George Orwell in his book “1984” warned us about how the education system as it is of now ,will only lead to generations of mind controlled drones with no originality ,individuality or creativity.
The importance of individual thought cannot be overstated in times such as these, where innovative solution to the population and pollution problems are all but a necessity.
The problems with the current educational system are very evident and need not be stated .
Many geniuses tend to find that it is easier dropping out of their school and pursuing their own interest.
Some of the many who are well known are- Steven Spielberg , Mark Zukerberg , Bill Gates, Steve Jobs
It seems that the water has warmed so slowly, that it has reached boiling point and yet the unwitting frog hasn’t jumped out.
As a result, many parents finds that it is more stimulating for a child if he were to school himself-so as to say learn rather than being taught…The difference being the thirst for knowledge which is crucial to the learning process.
In countries like the U.S, many children- almost 3% of the student population(1.5 million students) has deviated from the more conventional education system and learn what interests them may it be art, literature, computer programming ,genetic engineering, astronomy , bio-engineering in addition to the basic Math and Sciences that are taught at school.
While I was researching this topic (on the internet ),I came across many children who were talented beyond mere words, which was pretty overwhelming.
Yet one of them stood out (even among the intellectual exceptions), Jacob Barnett.
He was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism when he was only two years old.
Shocking as it was to his parents and his therapist, he grew up to have an I.Q. higher than Einstein’s, and currently at the age of 15 years is working to prove Einstein’s theory of relativity wrong…
He says that he is proud of his condition as it has made him the genius he is today. Those remedial classes gave him time to think about the mysteries of the universe.
Similarly, Isaac Newton had a lot of time to think when he was cooped up in his laboratory due to the black plague…
So did Einstein, when he had to take up a job at the patent office, when he wasn’t offered a research position anywhere…
What makes prodigies so different from the rest of the people?
Are they just wired differently-like Jacob?
Is it nature or nurture?
Or is it letting a child think for himself, before providing him with a solution…..
Science has shown us that the maximum brain development takes place between the ages of 2 and 5.
Consider this-the brain is just like any other muscle the more you work it the stronger it gets…
Q.E.D.- Albert Einstein was found to be greater in the ratio of glial cells to neurons when compared to the brain of other average males (in this case doctors and other scientists of his day).
So basically, if a child seems to show interest in music (or computers or fashion or art) ,cultivate his interest in the same; Rather than trying to steer him to achieve the goals you once sought for yourself.
Or better yet, provide him with enough opportunities to see everything and judge for himself what he likes and what he wants to do in life….
Jacob Barnett liked math and physics more than anything else.
So he taught himself math like trigonometry, algebra , and a major portion of high school math in two weeks just to attend calculus with his seniors…( he eventually went on to tutor his senior in the subject).
This, is the marked change that a profound thirst for knowledge brings!
Another case of self learning through opportunity, is when Dr. Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist at NIIT had been toying with the idea of unsupervised learning and computers. Finally, in 1999, he decided to test his ideas in the field. On 26th January, Dr. Mitra’s team carved a “hole in the wall” that separated the NIIT premises from the adjoining slum in Kalkaji, New Delhi. Through this hole, a freely accessible computer was put up for use. This computer proved to be an instant hit among the slum dwellers, especially the children. With no prior experience, the children learnt to use the computer on their own. This prompted Dr. Mitra to propose the following hypothesis:
The acquisition of basic computing skills by any set of children can be achieved through incidental learning provided the learners are given access to a suitable computing facility, with entertaining and motivating content and some minimal (human) guidance.
Even when the brain is still much of a mystery to us, I feel confident enough to draw a conclusion that if we were to provide a child with ample opportunity in a nurturing environment they would show brilliance that only a few have shown in the past.
(Watch Jacob Barnett’s TEDx talk -“The Wisdom Of Not Knowing”)
