<p>I find the blog troubling on many more levels than simply his name being used.</p>
<p>^^I agree that the kid would be better off without that blog detailing his every move or being in the newspaper. </p>
<p>Part of this is that the father is a writer and he has sort of made raising gifted children his object of study. He even wrote a book about raising Ainan. I think this is a bad idea to do at this point, though.</p>
<p>This may have been said, but the question with a very bright child is “what the h*** do I do to keep him from being a juvenile delinquent because he’s bored silly?”</p>
<p>If this were my kid, I’d find a school that offered lots of O and A levels and tell him he needed to earn as many as possible because he wasn’t going off to Oxford until he was at least 16 and he might find something he likes even better than chemistry!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It’s interesting to compare dmd77’s recommendation with the father’s own autobiography, which states:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>source: [Blogger:</a> User Profile](<a href=“http://www.blogger.com/profile/03086966474154914172]Blogger:”>Blogger: User Profile: Valentine Cawley)</p>
<p>I agree with others who’ve expressed concerns about the possible exploitation of the child in his father’s books and on the blog. The child’s story belongs to the child and should not be exploited to promote the father’s writing career. There is a serious financial conflict of interest in such cases. The educational path that best enhances sales of the father’s books may not be the educational path that is best for the child. In general, it’s not in the interests of children to grow up in goldfish bowls.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to note that Terry Tao’s father wrote about his son’s educational path in a relatively obscure education journal designed for an audience of specialists in gifted education and it’s highly unlikely that he was paid anything at all for it.</p>
<p>Haven’t read the blog yet but it seems to reveal a more balanced situation than the newspaper article which we were first commenting on. </p>
<p>I agree–they need a mentor and part-time college rather than matriculation.</p>
<p>I was just concerned that the parents were taking over the life of a brilliant child who might then be deprived of “normal” 7 year old experiences. I didn’t mean they should discourage him from learning whatever he wants to learn!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wasn’t he well-known in gifted education circles, though? I believe he gave speeches at gifted conferences. </p>
<p>This being said, I agree that it’s not a good idea for the dad to try to profit from his son’s educational trajectory; it may lead him to make wrong decisions for the sake of the story. I am mindful, though, that many writers use their chidlren as fodder for their writing. viz. Alexander Viorst. </p>
<p>Many colleges, including American ones, accept students earlier than 16. In fact, Swarthmore rejected a 10-year old not on the grounds that he was unprepared or even immature, but on the grounds that he would freak out the 18-22 year olds (this came from a friend on the faculty). The student was accepted at a lesser-known college, and went on to medical school. H had a labmate in grad school who was 17.
The youngest student accepted at Oxford, by the way, was Emma Rothschild, at 15. She went on to teach at MIT, Cambridge and now Harvard.</p>
<p>fact, Swarthmore rejected a 10-year old not on the grounds that he was unprepared or even immature, but on the grounds that he would freak out the 18-22 year olds (this came from a friend on the faculty). </p>
<hr>
<p>that’s a really stupid reason. It was something that was used on me too, only I was only trying to take or at least audit a course at the community college.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is certainly not true. I don’t know who is the youngest, but Ruth Lawrence was certainly much younger than 15. She passed the Oxford entrance exams at age 10, coming in first place out of all those in her testing cohort for her college at Oxford and matriculated there at age 11.</p>
<p>[Ruth</a> Lawrence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Lawrence]Ruth”>Ruth Lawrence - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>By the way, although Prof. Lawrence is certainly quite distinguished, there are other mathematicians her current age (36) who were probably less precocious but who have managed to “catch up.”</p>
<p>Edit: looking at Emma Rothschild’s bio on wikipedia, what marite might have meant to say was that she was the youngest woman to have been admitted to Oxford at the time she was admitted. It appears that Ruth Lawrence subsequently broke her record.</p>
<p>[omy</a> - Vodcast](<a href=“http://omy.sg/common/media/vodcast.html?playlistPath=http%3A//omy.sg/news/hotnews/200711/20071107_001_whizzkid]omy”>http://omy.sg/common/media/vodcast.html?playlistPath=http%3A//omy.sg/news/hotnews/200711/20071107_001_whizzkid)
This was made, I think, for the use of a chinese language TV, but you can see Ainan and listen to his dad (speaking in English).
I do not find evidence to support the claim that his father is exploiting him.
As to the privacy issue - I am probably very naive here, but I think that is better to do what he is doing than to lock yourself in your own four walls.
He is looking for ways to help his son deal with a very rare “disease”, if you may.</p>
<p>Wisteria:</p>
<p>Thanks for the correction. Yes, I read Emma Rothschild’s bio on Wikipedia and drew the wrong conclusion that her record still stood. Ruth Lawrence’s story shows that a very young student can thrive at a top university.</p>
<p>Here is the entry in the dad’s blog. It suggests that Ainan’s interests range beyond chemistry, though they remain limited to science (no surprise here-- he is 7 after all).
A Global Search for a University</p>
<p>
[The</a> boy who knew too much: a child prodigy: A Global Search for a University](<a href=“http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2007/11/global-search-for-university.html]The”>The boy who knew too much: a child prodigy: A Global Search for a University)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that may be true, but I don’t believe there is any suggestion that his motivation for those speeches was financial. There is not a lot of money to be made in speaking at such events (unless one has a book to plug, which he didn’t.) I would imagine he spoke at the request of Prof. Stanley, out of a combination of gratitude to Stanley for his advice and support and a sense of obligation to share what he had learned about his son’s education. </p>
<p>Those same sorts of motivations may also be partly at play in the case of the father of the Singapore prodigy, but the book promotion angle and the tone of some of the postings on the father’s blog certainly raise some red flags for me.</p>
<p>^^ I agree.</p>
<p>There is quite a bit of self-promotion and promotion on that blog.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Huh??? As far as I’m aware every single one of over 100 universities in the UK is residential, in that they provide “halls of residence” or “colleges”, which are basically just like dorms, for those students who want them. At some universities (especially in poorer areas) many students choose to live at home with their parents, but they don’t have to. Most universities only guarentee a room in university-owned accommodation for 1 or 2 years (and this includes most Oxford colleges). After this a student “lives out” in privately rented accommodation, not usually their parents home. This is perfectly normal and not considered a terrifying and scary a prospect as it is on these boards (at 18 in the UK you’re an adult and people don’t worry about you much). Most UK unis don’t have campuses as such anyway - that’s a bit of a foreign concept apart from a few 1960s-built univeristies such as Warwick. Most consist of many buildings scattered thoughout a real town.</p>
<p>This is irrelevant really as there is no way on earth any UK university is going to allow a 7 year old to stay in their accommodation, even if accompanied by a parent. I am sure they would worry too much about being sued! Most have no under 18 rules and if you apply younger than that you have to take a year out. </p>
<p>The UK hasn’t offered O-levels for a couple of decades. They were phased out and replaced a long time ago. They only exist in Asian countries such as Singapore, where they are no doubt very hard as Singapore and Hong Kong A-levels are well known to be a million times harder than their UK namesakes. To enter a UK university to study Chemistry normally a student would have to do A-level maths as well at the very least (and normally a 3rd subject. Most people have at least 3, if not 4, A-levels). I am sure he is very intelligent but I don’t think ready for university level on this evidence. Every year the A-level results being released is a national event in the UK and there are always a couple of 7 year olds who have passed an A-level who are featured on the news. But I’ve never heard of any of them going straight to university at that age (but as I said above, no doubt the Singaporean standard is higher).</p>
<p>There may be dorms in every university but not all students are expected to live in them. During the five years I spent in England, I did not meet anyone except at Oxford and Cambridge who lived in a dorm. They shared (pretty crummy) student digs.</p>
<p>As for going straight to university, it really depends on what each student needs. In this case, the father seems to be driven by the need to find a lab for his son. the family apparently tried the high school route until some high schooler apparently considered the 7-year old “not a decent person.” there are also difficulties over being allowed to homeschool him. So the family seems to be in a rather difficult position.</p>
<p>My previous attempt to post didn’t seem to work.</p>
<p>Someone on this board kindly contacted me re. this thread.</p>
<p>I have only had time to read a few posts, but one thing I noted in those early posts was some confusion about comparing one education system to another.</p>
<p>O Level is a traditional exam that demands a wide range of skills from those who take it. In the case of O level Chemistry the skills addressed come into five main domains: mathematical, verbal, spatial, practical and memory (for shapes, structures, names, numbers, concepts). It is, therefore, a lot of different skills being tested. There is also quite a lot of reasoning involved.</p>
<p>O Level is used by American Universities, overseas, to select students directly onto their degree courses. It is, therefore, at or above American High School Graduation standard.</p>
<p>So, to those who say, as some have, that he is ready for high school studies, not College - he has already surpassed High School in his interest.</p>
<p>In fact, he has gone a lot further.</p>
<p>A level which he is ready to take but must for the next exam session to do so, is at an American Bachelor’s degree Major level. It is already College level. Therefore Ainan, at 7, is already at the level, in his subject, achieved at College in America.</p>
<p>The next level, which he has already done some reading in is the Undergraduate level in the British system. This corresponds to a Graduate level of study in the American system.</p>
<p>This difference comes about because of the difference in time of specialization between the two education systems. In the British model (followed by Singapore, by the way), specialization normally occurs at 16. In the American system it does not really occur until the Graduate level at 22. </p>
<p>We are aware that he would benefit from a broader range of study and so he will study a broad range of subjects in the next year or two, in addition to his Chemistry studies. At least that is the plan. Getting access to University has proven impossible in Singapore (they are very closed to change/unusual cases). We have rather given up on the system there. I am sure that many parents of gifted children, all over the world, have been stonewalled in a similar way. The emphasis of the system appeared to be on making him just like everyone else. In the case of a child like Ainan, not attempting to meet his evident needs, can only be damaging, as I am sure many of you can understand.</p>
<p>As for those who say that other children catch gifted children up and it all evens out in the end…this is not supported by research. The gifted are always gifted, even as elderly people. They always maintain their difference - unless they give up on learning and fade from life, out of frustration - but even then, though they might not aspire to learn more, they will still retain their core of intelligence. </p>
<p>An average child will never catch up on a gifted child. Never. Ever. </p>
<p>Yet, sadly, that doesn’t stop some school systems from trying their best to make it happen. One mother wrote to me on my blog complaining about her gifted daughter’s teacher. This teacher had refused to teach her daughter in any way that addressed her needs. She wouldn’t even give her something special to do. She was competent in reading, writing and basic maths, while the other kids were being taught the basics of how to do these things. Instead of engaging the gifted child she refused saying: “Oh, don’t worry about it…in a year or two the other’s will have caught up.” The teacher’s specific aim was to prevent the development of this child so that all the children would be at the same level. She couldn’t see that she had a moral duty to ensure that the child continued to grow.</p>
<p>That is the sad world we live in. It is a world I face as a father - and a world many of you face as parents too. We are just trying to ensure that Ainan has some sort of intellectual space to grow in. It is looking quite difficult to arrange given the attitudes we have encountered so far. I believe that it is not as hard in America for such kids. In Singapore, for instance, they have never had a University student younger than 14 in its 40 year history. That Ainan should enquire at 7 has left them utterly unable to respond.</p>
<p>I will try to read more of the posts later, but I just thought I should clarify a few of the basic issues I caught in the first few posts.</p>
<p>I apologize in advance if I cannot do so, immediately, because there are just so many things written here. No doubt they will be useful in their insights for many parents.</p>
<p>It is good to see people thinking about these issues.</p>
<p>Oh, by the way, Ainan would be accompanied by an adult throughout his time at University. We feel more comfortable that way. He is isn’t just going to be left there as a lone 7 year old. Anyway, looking at the difficulties we face he’ll probably be 120 before we get a place for him!</p>
<p>Best wishes</p>
<p>P.S: By the way, the age record worldwide for an A level is 9 years and three months old. The person who remarked that there are seven year olds passing A level is confusing it with other examinations. Not even an O level has been passed by that age (except for Ainan’s example).</p>
<p>As for what I have had to do to try to get Ainan what he needs: anyone in my position, with the opposition we have received, would probably make very similar choices. They are the only logical choices left.</p>
<p>
I just want to point out quickly that this is not even close to what I stated. I don’t believe anyone else has either. I was saying that there may be gifted children who are simply unrecognized as gifted (or for whom the full degree of giftedness is unrecognized) at the age of seven. Given the correct support and encouragement, some of these children may be able to rise close enough to your son as to act as possible peers, in both age and intellect. This would not be a perfect match, and these children would almost certainly know less and be less naturally able than yours, but perhaps they could play and communicate on similar planes. </p>
<p>As I’ve said in other posts, I support college chemistry classes for this kid if that’s the appropriate level for him and if he is mature enough for college classes and everything that comes along with them (such as long problem sets with deadlines, possible poor grades, staying focused during lecture, taking necessary labs, etc.). I am glad to hear that you will have him study a broad range of subjects. I was dismayed when earlier posters said that broad knowledge wasn’t necessary. I believe that all children and students benefit from studying a wide variety of material, including mathematics, the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences as well as other areas such as music, sports, and practical areas of study. Besides the many benefits of well-rounded knowledge, he could also discover areas of passion and interest that he could hold for the rest of his life. I also urge you to search for children who can be peers for your son–other gifted boys interested in the sciences. They will likely not be equals in terms of “giftedness” or knowledge, but I hope they could be similar enough to play together, talk together, and enjoy each other’s company in an age-appropriate way. I do not believe that I would make some of the same decisions that you are making, but I am very glad to read your post and especially to hear that you are planning on exposing him to a variety of areas of study and disciplines. My best to your family, including your other children.</p>
<p>Thanks for your well wishes to my family. </p>
<p>We are just parents trying to work out what is best for Ainan and our other children. They present unusual educational challenges and, certainly in Singapore, there is no path laid out and open for us to take readily. We have to find a path for ourselves. It is probably similar for other parents of gifted children elsewhere.</p>
<p>I don’t think there are any certain answers in this matter. With hindsight we might have made different choices at different times - but all we can do is make the best choice with our knowledge and resources at a particular time - and hope, just hope, that it all works out in the end.</p>
<p>Maybe we will do a better job with our younger children having had more time to learn what to do. That doesn’t change the fact that we are trying our best for Ainan and all our children. (and I try my best to advise those who post on my blog, too).</p>
<p>Best wishes to you all.</p>
<p>Ainan’s dad:</p>
<p>Welcome to CC!</p>
<p>Just to clarify, a student would need to have several A-levels to be admitted to Harvard and similar institutions; at Harvard, at least, the number is unspecified. If admitted, such a student would be eligible for Advanced Standing (sophomore standing) meaning s/he could graduate in 3 years instead of 4. Furthermore, the student would not be exempt from General Education requirements, though their number might be reduced.
If you look at the requirements for some freshman science courses, you will note that the more advanced versions require a score of 5 (the top score) on an Advanced Placement (AP) test, which is considered the equivalent of an A-level, or a 7 on the Higher Level International Baccalaureate. At some point, perhaps in the junior or senior year, an advanced student might take graduate level courses, but not upon entering college.</p>
<p>Good luck in your search for a good fit for Ainan!</p>
<p>Valentine, Thanks for coming here to post. I wish your family and Ainan all the best! You are right, there is no path laid out. I am glad that I read the story about your son, and was able to bring it here for discussion. There are some very bright experienced parents here with gifted children, but I doubt any of them know Ainan. Maybe some posters can be of help to your family.</p>
<p>Yeah, you guys are right. The social issue is probably different for boys ^.^ Didn’t think about that. </p>
<p>Good luck for Ainan’s parents! I imagine that making choices for a such a gifted child must be difficult, since there aren’t enough of precedents and success stories to make any generalizations… And I’m sorry I called you neurotic. I still stand by my belief that college is not the right place for a 7 year old, tho… are there really no other options? Perhaps a few college classes at a less highly recognized university, to obtain access to their laboratories and other commodities? Unless that’s what you’re looking at, in which case I’m just being a confused person, like always ^.^</p>
<p>Edit: lolz, I was very tickled to find our UW’s Early Entrance Program on the ‘Genius Denied’ link… the kids in that program aren’t generally geniuses at the level we’re discussing here at all…</p>