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Too smart for comfort

Though many parents recognise that their child is bright, the fact that he or she could have special qualities often eludes them.

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Every parent wants their child to be a genius, but what happens when wishes come true? Most city schools are not equipped to handle the phenomenon of ‘gifted children’

Who can forget Doogie Howser, the 14-year-old genius who was television’s youngest doctor? The sitcom brought into focus an issue that has never been given much importance in India’s academically driven society. What makes a genius? What happens to gifted children whose genius remains unrecognised?

Though many parents recognise that their child is bright, the fact that he or she could have special qualities often eludes them. IQ tests do help, but it’s proper guidance that helps them attain levels of excellence. And often this need is not based purely on academic performance. Many of these gifted children have a tendency to excel in a particular field.

Take the case of one doctor who was aware that her son, Manav (name changed) was gifted, though he did drop out from school. At the age of 11, he created a website on his own. He completed a three-month diploma from NIIT when he was in the sixth standard. Says Manav, on his first step into the commercial world: “I earned my first salary when I was 15 by designing a website.” Manav is now a website developer.  On being asked if he did feel odd about being a drop-out, he pointed out that he didn’t think he was missing out on anything. “I have no regrets of being a drop-out,” he says.

The concept of ‘gifted’ can vary from child to child. A common misconception is that those with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) are considered gifted. “But we don’t take into account children who may be gifted in one particular field. Your knowledge or academic performance does not determine genius,” says Usha Pandit, who runs Mindsprings, an after-school programme for gifted children.

The irony of the situation is that in India, while academia is given a lot of importance, the education system does not take gifted children or genius into account. The chances of young minds being wasted, some might go as far as to say “ruined”, in a system that lays more importance to rote learning, are high. In many other countries, gifted children once identified, are introduced to programs that nurture and maxmise their genius. And while there is an ongoing debate on the efficacy of ‘specialist schools’, in India, parents are, more often than not, left to fend for themselves.

Being gifted does not make life easy. These children face difficulties, not just from their friends, but also from their teachers. Often the inability of others to understand their viewpoint acts as a hindrance. “Teachers in school need to be sensitive towards these gifted children. They should respect their views and opinion,” says psychologist, Malini Shah. It has been seen that such children come to visit the psychologist when feeling alienated and rejected. This, at times, leads to depression, but it depends on their personality. For many of them, sitting in a classroom becomes monotonous and boring as they show interest only in the specific fields that they are concerned with.

Kavita Gera, whose son Karan is in the ninth standard and has an IQ of around 150, believes that teachers play a very important role in a child’s life. She recalls an unpleasant incident where Karan was attending a history class on the Renaissance. “He had already studied it in great detail in the US, so he kept giving his inputs. This created a feeling of displeasure among his classmates.”

Karan adds, “My classmates think I am different from them, but I am not so unlike them. It’s always ‘them versus me’,” says Karan, who wants to pursue a career in genetic science.

It’s not uncommon to see gifted children underachieving just to gain acceptance in the class. “Karan loves to debate. But seeing the response he receives, I have asked him to restrict his questions. I know it’s not right, and nor is it helping him much,” says his mum.

In most countries, if the school the child is enrolled in has little to offer, parents have the option of putting the child in special schools where the staff is trained accordingly.

Parents of these gifted children feel that there are few such options available to them. The Cathedral and John Connon School is one of the few institutions in the city that attempt to foster young minds. They’ve hired Mindsprings to train children in an ‘after-school programme’. But courses like these are the exception rather than the norm.

The problem also lies in identifying genius. Is your child simply precocious or is there more to it? And what about ‘bright’ children, who may not be geniuses, but with proper guidance, could achieve an above-average intelligence that will help them in the long run? For now, the issue of genius raises more questions than the current education system can answer.
thesaturdaypaper@dnaindia.net

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