Genius Boy? Mensa Status? ... looks like a typical EL kid to me - you?

[queriquita]

Came across this and had to double take that this is news worthy.  It's so easy while in my bubble to forget that EL isn't the norm - although it should be!! Here's yet another 'sensational' story of a kid who was *GASP* reading by 18 months.     What's interesting is that now he's considered 'genius'.  I could rattle off the names of plenty of kids on this forum who are at or have surpassed what the nation/world now classifies as 'genius'.  It's funny what some belief, consistency, and fun can do when applied to a young child.  Ohhhh I'm so looking forward to the day when teaching infants, toddlers, and preschoolers is just considered, well, normal.

Here's the link.  Enjoy!

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/year-boy-genius-destined-mensa-19062833

[Korrale4kq]

Hmmm. I wonder who the experts are at the end of the clip. But that is how I feel too. Genius toddlers and young kids grow up to be of average intelligence.
I have been reading and watching a lot of shows about these amazing Mensa kids and it just seems that they "fizzle out" intellectually rather than grow.
Not a bad thing. I think that even people of average intelligence can go on to be highly successful.

[queriquita]

Sorry - I just realized that this is a bit of a repeat of this thread: http://forum.brillkids.com/general-discussion-b5/news-kindergartner-becomes-mensa-member/. 

As for fizzling geniuses: kids are highly adaptable.  It's a natural trait to help them survive.  However many years back, kids could be stolen and raised in a different tribe/clan/culture with no problem, increasing the vitality of that population.  Anyway, if you take an accelerated/gifted/genius kid and stick them with average kids, they'll mimic until they are just that (assuming you group them with such peers early enough without providing additional stimulation).  Basically, use it or lose it.  Simple as that, really.  Those who continue to advance are the ones who are continuously provided engaging, challenging opportunities.  There are countless studies on this, and yet, that side of the coin isn't what sticks out in mainstream society.  Instead, people are left with the thought of, "Why bother when they're going to be like everyone else anyway?".  If only they knew.  My hope is that someday (soon) they will.

[PokerDad]

"average" nowadays is pretty low, so it's not likely he'll finish average.

With even a modicum of effort, he'll wind up in the top quartile of academic success just by going to school and actually trying. If he keeps his foot down on the pedal, well... we know what happens then.

Let's suppose it's true that a kid at 2nd grade level in kindergarten winds up with everyone else when older. What is this a true reflection of? (definitely a rhetorical question there)

[teachingmykids]

"average" nowadays is pretty low, so it's not likely he'll finish average.

With even a modicum of effort, he'll wind up in the top quartile of academic success just by going to school and actually trying. If he keeps his foot down on the pedal, well... we know what happens then.

Let's suppose it's true that a kid at 2nd grade level in kindergarten winds up with everyone else when older. What is this a true reflection of? (definitely a rhetorical question there)

Intelligence is like height in that kids can short really short but end up hitting puberty late and end up one of the tallest kids and the kid that hits it early was really tall early in life but winds up quite average. In general kids that start ahead stay ahead and this kid obviously has lots of nurture so he has the practice to stay a virtuoso. This kid will most likely be that way in adulthood too. Not all precocious kids end up highly intelligent adults and there are late bloomers in intelligence just like with height or other area. Any old kid being at second grade level in kindergarten but average later doesn't mean much at all.

[nee1]

As for fizzling geniuses: kids are highly adaptable.  It's a natural trait to help them survive.  However many years back, kids could be stolen and raised in a different tribe/clan/culture with no problem, increasing the vitality of that population.  Anyway, if you take an accelerated/gifted/genius kid and stick them with average kids, they'll mimic until they are just that (assuming you group them with such peers early enough without providing additional stimulation).  Basically, use it or lose it.  Simple as that, really.  Those who continue to advance are the ones who are continuously provided engaging, challenging opportunities.  There are countless studies on this, and yet, that side of the coin isn't what sticks out in mainstream society.  Instead, people are left with the thought of, "Why bother when they're going to be like everyone else anyway?".  If only they knew.  My hope is that someday (soon) they will.

I agree completely. People rise or fall to the level of their peers. Stick a smart kid with average kids for a long time with little/no extra stimulation, and before long you'll have an average kid on your hands.  Ok, the same thing happens with adults too.

And please can you post links to some of the studies?

[nee1]

Queriquita,

I found an answer to the fizzling genius question in one of the giftedness research articles you sent. The article is titled ``Personal Well-Being of Gifted Students Following Participation in an Early College-Entrance Program’’ by Janette Boazman and Michael Sayler.

 Here is an excerpt from the article’s literature review:

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:
Exploration of the life experiences of the gifted and the highly gifted individuals is not new. Terman’s (1925) study of 1,528 gifted students found they had above-average physical health, eagerness, and curiosity in work and play, and they were well adjusted socially. Subsequently, he and hisassociates explored longitudinally the development of objective indicators of quality of life. Terman and Oden (1959) recognized that intellectual giftedness alone did not guarantee success. They found correlations between achievement, perseverance, goal orientation, self-confidence, and freedom from feelings of inferiority. Follow-up studies of Terman’s (1925) subjects, as they aged into their 60s and 70s, showed that these individuals were satisfied with their living arrangements, felt that they were in good health, had vitality,  and had positive perceived well-being (Holahan, Sears, & Cronbach, 1995). The correlates for positive psychological well-being in these subjects included having goals, ambitions, and physical health and participation in activities (Holahan et al.).

Recently, the Terman data have been used to investigate the relationship between personality characteristics and longevity of life. In their study of the Terman subjects, Martin, Friedman, and Schwartz (2007) concluded that the personality trait of conscientiousness in childhood and adulthood was a strong predictor of longer life. Longitudinal explorations of the educational impacts of acceleration on the gifted have researchers examining new aspects of these relationships (Subotnik & Arnold, 1994). Gagné’s and Gagnier’s (2004) model postulates that an individual’s natural innate abilities are acted on by internal as well as external factors as the innate gifted abilities develop into talents.

For gifted children to develop into talented adolescents and young adults they need appropriate challenge and social experiences to assist them in discovering and refining their talents (Moon & Dixon, 2006). Students need to be identified early and helped educationally in deep and meaningful ways (Stanley & Benbow, 1983). Academic environments most likely to lead to personal thriving for the gifted are those that slightly exceed the gifted individual’s current levels of academic performance and allow for similar intrapersonal and interpersonal growth (Gross, 1994). The successful struggle to learn things deeply and with excitement builds both knowledge and passion (Gross, 2004).  Providing appropriately challenging educational interventions for the highly gifted is important to the positive academic and character development of the whole individual (Gross, 2006).

Early college entrance is one intervention for the highly gifted that often provides appropriate and cost efficient opportunities for addressing their unmet academic and social needs (Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004). Gifted students who are appropriately accelerated into environments where they find intellectual challenge and social peers show more academic growth and more positive adjustment than equally able peers who were not accelerated (Gross, 2004; Robinson & Robinson, 1982).

When properly placed in an accelerative program, the gifted show themselves to be more self-reliant, independent, efficacious, and happy (Gross). They are less likely to have personal adjustment problems (Gagné & Gagnier, 2004). The accelerated gifted tend to have higher self-esteem and a stronger internal locus of control, with little or no decrease in social interactions when compared to similarly gifted individuals who did not accelerate (Richardson & Benbow, 1990). Gifted students accelerated by Grade 8 were more likely to have positive self-concepts, an internal locus of control, and be seen by others as good students than were either gifted students who were not accelerated or regular students (Sayler & Brookshire, 1993). Strong social adjustment and successful academic and career achievements are associated with accelerants after they leave K–12 education (Colangelo et al., 2004). Accelerants express satisfaction with their decision to enter college early (Noble, Robinson, & Gunderson, 1993) as do their parents (Noble, Childers, & Vaughan, 2008). Early college entrants experience success in undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as in career-related jobs and they describe themselves as happy and emotionally stable (Gross, 2003).

(Emphasis in the above excerpt is mine).

More links to further articles still expected. Thank you.

[nee1]

Oh, and the article mentions an issue that usually comes on this forum:  the desirability of early college entrance. Here’s an excerpt from the section titled ``Usefulness of Acceleration’’:

Usefulness of Acceleration:

Schools frequently offer enrichment or limited acceleration as a way of addressing the unmet needs of the highly gifted (Colangelo et al., 2004). These limited interventions tend not to produce the highest levels of achievement or satisfaction especially in the highly gifted (Gross & van Vliet, 2005). The common approaches (i.e., general enrichment, pullout programs, or limited acceleration) are less likely to support full personal development or emotional well-being or to reverse underachievement of the precocious student (Gross, 2003).

Acceleration of 2 or more years is an effective way to differentiate instruction for the gifted and talented learner
(Colangelo et al., 2004). Although the number of early college-entrance programs is increasing, there is still significant hesitation on the part of parents and school officials in recommending or choosing this option (Sayler, 2006). The common assumption that leaving the gifted with their age- or grade-level peers and giving them some enriching activities will provide them at least reasonable academic challenge and allow them to have full and healthy social and emotional relationships is not supported by data (Richardson & Benbow, 1990). Another concern is that though college is academically appropriate for these younger gifted students, they will not fit in with the older college students or they will be exposed too early to socially and emotionally mature experiences (Neihart, 2007), thereby reducing or even derailing their personal thriving.

The psychological adjustment of accelerated students is as good as or better than older individuals, both gifted and not gifted, who were never accelerated (Robinson, 2004). Accelerated students had higher self-esteem, a stronger internal locus of control, and no decrease in social interactions when compared to gifted students who were not accelerated (Brody & Benbow, 2004). Academic acceleration often supports the establishment of interests that, in turn, serve as a foundation for future learning (Southern & Jones, 2004).

Thoughts?

[GeniusExperiment]

did you guys notice the surname? Dorman. LOL! The parents even mention the "educational apps" as a reason but the journalists still have to report it as a "genius" story. I would think most kids doing EL from the beginning would score high on IQ tests at the age of 5 or 6 because of course they'll be far ahead.

[Mandabplus3]

As a teacher and a mum I have seen far too much of this " levelling" in education. Kids who start ahead might stay ahead BUT unless they are continually stimulated ( let's face it, by their parents at home as the schools are useless) they will be levelled with the rest of their peers by 3rd grade. It's a constant battle to get extension. Most early years teachers believe that children develop at different times and ages and so it makes sense that by 2nd or 3rd grade they are all around the same level even though some started ahead. Well we all know that is a load of bollocks! But that is what the teachers are taught in their degrees!
Most teachers believe kids who start ahead are not gifted but the product of "pushy parents!" Try getting them past that idea and you might have some success.
The articles are quite interesting. I agree that the success indicators in life for gifted children are more than just academics. I have a bright and conscientious child who will clearly go further than my brighter but couldn't be bothered child. Anyone know how to install conscientiousness? Or even how to increase self worth? I have tried everything I can think of, the other two are both conscientious and ridiculously self confident. I couldn't have gone wrong with just one kid....

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