. He asked me what the average span for his age was...and that gave me an idea. How, indeed, did Ainan's hand compare to other children's?

Ainan's handspan measured at 18.5 cm. Now, is this too small for a lab? I checked out a website that detailed the mean size of Canadian students. The data was taken from 2004/5. In this survey the mean span of a TWELVE year old CAUCASIAN boy's hand was 18.52 cm. Thus Ainan's hands, far from being small, as declared in the American article (which didn't check with us), are actually very large for his age. He has the hand size of a Canadian twelve year old boy.

Readers should note that Ainan is not Caucasian - he is Eurasian - so the norms for hand size would be correspondingly smaller. In a Singaporean context, therefore, Ainan's hands are even larger than a twelve year old's would be. He has a teenager's hands.

How do Ainan's hands compare to those of an adult? Well, 19 year old male students in Canada had an average hand span of 20.22 cm. Thus an adult span, as typified by a Canadian, is just 1.7 cm greater than Ainan's.

I found that rather revealing. We have been consistently denied access to labs by certain institutions - on the basis that Ainan would be "too small". Yet, this is an assumption. None of these places actually checked his size. None of them actually measured him against the requirements of the labs in question. They just looked at his age and assumed.

Assumption is not a substitute for thinking - but in many places, it does seem to be used as such.

Ainan's hands are more than large enough to handle the physical requirements of experimental work. They are the hands of an Asian teenager - or a small adult. They are not diminutive hands in the least.

This observation is supported by experience. Ainan has had no trouble manipulating his experimental environment on the eight occasions that he has managed to gain access to labs. He has been able to carry out all experiments without any physical problems at all. He may be smaller than an adult - but he is not so small as to be unable to accomplish all tasks required.

The next time someone questions his suitability based on size, I rather think I will point their way to the Canadian handspan chart. Hopefully, that will make the point.

No longer will I let anyone make the "handy" excuse, that Ainan's hands are too small. They are not.

(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.)

Seeking a Chemistry Lab in Singapore

Long-term readers of my blog, or followers of Ainan's story, will know that Ainan has had a course in practical Chemistry at Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. Careful readers will even know that it was for six sessions. That is good - and was helpful. However, what is not is that we have not had any practical experience for him since - and that was in May. We are still, therefore, looking for a Chemistry lab.

We have asked the educational services but they are not keen to provide for him: no lab has been made available. We have explained the reason for his need: that Chemistry is a practical science and Ainan is a practical boy who needs real experience to flesh out his learning - but they are not listening to us. He also needs it to prepare for his A level in Chemistry. Without it, passing would be very difficult indeed, given the marks apportioned to practical skills.

So, we are, after about a year and a half since we first alerted the Singaporean education system to Ainan's nature and needs, still waiting for an effective response that meets his needs. They have made it clear that, if Ainan is to be provided for, that we will have to do it ourselves.

I puzzle at this. Ainan is but one child in a whole nation who needs access to a lab at the age of seven. Surely one child is not too much of a burden on an educational system. Yet, it seems that it is. What we have been offered is way below his needs.

No doubt, many parents of gifted children face similar situations, with local education systems not making any exceptions to the robotic way in which they proceed. No doubt, my blog has many similarly frustrated readers. Yet, should it be this way? The truly gifted are few. It does not seem to me that, numerically, they would create too much strain on an educational system to meet their needs and provide for them, adequately. Yet, it seems that even one child is too many, to adequately provide for.

Our solution, therefore, is to go it alone - and so we have applied for homeschooling. We are still waiting. (It is seven months now since I first applied). At home, his needs will be much better met - but we still need that magical Chemistry lab.

Any suggestions, anyone?

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

Berita Harian, Singapore: front page news, again

Ainan was front page news, again, in Singapore, on the Berita Harian, on Saturday.

The Berita Harian had picked up on Ainan's latest development: the A level Practical Chemistry course at Raffles Junior College/Raffles Institution. For overseas visitors who don't know, Raffles is regularly voted the No.1 school in Singapore.

We were touched to note that Berita Harian, the Malay national daily of Singapore, had placed Ainan at the top of the front page, to the left, in the most prominent position. This kind of support that they are giving us, really helps in opening doors for Ainan and affording him the opportunities for development that he requires. It is much appreciated. Some of my readers have arrived on my blog after specifically searching for a supposed article by the Straits Times or Shin Min on the matter. However, neither The Straits Times (the English language daily) nor Shin Min (the Chinese daily) have picked up, yet, on this development - though they have covered other Ainan stories in the past.

I have decided to post the Berita Harian story here and will try to capture the other stories posted recently too, since I have discovered that newspapers don't keep stories active on their sites for long.

So here it is below. Forgive me that I haven't translated it. Perhaps I could get my wife to do so, sometime.

PELUANG CERAH DUDUKI UJIAN GCE 'A'
RI, RJC tawar Ainan lakukan kerja-kerja praktikal di makmal. OlehSoraya Salim

IMPIAN hampir menjadi kenyataan bagi budak tujuh tahun yang pintar dalam bidang kimia, Ainan Celeste Cawley. Hasratnya untuk menduduki peperiksaan subjek kimia GCE peringkat 'A' pada hujung tahun ini bakal tercapai kerana dia ditawarkan peluang melakukan kerja-kerja praktikal di makmal kimia oleh dua institusi terkemuka di sini.

Anak kacukan keturunan Ireland dan Melayu itu kini menerima bimbingan daripada dua guru kimia dari Raffles Institution (RI) dan Maktab Rendah Raffles (RJC).Dalam peperiksaan kimia GCE peringkat 'A', calon perlu menjalani ujian praktikal di makmal selain ujian teori.

Ainan mendapat perhatian ramai Mac lalu apabila berita dia lulus dalam peperiksaan kimia peringkat GCE 'O' disiarkan di akhbar. Meskipun hanya di darjah dua, pelajar sekolah rendah di kawasan Bukit Timah itu memperolehi gred 'C' dalam peperiksaan tersebut, iaitu markah antara 60 dengan 70 peratus.

'Sesi di makmal itu amat seronok sekali! Saya gemar melakukan semua eksperimen yang diajar. Kalau di rumah pun saya melakukan eksperimen tetapi menggunakan barang-barang dapur seperti serbuk penaik (baking powder),' kata Ainan ketika dihubungi.

Sejauh ini Ainan telah menjalani enam sesi praktikal di bawah bimbingan guru RI, Encik Ong Chian Jin, dan guru RJC, Encik Paul Cheong. Bahkan program yang dilaluinya itu telah dicipta khas untuk Ainan sendiri oleh kakitangan RI dan RJC di bawah satu program gabungan praktikal kimia kedua-dua institusi itu.

'Bagi bahagian teorinya pula, Ainan kini sedang belajar sendiri di rumah. Dia tidak menghadiri sebarang kelas di Raffles atau institusi lain.

'Akhirnya, pencarian selama 11 bulan untuk sebuah makmal kimia bagi Ainan sudah berakhir. Ini suatu berita yang amat menggembirakan kerana Ainan boleh melanjutkan pengajiannya dalam bidang kimia di peringkat lebih tinggi,' kata bapa Ainan, Encik Valentine Cawley, dalam satu e-mel kepada Berita Harian. Menurut ketua jabatan Bahasa Inggeris di Sekolah Linguaphone Education itu lagi, ini adalah perkembangan penting kerana ia akan membolehkan Ainan ke universiti dan melangkah setapak ke hadapan dalam mencapai impiannya menjadi seorang penyelidik sains.

Bakat Ainan dalam bidang kimia itu disedari Encik Cawley, 39 tahun, dan isterinya, Cik Syahidah Osman Cawley, 28 tahun, apabila dia berjaya memberi jawapan betul kepada semua soalan dalam buku teks kimia GCE 'O'.

Selain Ainan, pasangan itu mempunyai dua orang anak lagi - Fintan Nadym, tiga setengah tahun, dan Tiarnan Hasyl, satu tahun.

Ketika dihubungi kelmarin guru dari Jabatan Sains RI, Cik Theresa Lai, berkata pihaknya telah dimaklumkan tentang bakat Ainan oleh Cawangan Pendidikan Bijak Kementerian Pendidikan (MOE). 'Setelah bertemu dengannya, saya dapati Ainan memang seorang budak yang bijak. Apa yang saya perhatikan, ketika membuat ujian di makmal, dia dapat mengaitkan teori kimia dengan latihan praktikal yang dilakukannya dengan begitu pantas sekali,' katanya.
Menurut Cik Lai lagi, sebagai institusi yang mengambil 3 peratus pelajar terbaik, RI mempunyai peranan penting dalam mengembangkan bakat. 'Kami dapati setelah melalui sesi praktikal itu, minat Ainan dalam bidang kimia semakin membara!' katanya lagi.

Ainan yang memang gemar melakukan kajian sendiri di rumah itu juga sebelum ini telah diundang Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU) untuk melawat sebuah makmal sains buat kali pertama.

Speed Learning Practical Chemistry

Ainan is now studying practical chemistry at Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. Regular readers will know this. What you won't know, however, is the nature of the course he is undertaking.

Ainan is doing an A level practical course, condensed into six sessions. You read right: six sessions. In six lessons he is to acquire the fundamentals of A level practical skills. This thought gives me pause. I would like to see him free to experiment, over the long term, in practical matters, exploring his deep interests in Chemistry. Yet, the present need and opportunity are for him to acquire the essence of A level Chemistry skills in only a few lessons. You may be wondering how he can do this - so perhaps I should give you a perspective.

Ainan is familiar with the theory of all that he does in the lab. Thus his experiences in the lab are no more than a physical embodiment of what he has already come to understand in theory. In addition to this, he is very physically capable, being a very hands-on kind of boy. He has always been one to build things and create structures and experiments with his hands, at home: thus the demands of practical chemistry, come naturally to him.

I would, however, like to see a long-term opportunity for him to continue to develop his practical lab experience, allowing him to explore the full measure of chemical techniques and develop the deepest expertise. After this initial course is over, we will see what arrangements can be made and might prove necessary.

For those who are not familiar with the A level: it is of an American college level standard (that is the standard typically reached in an American first degree at University).

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and five months, and his gifted brothers, Fintan, three and 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. Thanks.)

Raffles Institution: first lab experience

Yesterday Ainan had his first practical chemistry lesson.

Mr. Ong Chiau Jin of Raffles Institution, the venerable Singapore school started in 1823, taught Ainan the basics of lab safety and took him through many foundational chemical techniques.

At first Ainan was very concerned about safety - which is a good sign, I would rather that than rashness in such an environment - but he grew in confidence throughout the session as he learned to manipulate everything, safely. He was particularly wary of the pale blue, almost invisible, Bunsen (or Desaga-Faraday, as I like to call it) flame.

Mr. Ong took him through quite a few chemical analytical techniques - and Ainan accomplished each on the first attempt, under his careful direction. Mr. Ong explained everything with clarity, demonstrating everything efficiently, for Ainan, so that he might learn by his example.

Ainan was utterly absorbed by the class and, at the end, did not want to leave: he wanted the lesson to continue. Perhaps there could be no greater compliment to Mr. Ong and Raffles than that.

We would like to thank Mr. Ong, Theresa Lai and the Raffles Institution for giving Ainan this chance to begin to learn the practical skills that are such an essential part of a chemical education.

(If you would like to learn 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 children and gifted adults, in general. Thanks.)