In last week's issue, we discussed the gifted child in an
article by Rochel Gill. Our translator, an expert in
education, and specifically in speech, has these insights to
offer on the subject.
In her article about gifted childen, Rochel Gill first
discussed the genius, and then continued the discussion about
a gifted child. The two are as different from each other as a
slightly learning-disabled child, and a very retarded one.
There is no comparison and they need completely different
treatment.
Firstly, the rare genius. The child who speaks at six months
and reads before the age of two. These can be as difficult to
cope with in the confines of a family as, for example, a
severely autistic child. It is useless to send them out to
play with their friends. They have no friends. Childish
pursuits bore them. Parents of most of these children need
support and advice as much as any parents who have an out-of-
the-ordinary child.
Mensa in England organizes occasional weekend boarding school
facilities for these very young children so that they have an
opportunity to compete with mental and chronological equals.
I once listened in on the activities of a first evening there
when they had a quiz competition. Children from all over
England aged between four and eight were being asked
questions on their own pet subject. The question master kept
the score. One child chose astronomy, another wanted
questions on fossils. Yet a third chose underwater Life. One
answered laconically that he was interested in any period in
history. The questions were, on the whole, quite beyond my
knowledge, and on the rare occasion that one of the children
did not know the answer, he burst into tears. As Rochel Gill
wrote, they are, after all, children. But they did not show
more immaturity than any other six-year-olds. When it came to
bedtime, they behaved just like all other children that age,
away from home for the first time.
The fourteen-year-old genius who was asked about his amazing
achievements and answered that he enjoyed receiving money,
did not really show superficiality. Other boys that age enjoy
receiving money, too, as do most adults! A child who is a
genius will do his own thing most the time, anyway. He will
read voraciously or draw or compose music, in whatever
direction his particular bent may lie. Parents may try to
advise and guide, and they may try to teach him the niceties
of social behavior, but a genius is different from other
children. Moreover, when he achieves adulthood, he will
probably still be different from other people.
Rabbi Miller of Gateshead spoke about this subject in
Bournemouth almost two years ago. He said that a gifted child
may need help as much as a learning- disabled child. In this
day and age, when so much is being done for the learning-
disabled child in mainstream schools, there is no reason why
provisions should not be made, in the same schools, for the
`misfits' who are too bright for the classroom. If they need
one-on-one tutoring for part of the day, the school should
provide it, as they do for the others. Probably, all the more
so, since the potential is so great. Rabbi Miller's words and
sentiments were misunderstood, and provoked a storm of
protest at the time. In the secular world, too, experts agree
with this point of view and feel that an exceptionally gifted
child should be withdrawn from the classroom for some of the
time and given an opportunity to obtain extra knowledge and
stimulation.
During a long career in teaching, I have met less than ten of
these special children. One was a non-Jewish girl of less
than two who was being pushed in a stroller. She was reading
the notices all around the shopping area where they were. I
commented on it to the simplistic working class mother who
answered that she was at her wits' end. "She's driving me
around the bend." I suggested that she join a library and
give her some books to read. She looked at me doubtfully. She
had never thought of entering such a place, but said she
would think about it. What will become of such a child if she
is not helped? Will she disrupt the class when she finally
goes to school? Will she make use of her great gifts?
Another brilliant boy whom I taught went right through school
without accomplishing very much. He naturally achieved high
grades in his examinations; he couldn't help that. But only a
few people who taught him through the years realized his
potential. Most of the teachers thought he was just lazy,
instead of realizing how bored he was. He did not get
encouragement from home nor in school. It takes a very
skilled Rebbe or teacher to occupy a child who already knows
what is being taught, almost without listening, in a crowded
classroom. He could have blossomed into an exceptional
talmid chochom or been outstanding in some other
field. Instead, he is an unhappy, frustrated man.
The Vilna Gaon probably had a private Rebbe. The experts who
argue that a child needs a social life are quite right in
theory. But it doesn't always work out in practice. If the
genius is to be allowed to reach his potential, especially in
avodas Hashem, he must not be discouraged.
As for gifted children, some parents foolishly make them the
topic of conversation. However, there are many children
gifted in some way or another, who lead perfectly normal
lives and are a joy to their parents and teachers without
arousing the jealousy of siblings.
When a child is different in any way, he is the subject of
most conversations in many families. If a child with Downs
syndrome is born into a large family with many bright healthy
children, it may well be that this new child will dominate
their whole lives for years to come. He will be discussed
more frequently than any of the others. The mother may give
him more attention than she does to all the other children. A
sick child, chas vesholom, will also occupy parents'
thoughts and conversations, to the exclusion of most
everything else.
Experts may advise, but in the end, most parents and
children, in spite of every endeavor, will do what comes
naturally to them.
