As the U.S. scrambles to find its way back to the top in education, it ought to take a tip from a genius, or, that is, from the story of how Jacob Barnett became a genius.
Jacob's is a story you've probably not heard -- yet. But, the way some talk of him, you'd think he will be the next Stephen Hawking. Although he is only about 15 years old, some say he has the stuff that will someday make him a Nobel Prize winner. Now, Jacob didn't start this way. He has autism. His parents reportedly were told he probably would never learn to tie his shoes. And, his mother was pressed to not try to teach him more than the basic skills.
Well, enter that mother, and continue this story.
Kristine Barnett took her son to the a planetarium where a professor was lecturing one day. The teacher threw out some questions -- and little Jacob's hand shot up, and he offered answers. Kristine soon was letting Jacob lead the way, as to what he studied. The things that interested him were the things she encouraged him to study.
And, therein lies the model for a good education system. Find what it is that will interest them, and turn them loose on it. Turn them loose on their passion as early as they display a passion.
Find their heart's desires, and you've found the key to having them learn. 'Tis a principle that makes difficult all the canned programs and set curricula and standard tests, for you cannot measure one person against another when they all are on different paths, excelling in different things. Not to say all such programs and testing are bad, but they are if they don't leave room for individuality.
You encourage genius when it is young. You don't tell a 14-year-old Bobby Fischer that chess is a man's game, or a six-year-old Wolfgang Mozart that he must wait to write his first musical composition, or a 15-year-old Pablo Picasso that he must learn more before he will really be a painter. You don't tell the teen-aged Beatles they are too young to perform, and must first get musical degrees. Talent comes without license, and so does genius. You don't tell eight-year-old William James Sidis, who some say was the smartest person to ever live (with a IQ of 250-300) that he is too young to be messing with logarithms.
You don't suppress dreams, you open them.
Oh, I would argue genius can come late, as well as early. But, the point is that most all geniuses developed by pursuing their interests. You get to genius by starting with something you love. So, shouldn't the model for good education be that you find each person's starting point and set them off on that path? As soon as you find their key, you help them turn it.
(This is a repost, slightly changed, from Oct. 25, 2013)
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/autistic-boy-genius-iq-higher-einstein-article-1.1340923
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