【UNIT 3.】Child Prodigies

※Article :

CHILD PRODIGIES: TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG?
Friday 9 September 2005 1.25am-2.05am (Thurs night)
Does labelling a child as "gifted" do more harm than good? Time Shift looks at how brilliant and talented kids challenge our thinking about education and the place of children in society.

Tom Ware
(Time Shift Series Editor)

You could say that gifted children have held a fascination for Western society since Jesus spoke out in the temple. From Mozart to Ruth Lawrence, their achievements - and their rather odd relationships with adults - have been well-documented. John Das' fascinating Time Shift goes beyond the usual catalogue of wunderkinds(神童) and hothousing(過於保護) to try to understand why some children get labelled with the "G-word" and how this tag can be a double-edged one.

For me, one of the documentary's most impressive facts is how culture-specific(特色) the whole idea of giftedness is. Through the insight(洞察力) of Joan Freeman, who has spent over 30 years studying gifted children, we learn that in countries like Japan it's willingness(樂意) to work hard rather than the suggestion of potential that gives children privileged(享有特權的) status. And it comes as no surprise that it's in America, where education standards generally are lower than in most developed countries, that giftedness is given its greatest credence.(接受、信任)

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※Summary:

"Is labelling a child as gifted more harmful than profitable?" This has become a subject discussed through years. According to the Time Shift Series Editor--Tom Ware, gifted children have already held a fascination for western society since early years. However, in Japan, people do not take gifted children so seriously; instead, they think it is more important to be diligent. That is, no matter how gifted the children are, they should not be given privileged status.

※Reaction:

In my opinion, I agree with the Japanese way of taking gifted children. They may have extraordinary talent, but how many of them, in the end, become great scholars or contribute the society? I believe most if them turn out to become normal as we are when they grow older. Those who are diligent set a better foundation and are more willing to learn, which attitude insures a substantial life. As the saying does"No pain, no gain."