Know any Geniuses?

[ShenLi]

That genetics has a role that cannot be denied.  But there is a lot to be said about nurture.  If Mozart never learned music, he would never have been the genius that he was.  If Tiger Woods did not pick up a golf club at the age of two, he may not be the world champion that he is today.  The key is to start early and as young as possible because that's when the true potential is available to be tapped.

What's a genius?  My definition is someone who is exceptional at something.  It doesn't matter what that something is.  It could be Math, it could be golf, it could be music, it could be something else.  Whether a person discovers his or her genius depends on whether his or her potential was tapped.  I agree that no matter what you do, you may turn a person into a genius into an area he does not have the potential for.  For example, if Mozart had been forced into sports, it is possible that we would not be regarding him as a genius today.  If Tiger Woods had gone into basketball instead of golf, his name might not be the household name that it is today.

Achieving genius is part having the potential for something and part having the opportunity to realise that potential.  What potential do our children have we don't really know but as parents it is our duty to help them explore.  The only way to discover that potential is through exposure.  Give your child the opportunity to try everything and when you discover what he likes, home in on it like a heat-seeking missile.

I think that genius is probably a somewhat misleading term.  Perhaps a better word to use would be "expert".  Tiger Woods is a genius in golf because he's got years of experience in the game.  If you played golf as much as he has, who's to say you can't be great at it if you had the potential for it?  There was a study some time back that examined the genius in chess masters.  They found that if you showed a chess master a chess board of a game in progress for just a few seconds, the chess master is able to recreate the chess board on a new board and with all the pieces in the right places.  However, if you show that chess master a game board with chess pieces randomly placed on the board, the accuracy of recall is a lot less.  This is because the chess remembers the chess board in chunks, not as individual chess pieces on a board.  Chess genius is based on the sum of the chess master's past experiences and it is the same for everything else.  Geniuses are only geniuses in their field of expertise.  Put Tiger Woods in a tennis match and while he may be able to play the game, his expertise in it drops dramatically.

In all early childhood development programs, the focus is on fun and enjoyment of the process.  If your baby isn't having fun - stop.  That's because we learn things a lot more quickly when we're having fun.  If we like something, we tend to do it more - doing it more helps us get better at it.  The better we get at it, the more we like it and so the cycle continues.  Know any geniuses who hate what they do?  Having the potential for success is important but above all, there must be a passion and heart for it. Michael Jordon - one of the world's best basketball players - didn't make his high school basketball team.  As a basketball player, he's also considered short.  Despite these setbacks, he still went on to become one of the world's greatest basketball players of all time because he had the heart for it.

What works for one child doesn't necessarily work for another.  We're individuals with our own distinct and unique personalities.  Learning styles differ for different people.  Some people need to be "hands on" to learn new things.  Others are better able to grasp abstract ideas.  I think a good example of how these differences are reflected can be seen with the Meyers-Briggs personality test.  There is a reason why those who are "Intuitive", "Thinking" and "Judging" score better on IQ tests compared to those who are "Sensory", "Feeling" and "Perceptive".  That's because IQ tests present information in a way that NTJs prefer.  People who are more "sensory"-oriented prefer to be able to touch objects to learn and find it difficult to grasp the abstract nature of some of the questions in an IQ test.  That's not to say they're stupid just because they can't score well in an IQ test.  They just have a different kind of intelligence.  It is important to how your child learns so that you can present information to them more easily.  For this reason, I believe the multi-sensorial approach is better than straight flashcards.

Then there is the effect of upbringing.  DadDude mentioned knowing people who were smart but lazy or never made use of what they got.  Some of it might be true, but I think Bronson and Merryman's book "Nurture Shock" sheds some light on this.  Children who were praised for being smart often felt afraid to try difficult things.  Instead of taking the praise and building their confidence, it actually made them less confident.  This is because they developed the idea that intelligence is innate - what you're born with is all you have.  They felt that since they're supposed to be smart, they cannot make mistakes and everything has to come easily to them.  When they run into difficulties, they would rather not try than to risk the possibility of failure and exposing themselves to be "less intelligent".  Children who were praised for their efforts were more willing to tackle difficult tasks and weren't afraid of challenges. They weren't afraid of making mistakes.  In other words, the wrong kind of praise can prevent a child from reaching his full potential.

Okay, I realise I seem to be all over the place here (please excuse me - it's extremely late, I'm tired, but I can't sleep because my baby's sick with a congested nose and can only sleep if I have him upright so he's in the baby carrier while I type this)  but basically what I'm trying to say is that there are so many variables that can affect whether a child becomes a genius.  Yes, there must be some genetic potential, but I reckon nurture still rules.  Without nurture, having the genetic potential is useless.

It's exactly as jtsbaby says - at the end of the day, we're just trying to give our children the best possible chance of maximising their potential.

(btw, I apologise if I keep referring to "he" and "him" but I have two boys...)

[realgirrrl]

I am a genius, manual (IQ 145) and mental (IQ 155).  I had the highest combined IQ ever tested at CORA in Philadelphia.  I was taught by my mother, who had only a High School education using Doman flashcards.  I will be teaching my baby the same way.  I am 34 years old now.  My email is [email protected].  I will answer any questions you may have as best I can.

[Aguh]

realgirrl,
Have your mother taught you also math and physical programm and.... or only reading?

[DadDude]

Yeah, realgirrrl, tell us more about how you were educated in the early years!

And well, many parents of 34 year olds are very smart but never went to college...so, I'm guessing she (and/or your Dad) was very smart as well.  Am I wrong?

[Questers]

Dear realgirrrl,

  Very nice to find a grown-up Doman baby who can share her journey with us...There is so much to know from you/

1. At what age did your mother start the program with you?
2. As someone asked, we you also taught math the Doman way?
3. How long were you taught with the Doman method?
4. Was it combined with any other methods as you grew up?
3. Could you share your academic journey with us?
4. Apart from academics, what other areas of excellence do you have? Do you attribute that to the early education you recieved?

Sorry for asking you so many questions, but all of us here at Brillkids will be really elated to hear this from you.

Thanks,
Questers.

[Twinergy]

My nephew is exceptionally brilliant and motivated.  He is currently a sophomore studying pre-med at Caltech, carrying a 4.2 GPA and his research has already been published in medical journals.  If he keeps this up he will be a strong contender for valedictorian.  I am so proud of him and have high hopes for his future. 

When I asked my sister what they did she said “we always treated him like an adult.” They let him play with real objects rather than just toys.  For example, when he was two he was allowed to hammer real nails with a real hammer into a real board.   When he was a toddler they used sophisticated language with him rather than baby talk.  By his third birthday he regularly used words like “plethora.”  He learned to read shortly after his third birthday.  When he was a preschooler they gave him complex scientific answers to the why questions.  She said the first time would he ask “why” about something they would give him a simple answer, but if he immediately asked “why” again she would keep giving him more information until his curiosity was satisfied.  They even told him where babies really come from.  By the time he was ready for grade school he was far ahead of the other children.  As for discipline, they never ever punished him but relied on natural consequences and mature discussions to help give him the information he needed to solve his own problems.  They never underestimated his intellect.

He started grade school along with the other 5 year olds and was admitted to a very competitive private school that is renowned for its academics.  This was supposed to be the best school around and my sister found they were dumbing down their lessons.  The pulled him from that school in the second grade and started homeschooling.  This allowed him to maintain his advantage and gave him the time to cultivate diverse interests.  It would only take him a couple hours to get through his lessons then he could spend the rest of the day on hobbies.  He is very well rounded intellectually and socially.

[esra]

Hi All,
Could you please share if you get any answer from realgirrl. If I can get, I will share as well...
Thanks

[realgirrrl]

. At what age did your mother start the program with you?
I believe she said when I could sit up, so that would have been around 6 months.

2. As someone asked, we you also taught math the Doman way?
No, at that time, I believe the only book available was the reading book, and it was pretty primitive compared to now.

3. How long were you taught with the Doman method?
Until I entered Pre-school.

4. Was it combined with any other methods as you grew up?
My mother would take me to museums all the time and really did a great job of exposing me to different places.

3. Could you share your academic journey with us?
My elementary experience was horrible.  I was taught nothing by my teachers who were unequipped to educate me because I was so advanced.  I was on a fifth grade reading level when I entered the first grade and on a third grade math level.  No school was willing to skip me because of the social ramifications.  They put me by myself and gave me work to do.  When I was in the third grade, I was put in MGP (the mentally gifted program) in public school.  That was OK, but once a week was not enough.  For junior high I was put in a public school for the mentally gifted.  It was more challenging than elementary school and was the first time I ever had to think.  The school still wasn't for me.  It was not until I was put into an exclusive private catholic high school that I really felt at home.  They tailor made a program for me and did an excellent job teaching me.  I fit in very well with the other girls there.  I graduated Temple University with a degree in Mathematics.  I now teach high school math, (my second career).  School was always easy for me.
I feel as if I always knew how to read

4. Apart from academics, what other areas of excellence do you have? Do you attribute that to the early education you recieved?
I am pretty good at most everything.  I am pretty athletic, draw pretty well and I am musical. I do think that is because of my mother.  She always wanted me to be well rounded.

[realgirrrl]

My parents are not exceptional.  My mother was very artistic but never excelled at school, she was a c/d student.  My father was maybe a little above average but he was very athletic.  He played football at the collegiate and semi-pro level.   One thing I can say about them is that they are both very interesting, curious and like doing many different and unusual things and believed in exposing me to as many things as they could.  They knew nothing about music, but would constantly take me to the opera, symphony or the ballet because they believed it was important that I developed an appreciation of the arts.

[ShenLi]

Thank you for sharing your experiences realgirrrl. 

One of the things I've always been warned is not to teach my kids too much or they will be bored at school, they will be social misfits, etc.  The feedback has always been negative.  Despite the lack of support from family, I still continue with my programs.  However, I am concerned about them not feeling challenged at school and being bored.  Do you have any recommendations around this - besides homeschool (which doesn't seem to be an option for us because I don't know how to get an exemption from the ministry of education)?

[esra]

Dear ShenLi, I have the same concerns as well. And what I am planning to do if I encounter such a situation is, to give the leadership role to my son. Because one of my friend was ahead of other pupils in the class and his teacher has been asking from him to teach and help to other students. Do you think this kind of thing helps ?

[ShenLi]

Thanks for the suggestion Esra.  I'm not sure if it helps but it's definitely something to consider.  This is such a new experience for me, I haven't a clue how to go about it!

[ShenLi]

How ironic... I actually do know a genius - my husband.  He was tested in school and he had an IQ of 160.  He was invited to join Mensa.  He's also got a photographic memory.

We were talking about right brain schools for the children when he said, "I'm a genius and I never did any of this stuff when I was a kid."  That's when I probed further about what his parents did do with him when he was a child and it seems he played a LOT of Lego and jigsaw puzzles.  He was doing Lego Technic even before he was old enough for it because he said he didn't have the manual dexterity to pull the pieces apart and would often use his teeth.  His Dad would mixed up three different jigsaw puzzles for him to sort out and complete.  I don't know the full details, e.g. how old he started, what kind of puzzles he did, etc. because he can't remember.  What he does remember was that school was always very easy for him and he was always getting into trouble because he was bored.

My hubby thinks he's a genius because it's all in the genes, but I think it's what he did when he was growing up.  What do you think?  Lego and jigsaw puzzles were the contributing factor?

I'm curious because a lot of the right brain activities that Shichida does are game-like.  Some of them are not unlike doing jigsaw puzzles.  Tangrams are a kind of puzzle.  If there is a correlation, then perhaps jigsaw puzzles and Lego are the kinds of games we should also be encouraging our kids to play.

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