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In the film Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan encourages his students to create something different. Sadly, in real life, we seldom come across schools or teachers encouraging kids to think differently or giving special attention to children who display extraordinary talent in one subject or field.

The son of an acquaintance who studied at a premier school in Thane was a genius in mathematics, but lacked inclination towards other subjects. The school authorities didn’t take kindly to this and warned his parents that he needed to score well in all subjects if he wished to be promoted.

Two years after he withdrew from the school, the boy is now doing great at a Bangalore-based education centre, an institution that believes in honing specialised skills rather than drumming in a generalised pattern of education.

The case reminds me of an incident related by a friend who used to work with a leading financial services organisation in Mumbai. On one of his visits to the US, he was asked by a business leader of his company’s parent MNC if he could arrange for a meet with some mathematics PhDs to explore a new business vertical.

My friend said he was aghast when the global leader told him none of the PhDs he had sent for the meeting measured up when compared with talent from elsewhere in the world. It seemed as if the country that invented the zero actually drew a big zero when it came to specialised talent.

The root cause, he said, was that none of the people recommended by him met the proficiency criteria in the subjects they had specialised in.

Talent in a particular field must be encouraged right from the toddler stage. Looking beyond books and honing special skills is the only way to etch out a roadmap for progress. It’s time we thought differently about education.

Look around you. How many teachers ask their students to look sharp and observe? How many are asked to analyse what they observe? It’s time to look beyond books.
Teachers are the ones who show children the first light.

They truly have the power to shape the future. Maybe, they can start by identifying the prodigious few and by giving them much-needed boost.