Each of us is born with enough talents and resources,which may help us achieve success in the professional sphere and make major achievements
Any parent wants his children to be happy and successful. At that, each of us has a different notion of this happiness, but still all parents want their children to reveal their talents, wonderfully apply themselves and find good employment. It is important to remember that genius requires much effort for development.
Candidate of pedagogical sciences Julia Knyazeva is known worldwide as an expert at family education and children talents. She is the mother of two children prodigy, Angela, 19, and Diana, 18, Knyazev. The girls covered the school curriculum together with their parents with the aid of Julia Knyazeva's education system for five years. After that, both graduated from the Finance Academy of the Russian Federation Government with honors. And in a year, their got diplomas in finance and bank law at the Russian New University. In less than a year, the girls became the youngest master's degree holders in international political economy at US's Stanford University.
Last spring, the sisters became holders of master's degree in financial economy and international business and kept on working on their doctoral theses at the Stern School of Business, NYU.
Julia Knyazeva believes that each of us is born with enough talents and resources that on condition of adequate development, good application and other conditions may help us achieve success in the professional sphere and make major achievements.
This may happen that parents decide their children have no talents at all. There is no reason for despair, the expert says. There are lots of professions that require not one talent but several talents and capabilities at once. Parents should teach their children to work independently and systematically; to plan a workday, to regulate a workday and be as good as their words. It is important to let children apply themselves in different spheres and try various activities. One day, it will be perfectly clear what talents your children have.
At that, children should develop their talents willingly. Parents need to be particularly patient in case children are lazy and obstinate. Remember that children usually follow the example of their adult family members and relatives; that is why adults should not be foolishly obstinate themselves. Children in general become particularly obstinate in the pre-school age and during their awkward age.
To fight laziness, help your children revive the interest in studies and teach them to respect teachers. Do anything possible to help education develop positively.
Often parents insist that children must study this or that particular profession, at the time when children reveal interest quire in different spheres. History reveals that both sides, parents and children, may be mistaken in such situations. For instance, in the second part of the 17th century, the head of the large Bernulli family sent his sons to study theology and try commerce. In many years, the world learnt about mathematicians, historians, doctors and artists of the Bernulli family. Nothing is known about outstanding Bernulli in commerce.
Children's preferences may change several times during their school studies and already at the institute. That is why, it is recommended to try those professions that children want to study: to work at a hospital for some time, to go for a research expedition or try some business.
Julia Knyazeva says that it is important for children and their parents to use the maximum of the educational resources of their families. Family education is little known in Russia at the time when in the US there are over 1.8 million homeschoolers.
Experts state that parents' role in developing children's talents in great. There are several examples revealing a significant parental role in the upbringing of Olympic Games champions, brilliant musicians and outstanding researchers. Parents should be particularly attentive to see the talents of their children and become their first teachers to help develop these talents. Future progress and success of children mostly depends upon their parents.
Nature-vs-nurture dilemma resolved
Many books on psychology put a substantial emphasis on the nature-vs-nurture debate. Psychologist ask which factors are decisive in developing human behavioral characteristics: genetic background or education and upbringing? As far as intelligence is concerned, both genetics and upbringing determine the final outcome. Using reductio ad absurdum we quickly notice that we have not yet recorded a case of a success in science by an individual affected with Down syndrome, i.e. we can easily show that genetics can stifle intellectual development. At the same time, we notice that individuals deprived of education and human contact may be deprived of the ability to read, speak or conduct abstract reasoning, i.e. we can show that lack of education may be equally devastating to the human mind (see: Feral children).
The power of genetics on the functioning of the brain is illustrated by afflictions such as Down syndrome (mental retardation), dyslexia (reading problems), amusia (problems with recognizing sounds and music), unipolar and bipolar disorders (depression and manic-depressive disorder), and many more. These factors on one hand illustrate that we may at birth be handicapped in the quest for genius. At the same time, behavioral therapies used in all listed cases, show the tremendous power of training in developing compensation for disability.
If you look at the human brain from 100,000 years ago, you will not see much difference when compared with today's brains. Yet training and education, as well as the ability to communicate and work collectively, has lifted the human potential to unimaginable levels. See gray insets for more insights on the potential and limitations of the human brain.
High IQ is welcome but it makes up for only a fraction of intelligence Later in the article, I will argue in support for the scientifically obvious statement: well-designed training can produce amazing results in enhancing intelligence Genius is based on good hardware, excellent knowledge, strong motivation, and minimum negative interference.
In other words:
it is helpful to be blessed with a healthy brain (hardware)
this brain must be subject to a lifelong training in acquiring useful knowledge (software); esp. problem solving knowledge
knowledgeable brain must be driven by strong motivational factors (drive), including positive emotions (passion, enthusiasm, love, etc.)
well-driven knowledgeable brain must avoid negative interference from inborn weaknesses and destructive emotions (e.g. few things cloud judgment as badly as anger, and few things are as distracting as love)
A genius brain in action will tackle a problem, quickly find an appropriate set of rules, and derive a solution. Actually, the speed of processing the rules is not as critical as the skill in choosing the appropriate rules at hand. For a genius breakthrough, the speed is usually quite unimportant. It took Darwin five years to collect data during his Beagle trip to come up with a vision of the evolutionary process. Yet it took him another 20 years collecting all necessary material, and opinions before mustering courage to publish On the origin of species. The book has changed our view of the human species for ever. It is hard to pinpoint a single breakthrough or a stroke of genius. Darwin's reasoning wasn't blindingly fast neither. Yet Darwin's impact on the ways of the mankind was monumental Anatomical studies show that various areas of the human brain may substantially differ in size between individuals. Yet it is not easy to find correlations between these difference and mental powers. In people with a normal range of IQ, the volume of cerebral cortex may vary twice between one person and the next. So may the extent of differences in metabolic rates in the same organ. Similar differences have been found between such critical brain structures as the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and the amygdala. Connections between the hemispheres can dramatically differ in volume (e.g. seven-fold difference for the anterior commissure). The left inferior-parietal lobule (located just above the level of the ears in the parietal cortex) is larger in men, and was also found to be larger in Einstein's brain as well as in the brains of mathematicians and physicists. On the other hand, the two language area of the cortex: Broca and Wernicke areas are larger in women, which may explain why women might be superior in language processing and verbal tasks. Bigger men have bigger brains but are not smarter. High achievements in all fields require hours of training. This refers to music, chess, sciences, sports and what not. I wholeheartedly subscribe to the famous statement by Edison: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". Training can have a miraculous impact on the human brain. It does not matter much how well you were endowed by the genetics. You got no better choice than to commit yourself to a lifelong course of learning. If you are in a minority that shows identifiable genetic limitations, you may need to hone your routine to your particular needs; however, if you have already arrived to this point in this article, health permitting, you are highly likely to be equipped with all the basic intellectual components for building genius. A well-planned training regimen has been shown to lead to a remarkable progress in people suffering from various inborn limitations to the functioning of the brain. The brain's amazing ability to compensate for the limited functionality of its components can be well illustrated by an excellent prognosis for kids with hemispherectomy (i.e. surgery in which half of the brain is removed). If hemispherectomy is conducted early enough, the kid is likely to return to normal life. Due to the brain's symmetry, a damage to the same area on both sides of the brain may be harder to compensate but still not impossible. Dyslexia is a genetically based condition in which reading may pose particular challenge in otherwise bright people. Dyslectics show reduced activity in their language center on the left side of their brain. In dyslexia, training can be very frustrating but the right hemisphere can compensate for the limitations of the left side. To experience the hardship of dyslectic training, pick up the pen in your non-dominant hand and write now the letter that has waited years to be written. Don't just slug it away, try to match the speed of your dominant hand. See the pain? Incidentally, Edison was a dyslectic too. And so was Einstein
Hothouse Children
Hothouse children are children whose parents push them into learning more quickly and earlier than is appropriate for the cognitive age of the children. The term comes from the verb "hothousing," which researchers coined to refer to parents' attempts to create a "superbaby," in other words, a genius. These parents provide every type of enrichment they can for their child, beginning in infancy. They play classical music for their infants, and may even use flashcards to prepare their infant for reading and math. When their children become toddlers, the real lessons on reading and math begin, using either flashcards or other methods of instruction. They also provide piano or violin lessons for their children, often starting when the children are three or four and make every effort to get their children into the "best" preschools, which they believe are the ones that emphasize academics. Hothouse children are often overscheduled in activities their parents believe are essential to their children's success in life. The two keys terms in this definition are "push" and "cognitive age." Gifted children are not generally hothouse children even though they are learning material more quickly and earlier than most children their age. However, the learning is child-centered, which means the desire to learn comes from the child, not the parent. Gifted children can also be hothouse children if and when their parents are the ones initiating - and insisting on - the early learning.
Children need warmth, not the cruelty of 'hothousing’
Driving children to improve their performace at school can damage them forever
How galling it would be to be a head teacher and receive a dozen calls or emails every day from hovering parents, hysterical because Lily hasn’t got the hang of chemistry or Milo is not on course for Oxbridge. I sympathise, therefore, with the headmaster at Uppingham, who warns parents that “hothousing” their children risks damaging them for life.
Richard Harman, who will lead the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference next year, claims that today’s parents monitor their offspring so relentlessly that the poor things can hardly think for themselves. Mr Harman would like mummy and daddy to stop pestering their young about results and refrain from programming their every waking hour in order to improve their performance. Others agree: adopt an attitude of benign neglect towards them and children will grow more resilient.
I’ve met enough “hothousing” parents to recognise that this extreme form of nurturing can snuff out independence. Parent-teacher meetings always bring out the worst offenders, such as the mother I met who completed every one of her son’s sentences for him, admitting that she had “counselled” him on which subjects to study, and which university to apply to. The boy, silent and sullen, oozed resentment from every pore. He could barely restrain his hostility towards everyone around him, and when he said “Mother”, frankly I thought of Psycho and wondered if he’d end up running a motel where unsuspecting blondes showered at their peril.
“Hothousing” parents risk damaging their young. But concern about their exaggerated monitoring should not blind us to the need for a different kind of nurturing. Being watched, praised, restrained – even if the goal is passing an exam – gives children a sense of worth. From that safe, pleasant perch, they can stretch out a hand to others. We complain about nurses, teachers and social workers lacking compassion and patience. But where are the “caring” professionals to learn such nurturing instincts, if not from their own parents?
If my father had not always insisted on picking me up (no matter what the time) from parties when I was a teenager, I would have survived. I’d have learnt to listen for footsteps on the cobblestones in Georgetown, Washington DC, and possibly to carry a whistle, as the policeman who’d taken the assembly at school advised. But I loved being looked after and knowing that, no matter how wild the disco or the teenage party, my dad waited outside in his car. More importantly, my parents showed me how to care for my own brood now – and beyond them, for the friends and in-laws who constitute my circle of intimates.
Clever Mr Harman knows that his parenting advice will appeal immensely to the ambitious mummies and daddies who can afford to send their children to schools like his (for £30,000 a year). Many yearn to get on with their own careers, pilates classes and shellac manicures, and will welcome anyone who sanctions a more hands-off approach.
Let the teenager off the leash, some say, because this is how she will learn to cope with everything from alcohol through anorexia to algebra. And if it just so happens that by letting her do her own stuff, her parents gain lots of lovely time to think of themselves – well, all the better.
I’m sure that this other extreme might spawn an autonomous and capable generation. Latch-key children have a more developed sense of self-preservation than children whose parents hover. They have to be on constant guard, aware of smoke in the kitchen, or someone trying the lock on the back door: they’re on their own. This no doubt emancipates them from reliance on others; like scores of orphans in literature, from Jane Eyre to Harry Potter, children with no parents, or absent ones, grow up stronger and more enterprising than their cosseted counterparts with parents. But at what emotional cost?
Many parents today are overly invested in their children's academic performance. They focus on school readiness and push their children into academic pursuits at younger and younger ages. It is not unusual to find academic preschools for three year olds. There are even whole catalogs devoted to games, DVD's and flash cards to give one's child the competitive edge over his peers before formal schooling even starts. As a result, many children seem advanced when they enter school when, in fact, they are not. This phenomenon is often referred to as "hothousing." Just as you can grow a tomato in the middle of winter given the right forced conditions, children can be trained to such an extent that they appear gifted at young ages. Many parents of such children take great pride in their offspring's accomplishments and do not hesitate to share it with those around them. This overemphasis on early academic achievement creates problems for the child, their parents and their teachers. Three of these problems are listed below.
1. The child feels valued for what he knows rather than for who he is . Parents who draw attention to the achievements of their children create children who do more to get more. The degree of attention they get from their primary care givers is not something they will readily relinquish. They begin to depend upon this attention as a form of validation of their worth. This external locus of control can be a difficult mindset to reverse.
2. Parents may develop a fear of failure . Children who demonstrate advanced abilities often have parents who come to expect a certain level of performance. They may see the child as a reflection of themselves (this is often unconscious). This investment in performance becomes closely tied to their own sense of self worth. The child's grades are no longer simply a grade but proof or discredit for the claims they have made. Failure or a decline in performance becomes something to be feared and that pressure is often translated to their children.
3. Early education teachers may miss truly gifted children . In most schools, enrichment programming for gifted students does not begin until around 3rd grade. This is because many studies have shown that by this age the children who were not given a push early on begin to catch up with their "hothoused" peers, creating a more level playing field. Trying to identify the truly gifted from the children whose parents pushed academics can be difficult. As a result, children with innate gifting may find themselves sidelined until about third grade at which point any passion or thirst for learning may have long since been squelched.
These problems can be avoided. However, it takes a great deal of personal insight, reflection and self-checking on the part of parents to make sure that these issues are not created or perpetuated. All children, regardless of ability, need to be given freedom soar and yes, sometimes fail, on a path that is solely theirs. A parent's job is to support, encourage, love and guide their children so that their unique potential and abilities can emerge unencumbered by unnecessary pressure.
Hothousing and competitive parenting
We live in a competitive society that is focused on individual achievement. Parents are increasingly focused on their children’s achievements as an extension of their own achievements and they are anxious that their children are not left behind in the climb to the top of the school hierarchy.
Parents subtly or not so subtly boast about their children’s achievements at the school gates, at work and at dinner parties. ‘Jack is on grade 5 in swimming now’ or ‘Chloe has reached level 4 in English andMaths, which means she is heading for A*s at GCSE.’ How important are these achievements though? As a secondary school teacher, you often hear parents say ‘I don’t know what went wrong. He was so good in primary school,’ but perhaps what is going wrong is that children have been pushed too hard at the expense of emotional and social skills. When children become teenagers they are exposed to many different pressures and parents are not always around at the crucial moment to give guidance. If a child has good social skills, self-esteem and emotional intelligence they will be able to handle these situations well and will continue to do well at school. However, if a child is less equipped to deal with peer pressure, then problems can occur in secondary school.
The problem of competitive parenting starts at preschool age. I know that many parents during the preschool years are concerned about their children’s progress at preschool and worry about how well their child is learning their letters and numbers. This is probably not helped by the government’s method of reporting in the early years, which now emphasises reading, writing and arithmetic. Some people refer to this as the ‘schoolification of young children’ and point out that young children need to learn through play. In the UK, children start school much earlier than in some countries. However, research shows that children in other countries such as Sweden who don’t start formal education until 7 years old are easily able to catch up with us in terms of literacy and numeracy.
Hothousing is a term that has been used to describe an environment where parents put undue pressure on their children to achieve. Such parents choose preschools or nurseries that push literacy and numeracy at a young age rather than play. These parents may view play as unimportant and may enrol their children in many structured activities where they feel their child is learning something useful. Children may be taken to gymnastics, karate or piano lessons even when they are reluctant to go (Hyson, 1991). However, studies suggest that children whose parents are very focused on early achievement are less creative and more anxious. There also appears to be no long-term academic benefits (Hirsch-Pasek et al. 1990). Parents who are keen on hothousing their children also tend to be more critical of their children and controlling. For example, one study found that in an etch-the-sketch task, mothers who were rated high for hothousing were more controlling of the activity. They would make critical comments such as ‘the yellow does not look like grass’(Hyson et al, 1991). Parents need to be careful that they don’t force their children into achievement orientated environments at a young age. One study found that children who went to highly academic preschools and nurseries, were more worried about school, felt less pride in their accomplishments and were less motivated than children who were taught in child-centred environments. This was found to be the case irrespective of class or ethnic group (Stipek et al. 1995).
Hothousing continues through primary school, when parents enrol their children in a stream of extra-curricular activities and push their children to do well at school. Some parents will spend hours doing their children’s homework projects for them so that their child gets the best grades. Weekends are spent at ballet classes and football or rugby practice to ensure their child is the best in every way. I want my own son to do well academically and in other activities like sport and music, just like every parent but I know it is important to step back and not push him too hard. However, it is difficult not to get sucked into our competitive culture. When other parents are paying for lots of sporting or music activities for their child, you begin to think that maybe your child should attend these activities too so that they can be as good as the other children. When other parents say that their child is performing better than your child in English or Mathematics, you begin to think you should force your child to spend more time on homework. On the other hand, I know that no child can be good at everything and it can make children anxious if parents strive for perfection. In fact, the most important thing is for parents to develop their children’s emotional intelligence and encourage naturally developing interests. Parents can start by emphasising that perfection is not important and that although it is good to try our best that we don’t have to be the best. Teaching children to empathise with other people’s emotions and to not always be competitive develops emotional intelligence and is much more likely to lead to success in life than pure grades.
The Super Baby Burnout Syndrome
By Janet Elder; Janet Elder is a member of the News Special Projects staff of The Times Published: January 08, 1989
PARENTS HAVE LONG appreciated the Picasso-like brilliance of their own children's first finger-painting. But never before have they paid so much attention to the amateur-quality strokes of the child next door.
Pressured by their peers to raise an accomplished child and propelled by a competitive life style, parents are trying to get the edge by enrolling their infants and toddlers in classes that promise to teach everything from reading to babies to French conversation to 2-year-olds. There is Gymboree for newborns, music for 1-year-olds, science and cooking for 2's, swimming, skiing and piano for children not old enough to walk. And often this is just the beginning. Once these children start school, they spend their after-school hours advancing from folk songs to sonatas, from the backstroke to the high-diving board.
The once calming words of the family pediatrician, ''He's fine. He's doing what's normal for his age,'' send the current generation of parents into a state of panic. ''It's not enough to have an average child,'' said David Elkind, professor of child study at Tufts University. ''Parents want to have a gifted child. They see it as a reflection of themselves.''
But the dizzying array of classes for the stroller set seems to be creating fewer Mozarts and Harvard graduates than parents had hoped. In fact, psychologists and pediatricians say some toddlers have ''been asked to do so much they just can't keep up,'' said Kathy S. Katz, director of the psychology division of Georgetown University's child-development center. ''They're burned out - as they get older they just won't have the drive and motivation to rise to greater and greater challenges.''
Professionals say that at an age when children should be relaxed and happy, they are consumed by the pressure to succeed and they become nervous and uptight. ''The schedules of some young children look more like the schedules of busy executives,'' said Dr. Stanley Turecki, a child and family psychiatrist as well as physician in charge of the Difficult Child Program at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. ''We're creating 'Type A' tots.'' 'The Sooner He Learns . . .'
Whether their parents are satisfying their own egos, are caught up in what the neighbors are doing for their children or are genuinely confused, the result is the same. Middle-class upwardly-mobile parents are ignoring the dictates of child development and embracing the popular notion that ''the sooner a child learns something the better off that child will be.''
For many children, the joys of an unencumbered childhood have been sacrificed to the demand for performance their parents place on them, however subtle. The world of play, once the laboratory and secret hiding place of childhood, has been snatched from some children. Often parents see play as unproductive or a waste of time.
''It's natural for parents in a country as competitive as ours to want to be sure that a child is keeping up with the crowd,'' said Dr. Benjamin Spock, author of the now legendary ''Baby and Child Care.'' ''But I would want to make the point that children are learning very actively when they are playing, when they are following their own instincts. Just because we call it play doesn't mean that something infinitely important is going on.''
The fast track of parenting was parodied in the 1987 film ''Baby Boom'' with Diane Keaton. Sitting around the sandbox, clutching thick appointment books, two mothers find it nearly impossible to book a time for their children to get together - ''Ben's got play group and French on Monday, Gymboree on Tuesday, computer readiness on Thursday,'' said one mother. ''Well, Cole's got drama on Wednesday,'' said the second. A third mother arrives on the scene, devastated that her child didn't get into Dalton's preschool. ''If she doesn't get into the right preschool,'' she says, ''she won't get into the right kindergarten. If she doesn't get into the right kindergarten, I can forget about a good prep school and any hope of an Ivy League college. I don't understand it. Her resume was perfect. Her references were impeccable.'' Parents Feel Vulnerable
While this scene is an exaggeration, it does capture the vulnerability of anxious parents. ''Parents start to get a sense that they are being left out and depriving their children,'' said Dr. Leonard Rappaport, a pediatrician and director of the medical diagnostic clinic at Children's Hospital in Boston. ''It's especially true with very busy parents. People are feeling that if they get behind they'll never catch up. They don't want to find out four years later that all the kids who took Suzuki are doing well and everyone else can't play in the band.'' (The Suzuki method teaches children to play musical instruments by rote.) The current generation of parents were the first go to college as a matter of course, a necessity rather than a luxury. For them, admission to college was nearly as accessible as high school. So they set the standards for their children one notch higher. ''We're the generation that saw what can happen if you start out right,'' said Stacey Bogdonoff, who with her husband, Paul Neuman, owns Neuman and Bogdonoff, a catering business in New York City, where she also teaches a cooking course to children. They have a 3-year-old son, Max.
''A lot of parents have gone to good schools and prep schools or know of these people and now they're investment bankers,'' she said. ''We all want our kids on that track.''
PROFESSIONALS say that it is not simply a desire to raise the perfect child that is driving the current generation of parents; it is also a deeply felt anxiety about the art of parenting. That is fed in part by the lack of extended families.
There is no experienced grandparent next door to offer matter-of-fact advice, such as ''You dumped a sack of flour over your brother's head when you were young too.''
Charles and Melanie Salzman had their daughter Rachel in a variety of programs before they found one that calmed their nerves without putting pressure on Rachel. Every Saturday morning, Mr. Salzman packs his 2-year-old daughter into their car and travels from their home in Fort Lee, N.J., across the George Washington Bridge to the Center for the Study and Education of the Gifted at Teachers College at Columbia University, for an hour and a half of school - for both of them.
In the class, called ''Discovery for 2's,'' it's hard to tell who is unearthing more - the children or the parents. The 12 children have the luxury of using the materials of a nursery-school classroom - paint, clay, a water table, a dress-up corner, a castle - to feed their imaginations, while their parents have the rare opportunity to observe their children at play while a professional whispers to them, explaining the value of their child's play. No worries about Suzuki in this room. These parents are more concerned with understanding their child's behavior than advancing it.
But no matter what the setting, children who are 2 can't help being 2, and children of this age don't share. One father, slightly embarrassed that his daughter has snatched a puzzle from the hand of another child, gets reassurance.
''Don't worry about it,'' said Rand Jarrell, the course's instructor and a doctoral candidate in the education of the gifted. ''Children this age tend to think everything within three feet of their play area belongs to them. The ability to share is a little too advanced for kids this age.''
Unlike courses designed to teach a specific skill or academic subject, this one is geared to having the children spend most of the time simply playing. Parents can join in the block-building, don the other fireman's hat or simply observe. The most demanding moment of this loosely structured course seems to come during a brief ''circle time'' when children and parents sing a rousing round of ''The Wheels on the Bus,'' or hear an animated reading of ''Where the Wild Things Are.''
Participation in group activity is especially difficult if it is demanded at a time when a child's play had him ready to slay the dragon he'd been stalking for the last 10 minutes. Being a part of a group is something children this age are not quite ready to do. 'A Kind of Measuring Rod'
Mr. Salzman says the 10-week course has given him depth in trying to understand what is best for his daughter. ''It has been very helpful, a kind of measuring rod,'' Mr. Salzman said. ''It has been a validation that many of our instincts, much of what we were doing, is right. We're all guilty of being sheep - it's easy when you're a parent to just assume that if everyone is doing something it must be right.''
The course has also given Mr. Salzman, who is involved in film production, the chance to share his daughter's school experience, something that is usually the province of mothers or baby sitters. ''She'll learn to read when it's time, when she is ready,'' Mr. Salzman said. ''Right now, I want her to be happy and have fun and enjoy being a child.'' Not all classes are designed to help both child and parent - at least overtly. And most do not have play on the schedule.
At French for Tots in Manhattan, Francois Thibaut teaches children how to speak French. His love of the children and enthusiasm for what he is teaching are legendary among New York parents.
As in many foreign-language programs for adults, every word spoken here by the instructor is in French. At a recent class, the children were taught the names of groceries: sugar, coffee, chocolate. The children were then asked to take a brightly colored miniature-size shopping cart and pick up the ''groceries.'' Mr. Thibaut uses the Socratic method. The children don't volunteer; they are called on.
After a successful walk down the ''supermarket'' aisle, the parents applaud the child's success, and the happy ''shopper'' finally smiles too.
At 3 1/2, Maggie Mandel has been learning French for two years, nearly as long as she has been learning English. Her mother, Kimberly, enrolled Maggie in French because she wanted her to have the opportunity to be bilingual and because Mrs. Mandel had spent six years of her adolescence trying to master the language, which still eludes her.
''I picked it because I studied so long and so hard. It had been such an ordeal for me,'' Mrs. Mandel said. ''I never really mastered the language. Now I'm getting a review in vocabulary. It's just as much fun for me as it is for her.''
Mrs. Mandel also wanted Maggie to be doing something. As a city child, Maggie has no backyard, no basement or attic. ''What was she going to do,'' said Mrs. Mandel, an Oregon native. ''Just sit around and play with her toys all day, seven days a week.''
Somewhere between play and French there is cooking. Most of the students enrolled in ''Kids in the Kitchen,'' at the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Associations at East 92d Street in Manhattan, arrive at class in their strollers. After some help in getting their jackets off, and a little prodding to relinquish their stuffed companion, the children sit in small chairs around a table. Directly in back of each child sits their mother.
THESE 2-year-olds, already experienced at quiche and lasagna, recently made cookies with licorice smiles and M&M eyes. When the aluminum mixing bowls and wooden spoons were passed out, the children seemed instinctively to turn them into drums before being silenced by their mothers.
Creaming the margarine was a joy to some, a chore to others. One boy couldn't seem to put enough power into the stirring. Seated between his mother's arms, he relinquished the spoon to her and settled into popping M&M's in his mouth.
It was the ninth of ten cooking sessions and the conversation among the mothers sounded vaguely reminiscent of the conversation in ''Baby Boom'' as they compared notes and planned the next activity for their children. ''We've already done Wee Wizards,'' said one mother. ''I really don't know what to enroll him in next,'' said another. ''I think he needs to get some exercise. We may go back to Gymboree,''
Elsewhere there are organizations that promote the vision of the perfect child. Over the last 10 years the Better Baby Institute, in Philadelphia, has been teaching a course on ''How to Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence.'' The course shows parents how to have their toddlers doing everything from reading to recognizing pictures of Tchaikovsky. The institute also publishes a number of books, including ''How to Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge,'' and ''How to Teach Your Baby to Read,'' which has sold more than a million copies.
''We're persuaded that every child born at the moment of birth has a higher potential intelligence than Leonardo da Vinci ever used,'' Glenn Doman, the chairman of the institute, says to parents.
The courses, books and tapes offered by the Better Baby Institute (now The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential) are a source of controversy among child-development experts. While most agree that it is possible to actually teach a toddler to read, they believe that, like teaching other things too soon, it is developmentally inappropriate and deprives a child of joy.
''Trying to teach 3-year-olds to read is like giving them a key to a garden that isn't grown yet,'' said Dr. Ames of the Gesell Institute. ''They're reading the word but not understanding.''
Like educators and psychologists, parents also are starting to sense that something may be wrong. The same parents whose children attend Kids in the Kitchen were part of a standing-room-only crowd at the 92d Street Y last fall to hear Dr. Elkind speak on the miseducation of young children; he is the author of the book ''Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk.''
Like Dr. Elkind, some developmental experts take the position that any class, especially one with structure, is inappropriate for almost any middle-class child under 3 or 4. ''It's an adult-oriented approach,'' said Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, author of best-selling books on child development and chief of the child-development unit at Children's Hospital in Boston. ''The way children learn at that age is by play, not teaching modes. It's totally inappropriate for a child under 3 years of age.''
Others encourage parents to proceed, but with caution. They say a parent should develop a savvy about child development and a strong sense of their child's personality and proclivities before choosing a class.
''The more informed parents are, the more successful they will be,'' said Lisa Wright, co-director of the center for the gifted at Teachers College. ''Some children might be ready for Suzuki at a seemingly early age. It depends on the clues the child is giving you and knowing the right time to intervene and provide an opportunity.''
It is equally important for parents to have flexibility in the vision they have for their child's life, because it is critical to the child's happiness. ''I would encourage parents to be experimental,'' said Dr. Turecki, the child psychiatrist. ''But at the same time, I would encourage parents to pull back if it is not going right, without thinking that either they or the child have failed. I don't believe that if you mess up in the first three years you've finished it off. You've got plenty of latitude, but look at your child intelligently.''
The National Association for Education of Young Children urges parents to seek programs that are developmentally appropriate for a child's age. ''Doing what is developmentally appropriate is what will make the child get the light to click,'' said Barbara Willer, director of information services for the Washington-based organization. ''It will follow then, that the child will love to make the light bulb go on, and that intrinsic motivation is what will inspire further risk-taking, discovery and learning.''
How can parents tell if it's going well - whether the child is enjoying the class or just trying to please them? ''You don't have to dig for trouble,'' Dr. Turecki said. ''You'll see it in whininess, in sleeping difficulty, in a change of eating habits, in persistent stubbornness, perhaps in continued aggressive behavior.''
SENSITIVITY to a child's individuality is even more critical when a child is too good and doesn't show these outward signs of frustration or discontent. This is especially true of girls, said Louise Bates Ames, associate director of the Gesell Institute of Human Development in New Haven. ''Smart, good little girls do what grownups want them to do,'' she said. ''This can lead to tremendous difficulty for the child.''
Dr. Turecki treats what he calls the ''goody two-shoes personality.'' ''When they have been tracked in a direction that really was not appropriate for who they are as people, but they conformed, they grow up with a false identity,'' he said. They never feel real about themselves, and that can start all kinds of things.''
Your learning style can be helpful in improving your grades.
Students learn in many ways, like seeing, hearing, and experiencing things first hand. But for most students, one of these methods stands out.
Why is this important? Research has shown that students can perform better on tests if they change study habits to fit their own personal learning styles.
For example, visual-learning students will sometimes struggle during essay exams, because they can't recall test material that was "heard" in a lecture.
However, if the visual learner uses a visual aid when studying, like a colorful outline of test materials, he or she may retain more information. For this type of learner, visual tools improve the ability to recall information more completely.
A simple explanation of learning styles is this: some students remember best materials they've seen, some remember things they've heard, while others remember things they've experienced.
How can you determine your learning style?
Eventually, you may want to consult a professional or your counselor for advice on learning styles, but you may take a quick quiz to see if the results match your habits and preferences.
You can also recognize your own style by looking over the characteristics. If any of the traits and characteristics below sound familiar, you may have identified your own style.
Visual Learner Characteristics
Visual learners are those who learn through seeing things. Look over the characteristics below to see if they sound familiar. A visual learner:
Is good at spelling but forgets names.
Needs quiet study time.
Has to think awhile before understanding lecture.
Is good at spelling.
Likes colors & fashion.
Dreams in color.
Understands/likes charts.
Is good with sign language.
Learning Suggestions for Visual Learners
Draw a map of events in history or draw scientific process.
Make outlines of everything!
Copy what's on the board.
Ask the teacher to diagram.
Diagram sentences!
Take notes, make lists.
Watch videos.
Color code words, research notes.
Outline reading.
Use flashcards.
Use highlighters, circle words, underline.
Best Test Type for Visual Learners:
Diagramming, reading maps, essays (if you've studied using an outline), showing a process
Worst test type:
Listen and respond tests
Auditory Learner Characteristics
Auditory learners are those who learn best through hearing things. Look over these traits to see if they sound familiar to you. You may be an auditory learner if you are someone who:
Likes to read to self out loud.
Is not afraid to speak in class.
Likes oral reports.
Is good at explaining.
Remembers names.
Notices sound effects in movies.
Enjoys music.
Is good at grammar and foreign language.
Reads slowly.
Follows spoken directions well.
Can't keep quiet for long periods.
Enjoys acting, being on stage.
Is good in study groups.
Auditory Learners Can Benefit from:
Using word association to remember facts and lines.
Recording lectures.
Watching videos.
Repeating facts with eyes closed.
Participating in group discussions.
Using audiotapes for language practice.
Taping notes after writing them.
Worst test type:
Reading passages and writing answers about them in a timed test.
Best test type:
Auditory Learners are good at writing responses to lectures they've heard. They're also good at oral exams.
Kinesthetic Learner Characteristics
Kinesthetic learners are those who learn through experiencing/doing things. Look over these traits to see if they sound familiar to you. You may be a kinesthetic learner if you are someone who:
Is good at sports.
Can't sit still for long.
Is not great at spelling.
Does not have great handwriting.
Likes science lab.
Studies with loud music on.
Likes adventure books, movies.
Likes role playing.
Takes breaks when studying.
Builds models.
Is involved in martial arts, dance.
Is fidgety during lectures.
Kinesthetic Learners Can Benefit from:
Studying in short blocks.
Taking lab classes.
Role playing.
Taking field trips, visiting museums.
Studying with others.
Using memory games.
Using flash cards to memorize.<.li>
Worst Test Type:
Long tests, essays.
Best Test Type:
Short definitions, fill-ins, multiple choice.
As is probably obvious, visual learners can learn best when they see what they're trying to learn, and auditory learners do best when they can listen. Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing or when learning involves their hands or other parts of their body.
Everybody uses all of these methods at one time or another, but most of us find some methods easier than others. And you may have noticed the different struggles that some students have had in school. An auditory student may do quite well listening to plain lectures, while a visual student appreciates having explanations put on the blackboard or displayed on an overhead projector.
I've seen the differences in learning styles in my own home. I'm a strong visual learner, and as such I found learning to converse in Spanish much more difficult than learning to read, write or learn grammar. I also appreciate diagrams and charts as an aid in learning and am a naturally good speller simply because words spelled wrong look wrong.
My wife, on the other hand, is a strong auditory learner. She has been able to pick up some Spanish simply by listening to my conversations, a feat that seems almost incomprehensible to me. She's one of those people who knows the words to a song after the first time she hears it, and that auditory aptitude has served her well in picking up foreign languages. In college she would spend hours listening to German tapes, and years later native German speakers were surprised to find out she had never visited their country.
Kinesthetic learners can have the most difficulty learning, because schools as they are traditionally operated don't take them into account as much as they do auditory and visual learners, especially past elementary age. I have a son who is a kinesthetic learner, and it showed from an early age. Even when beginning to read he would prefer to do so while walking around the house, as if the motion of walking would somehow help him read. And more than any other child I've seen, during the age of primary school he was prone to act out stories with his toys, something his siblings never did.
What does all this have to do with learning Spanish? By finding out your preferred learning style, you can tailor your studies to emphasize what works best:
Visual learners more often do well using books, and flashcards for rote memorization. If they also don't have a strong auditory aptitude, they may struggle with developing conversation skills. One way they can boost their listening skills is to use computer programs or video devices to provide subtitles or other visual clues to what they're hearing.
Auditory learners may have the easiest time developing conversation skills. They benefit more than other types of learners by listening to instructional tapes, watching Spanish TV, listening to Spanish radio, or listening to Spanish music.
Kinesthetic learners often need to use some sort of physical activity to help themselves learn. For many, merely taking notes during class or from a textbook can help. They also do well to speak their lessons out loud, or use software that encourages interactivity.
Remember, no one learning style is inherently better than another; each has advantages and drawbacks, depending on what you're trying to learn. By adapting what you want to know to your learning style, you can make learning easier and more enjoyable.
Learning Style Assessments
There are many tests available to help you and your students discover your best learning style. Generally speaking, however, if you are someone who is more likely to think in pictures, prefer to meet with someone in person, and are more likely to want visual diagrams when completing a project you have tendencies towards visual learning. Similarly, if you are more likely to think in terms of sounds, prefer to speak on the phone with someone, and want verbal instructions then you tend towards auditory learning. Finally, if you are more likely to think in terms of moving images like mini-movies in your mind, prefer to participate in an activity when you meet to speak with someone, and tend to jump right into a project without reading directions you tend towards tactile/kinesthetic learning.
How to Effectively Use Learning Styles in Class
In the best of all possible worlds, you would incorporate all three learning styles into each of your lessons. However, this is just not possible in the real world of teaching. In truth, it is often not hard to include both auditory and visual learning styles in your lessons. For example, you can have instructions written on the board and say them out loud. However, it is not always as easy to include the tactile/kinesthetic learning style into your lessons. The sad truth is that many students have this as their strongest learning style. It is best to not force the issue but instead find natural places to include kinesthetic learning. If your class warrants it, you could include simulations, role-playing, debates, or the use of manipulatives.
Concerns When Incorporating Learning Styles
Though rarer today then in the past, some teachers discount the importance of learning styles. They continue to teach in their one major method without trying to vary instructional methods. This is a mistake that will lead to less learning in the classroom.
On the other hand, many students and to a lesser degree some teachers make the mistake of thinking that they cannot learn using methods that are not focused on their learning style. This is also a huge mistake that in the end will result in less learning. If teachers do not help their students find ways to be successful learning information presented in any style, they are not helping them succeed in the future. The fact is that students will be faced with many different styles of teaching during the educational career. Only by finding ways to adapt and learn using other styles, will students end up succeeding.