RE: "Rage to Master" from Dr. Winner

From: Mike Dierken (mike@DataChannel.com)
Date: Mon Feb 05 2001 - 13:16:47 PST

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Rohit,
Thanks for the timely pointer. The guy in the next cube has an
almost-two-year-old that is starting to read and is really into music.

Mike

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rohit Khare [mailto:Rohit@KnowNow.com]
> Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2001 12:50 PM
> To: FoRK@xent.com
> Subject: "Rage to Master" from Dr. Winner
>
>
> >Just as Dr Ericsson took people with no discernible talent and
> >turned them into champions, so, in a fashion, did a Hungarian,
> >Laszlo Polgar. When he began training his daughters, it was widely
> >believed that women could not play serious tournament chess. But
> >through a deliberate (and still continuing) psychological
> >experiment, Dr Polgar and his wife created a trio of world-class
> >chess champions out of their own daughters, overturning this
> >prejudice.
> >
> >By 1992, all three had reached the women's top ten worldwide. The
> >third, who presumably received the most refined training regimen,
> >became the youngest grandmaster in the history of the game and is
> >reckoned by her peers to have a good chance of becoming world
> >champion one day. With remarkable, if not hubristic, prescience, Dr
> >Polgar had written a detailed book on the subject of child rearing,
> >entitled "Bring Up Genius!" before beginning the coaching of his
> >children. But would any child reared by such a parent have become a
> >chess prodigy?
> >
> >Ellen Winner, a psychologist at Boston College who has been studying
> >the relationship between exposure to the arts and subsequent
> >academic achievement, believes not. She argues that only children
> >with the "rage to master" a skill could make it through the
> >gruelling years of training needed to achieve expert ability. The
> >rage to master may be the point at which nature unequivocally makes
> >its constraints felt. Even Dr Ericsson concedes that there might be
> >a genetic component separating the child willing to persevere with a
> >rigorous schedule from the child who would rather play videogames.
> http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=471563
>
>
> From the Devniad, Bob Devney:
> http://members.aol.com/~bobdevney/DEVAD27.html
> > BC psychologist Ellen Winner and her book Gifted Children:: Myths
> >and Realities (Basic Books, 1996).
> >
> >Here's a paragraph from the article that's sure to disappoint as
> >many as 99.9% of us, not-quite-Leonardos all.
> >
> >"Gifted children have three telltale characteristics, Winner says.
> >First, they begin to master an area of knowledge, or domain, such as
> >math, drawing or chess, at an extremely early age, before starting
> >school. Second, they need little help from adults in that domain,
> >solving problems in often-novel ways, with each discovery fueling
> >the next step. And third, they have what she describes as a rage to
> >master their domain, working at it intensively and obsessively,
> >often isolating themselves from others in order to pursue it. These
> >children push themselves, achieve "flow states" in their work, and
> >beg their parents for the books, musical instruments or art supplies
> >they need to feed their passion. They need stimulating environments
> >to develop their talents, Winner says of these children, but the
> >demand comes from them, not the parents."
> >
> >Her examples include Michael Kearney, who read signs and labels out
> >loud at the supermarket aged 10 months. (He's now the country's only
> >12-year-old graduate student in anthropology.) Or KyLee, who divined
> >the existence of prime numbers on his own at age 5.
> >
> >Sorry, friend. She's not talking here about when you begged Mom for
> >books on horses or Tom Swift when you were eight.
> >
> >Or, sad to say, even about me.
>
> http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge29.html
> >As Ellen Winner argues in Gifted Children (Basic Books, 1996),
> >prodigies can be distinguished from an early age from their peers.
> >Prodigies show a fascination (bordering on obsession) with a certain
> >content (e.g., numbers, visual patterns, auditory musical patterns)
> >and they have a rage to master the domains that deal with such
> >specific content. While they may have parental support, this support
> >is reactive rather than initiating. Moreover, prodigies - unlike the
> >rest of us - do not simply follow the conventional educational
> >pattern. They pose new questions, and they often solve domain issues
> >wholly or largely on their own. Philosopher Saul Kripke conjectures
> >that if algebra had not existed when he was in elementary school, he
> >would have invented it; and this kind of comment (whatever its truth
> >value in the specific case) captures quite accurately the mental
> >attitudes and powers of prodigies.
> >
> >No one understands the origins of prodigies. We simply have to
> >generate satisfying ways of thinking about them. I find it useful to
> >think of prodigies as having the same strategies and parameters with
> >reference to their chosen content domain that all normal individuals
> >have with respect to the mastery of one natural language. (In other
> >words, we are all linguistic prodigies, while prodigies in other
> >domains are rare). The prodigy seems "pretuned" to discover patterns
> >in the domain, including ones that have eluded others. Perhaps, if
> >it is to result in achievements that are valued by the adult
> >society, this gift has eventually to be wedded to strong motivation
> >(to succeed, to master) and to be creative (to step out in new
> >directions); and, if it is to be distinguished from the mechanistic
> >ability of the savant, it has eventually to be linked to wider
> >problems, including issues from other domains. Dean Keith Simonton
> >has written interestingly about the possibility that genius involves
> >the very occasional concatenation of these disparate human
> >proclivities and talents.
> >
> >I think that one is far more likely to understand Mozart, Bobby
> >Fischer, or Ramanujun if one assumes that they differ in fundamental
> >ways from the rest of the population than if one has to gerrymander
> >an explanation that simply builds on the general abilities of the
> >general public. Whether Ramanujun may have recalled an earlier feat
> >of calculation, and whether the rest of us could also recognize the
> >special features of the number 1729 is beside the point. Ramanujun
> >is honored because he covered several hundred years of mathematics
> >on his own in India and then made original contributions to number
> >theory after he joined G. H. Hardy in Cambridge.
>
> http://www.megafoundation.org/Ubiquity/May00/BookReview1_5.html
>
> Dr. Winner's Nine Myths About the Gifted.
> Myth #1: Giftedness, when it occurs, is generally global.
> The Reality: More often than not, children are unevenly gifted,often
> being especially gifted in one area. It's not uncommon to find them
> quite gifted in a specific area, but average or learning-disabled in
> another. (She gives the example of adult inventors with verbal IQ's
> of 60.)
>
> Myth 2: Talented children face different problems than
> gifted children.
> The Reality: Specially talented children face the same problems as
> the globally gifted.
>
> Myth 3: An exceptionally high IQ is required for giftedness.
> The Reality: Once the IQ exceeds 90, a high IQ is irrelevant in the
> fields of music and art.
>
> Myth 4: "Genius will out".
> The Reality: Families play a far more important role in the
> development of gifts than do schools, and are essential to the
> development of the gifted or talents child. Genius must be nurtured.
>
> Myth 5: Genius is entirely environmental.
> The Reality: The brains of the gifted are atypical. Their heads tend
> to be larger, their reflexes are faster, and their brains show
> atypical brain scan patterns. Brain structure, brain size, brain
> speed, brain efficiency, bilateral representation of language,
> language-related problems, non-right-handedness, immune system
> disorders. Programs such as the Japanese Suzuki Method of training
> students to play the violin can elicit remarkable results in
> children, but they don't produce musically gifted children. (Driven
> from within, prodigies are their own taskmasters. If anything, these
> programs testify to the biological basis of precocity.). Chinese
> drawing instruction produces the same kinds of dramatic juvenile
> output, but doesn't lead to true artistry, or to spontaneous learning
> of artistic principles.
>
> Myth 6: Prodigies are the result of parents that push their children.
> The Reality: Prodigies usually push their parents.
>
> Myth 7: Gifted children are glowing with psychological health.
> The Reality: As with a disability, giftedness can lead to unhappiness
> and social isolation. With adult minds in children's bodies,
> profoundly gifted children tend to be persecuted by other children.
> They tend to find little commonality with their age peers, relating
> to older children or adults.
>
> Myth 8: All children are gifted.
> The Reality: Nobody doubts that some children are musical or athletic
> prodigies. Nobody expects a small kid to become a tight end, or a
> short child to become a Harlem Globetrotter. Gifted children are
> biologically different. If you doubt it, try to raise someone's 90 IQ
> to 150. Dr. Winner cites the intriguing case of Charles, versus Eitan
> and Peter. All three boys were obsessed with drawing. However, Eitan
> and Peter were far ahead of their years, whereas Charles, in spite of
> all the drawing he did, never exceeded the norms for his age group.
>
> Myth 9: Gifted children become eminent adults.
> The Reality: Personality attributes more reliably predict what will
> happen in adulthood than does the child's degree of giftedness.
>
> Child prodigies are characterized by:
>
> * Precocity
> * Marching to their own drummers
> * A rage to master
>
> Dr. Winner cites two examples of global prodigies, "David" and
> Michael Kearney. David began to speak at eight months, and by fifteen
> months, knew 200 words. David learned to read at three, pushing his
> mother to show him what the words meant. Then he began to read
> voraciously, several books at a time. At five, he had reached a fifth
> grade reading level. At fifteen months, he could count to ten. At
> four, he could do simple two-digit additions in his head.
> One way to describe David and other super-bright children with a
> "rage to learn" is that they manipulate their environments in order
> to render them intellectually stimulating.
> Michael and Maeghan Kearney exemplify these characteristics.
> (Please see also the Book Review "Accidental Genius" in the Premier
> Issue of Ubiquity.) Michael began to talk at 4 months and to read at
> 10 months. He began high school at 5, and graduated from high school
> at 6, promptly entering San Joaquin Junior College. At 10, he
> graduated from the University of South Alabama with a 3.6 average in
> anthropology, and graduated from Middle Tennessee State University at
> 14 with a degree in chemistry. (He holds four academic records in the
> Guinness Book of World Records.) Maeghan is equally intelligent,
> although not as far advanced scholastically as Michael. Both Michael
> and Maeghan are globally gifted, and presumably, at the upper limit
> of the human register. Both of them exhibited a "rage to learn" and a
> need to stimulate their minds that was almost like a "magnificent
> addiction". Both of them pushed their parents. Their parents devoted
> all their resources to supporting their unique children, moving
> around the country and making the sacrifices necessary to nurture
> their children's gifts. The parents have gone all-out to ensure that
> Michael and Maeghan are as well-rounded and emotionally healthy as
> possible, and that they have had childhoods that are as normal as
> children this precocious can have.
>
> The Gifted Child:
>
> * Is very alert
> * Recognizes people at an early age
> * Has a preference for novelty
> * Is precocious in raising head, sitting up, walking, etc.
> * Talks early and well
> * Tends to be verreactive to noise, pain, frustration
> * Learns with minimal instruction
> * Is highly curious
> * Exhibits persistence and concentration
> * Possesses high energy
> * Has a metacognitive awareness. Induces rules if reading and
> math the way normal children induce the rules of syntax
> * Has obsessive interests
> * Tends to begin reading early and voraciously. Reading at
> 6th-grade level at 5 isn't unusual.
> * Is adept with numbers. Mathematically giftedness: numerical,
> spatial, and working memory tend to go tegether.
> * Has a good memory
> * Is proficient at abstract logical reasoning
> * Tends to have poor handwriting
> * Engages in solitary play (by default)
> * Prefers to associate with older children or adults
> * Exhibits philosophical and moral concerns
> * Possesses a good sense of humor
> * Experiences of awe
>
> The highly gifted child:
>
> * Occupies a special position within the family: often
> first-born or only children.
> * Grows up in "enriched" environments. Adam Konantovich.
> * Typically has child-centered parents. Yehudi Menuhin
> * Parents are driven.
> * Has parents who grant considerable independence.
> * Flourishes in an envrionment of high expectations and
> stimulation, combined with nurturance and support.
>
> When parents push too hard, the child may rebel or "burn out"
> Examples of this phenomenon are John Stuart Mill and William Sidis.
>
> Social and emotional problems
>
> * Is characterized by autonomy, independence of thought and
> values, will, and nonconformity.
> * Engages in advanced moral reasoning.
> * Tends toward introversion.
> * Has heightened sensitivity.
> * Loneliness
> * Lowered social self-Confidence
> * Does the label "Gifted" cause problems?
> * May underperform because they are underchallenged, and/or
> because they want social acceptance.
> * Enjoys a challenge
> * Sets high standards
> * Generally has academic self-esteem
>
> Gender differences:
> Boys with SAT math scores above 700 were 13 times as
> prevalent as
> girls. (However, the ratio is only 4:1 among Asian-Americans taking
> the SAT.).
>
> Terman Study
> The Terman-Cox Longitudinal (Lifetime) Study of Gifted Children
> began in 1921-22 with a screening of ~250,000 schoolchildren in
> California. Nominally, the top 1% were to be accepted into the study,
> but in reality, only 1,526, or (0.6%) were accepted. To compound the
> problem, the initial screening for the Terman Study was performed by
> teachers. We know today what they didn't know in 1921: that the
> brightest-seeming, best-behaved children may not be the brightest.
> The brightest may be bored troublemakers or argumentative with the
> teacher. In reality, the Terman Study selected much less than
> half--perhaps, 20%- of the children who would later become gifted
> adults. In particular, it missed the two children who would later
> become Nobel Laureates in physics--Dr. William Shockley and Dr. Luis
> Alvarez.
> Dr. Terman laid by the heels the adage, "Early to ripen,
> early to
> rot". For the most part, his "Termites" went on to become successful
> professionals. However, in his zeal to counter the pejorative notions
> about prodigies that pervaded the public mind, Dr. Terman went a
> little overboard. His data actually showed that the brighter the
> child, the less well-adjusted he/she. was. There was a "sweet spot"
> ranging from IQ 120 to, perhaps, IQ 150 where the individual is
> smarter than the average bear, but not so smart that they have
> problems adjusting to a lesser world--like the plight of a 6' 4" man
> versus that of his 7' counterpart.
>
> Gifted Programs
> Special Problems for Gifted Children
>
> * Because of their high energy levels and boredom with trivial
> busywork, gifted children are often misdiagnosed with ADHD.
> * Difficult to distinguish between boredom, disturbed, or
> learning disabled.
> * 30% show a discrepency between MA and reading achievement.
>
> Types of Gifted Programs
>
> * Egalitarianism.
> * Ability grouping
> * Acceleration
> * Home schooling is last resort. Can't be with their peers.
>
> Dr. Winner has this to say about our current offerings
> for gifted students:
>
> * American schools have low standards
> * Low standards lead to underachievement
> * School plays litle or no role in the nurturing of their gifts
> * Gifted chidren from disadvantaged backgrounds suffer most.
>
> Options:
>
> * Private schools
> * Magnet schools
> * Gifted programs
> * CTY
>
> In 1972, the Marland Report concluded that:
>
> * Only 4% of gifted students were getting any kind of
> special services
> * Half the superintendents said they had no gifted children in
> their schools.
> * Gifted are the most "retarded" in their schools because of
> discrepency between abilities and what schools could offer them.
> * Only disabled children have a law ma
Cambridge.
 > 
 > <A =
HREF=3D"http://www.megafoundation.org/Ubiquity/May00/BookReview1_5.html"=
=
TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.megafoundation.org/Ubiquity/May00/BookRevie=
w1_5.html</A>
 > 
 > Dr. Winner's Nine Myths About the =
Gifted.
 > Myth #1:  Giftedness, when it occurs, is =
generally global.
 > The Reality: More often than not, children are =
unevenly gifted,often 
 > being especially gifted in one area. It's not =
uncommon to find them 
 > quite gifted in a specific area, but average or =
learning-disabled in 
 > another. (She gives the example of adult =
inventors with verbal IQ's 
 > of 60.)
 > 
 > Myth 2:  Talented children face different =
problems than 
 > gifted children.
 > The Reality: Specially talented children face =
the same problems as 
 > the globally gifted.
 > 
 > Myth 3:  An exceptionally high IQ is =
required for giftedness.
 > The Reality: Once the IQ exceeds 90, a high IQ =
is irrelevant in the 
 > fields of music and art.
 > 
 > Myth 4: "Genius will out".
 > The Reality: Families play a far more important =
role in the 
 > development of gifts than do schools, and are =
essential to the 
 > development of the gifted or talents child. =
Genius must be nurtured.
 > 
 > Myth 5:  Genius is entirely =
environmental.
 > The Reality: The brains of the gifted are =
atypical. Their heads tend 
 > to be larger, their reflexes are faster, and =
their brains show 
 > atypical brain scan patterns. Brain structure, =
brain size, brain 
 > speed, brain efficiency, bilateral =
representation of language, 
 > language-related problems, =
non-right-handedness, immune system 
 > disorders. Programs such as the Japanese Suzuki =
Method of training 
 > students to play the violin can elicit =
remarkable results in 
 > children, but they don't produce musically =
gifted children. (Driven 
 > from within, prodigies are their own =
taskmasters. If anything, these 
 > programs testify to the biological basis of =
precocity.). Chinese 
 > drawing instruction produces the same kinds of =
dramatic juvenile 
 > output, but doesn't lead to true artistry, or =
to spontaneous learning 
 > of artistic principles.
 > 
 > Myth 6:  Prodigies are the result of =
parents that push their children.
 > The Reality: Prodigies usually push their =
parents.
 > 
 > Myth 7:  Gifted children are glowing with =
psychological health.
 > The Reality: As with a disability, giftedness =
can lead to unhappiness 
 > and social isolation. With adult minds in =
children's bodies, 
 > profoundly gifted children tend to be =
persecuted by other children. 
 > They tend to find little commonality with their =
age peers, relating 
 > to older children or adults.
 > 
 > Myth 8: All children are gifted.
 > The Reality: Nobody doubts that some children =
are musical or athletic 
 > prodigies. Nobody expects a small kid to become =
a tight end, or a 
 > short child to become a Harlem Globetrotter. =
Gifted children are 
 > biologically different. If you doubt it, try to =
raise someone's 90 IQ 
 > to 150. Dr. Winner cites the intriguing case of =
Charles, versus Eitan 
 > and Peter. All three boys were obsessed with =
drawing. However, Eitan 
 > and Peter were far ahead of their years, =
whereas Charles, in spite of 
 > all the drawing he did, never exceeded the =
norms for his age group.
 > 
 > Myth 9:  Gifted children become eminent =
adults.
 > The Reality: Personality attributes more =
reliably predict what will 
 > happen in adulthood than does the child's =
degree of giftedness.
 > 
 > Child prodigies are characterized by:
 > 
 > *     Precocity
 > *     Marching to their own =
drummers
 > *     A rage to =
master
 > 
 >      Dr. Winner cites =
two examples of global prodigies, "David" and 
 > Michael Kearney. David began to speak at eight =
months, and by fifteen 
 > months, knew 200 words. David learned to read =
at three, pushing his 
 > mother to show him what the words meant. Then =
he began to read 
 > voraciously, several books at a time. At five, =
he had reached a fifth 
 > grade reading level. At fifteen months, he =
could count to ten. At 
 > four, he could do simple two-digit additions in =
his head.
 >      One way to =
describe David and other super-bright children with a 
 > "rage to learn" is that they =
manipulate their environments in order 
 > to render them intellectually =
stimulating.
 >      Michael and =
Maeghan Kearney exemplify these characteristics. 
 > (Please see also the Book Review =
"Accidental Genius" in the Premier 
 > Issue of Ubiquity.) Michael began to talk at 4 =
months and to read at 
 > 10 months. He began high school at 5, and =
graduated from high school 
 > at 6, promptly entering San Joaquin Junior =
College. At 10, he 
 > graduated from the University of South Alabama =
with a 3.6 average in 
 > anthropology, and graduated from Middle =
Tennessee State University at 
 > 14 with a degree in chemistry. (He holds four =
academic records in the 
 > Guinness Book of World Records.) Maeghan is =
equally intelligent, 
 > although not as far advanced scholastically as =
Michael. Both Michael 
 > and Maeghan are globally gifted, and =
presumably, at the upper limit 
 > of the human register. Both of them exhibited a =
"rage to learn" and a 
 > need to stimulate their minds that was almost =
like a "magnificent 
 > addiction". Both of them pushed their =
parents. Their parents devoted 
 > all their resources to supporting their unique =
children, moving 
 > around the country and making the sacrifices =
necessary to nurture 
 > their children's gifts. The parents have gone =
all-out to ensure that 
 > Michael and Maeghan are as well-rounded and =
emotionally healthy as 
 > possible, and that they have had childhoods =
that are as normal as 
 > children this precocious can have.
 > 
 > The Gifted Child:
 > 
 > *     Is very alert
 > *     Recognizes people at =
an early age
 > *     Has a preference for =
novelty
 > *     Is precocious in =
raising head, sitting up, walking, etc.
 > *     Talks early and =
well
 > *     Tends to be =
verreactive to noise, pain, frustration
 > *     Learns with minimal =
instruction
 > *     Is highly =
curious
 > *     Exhibits persistence =
and concentration
 > *     Possesses high =
energy
 > *     Has a metacognitive =
awareness. Induces rules if reading and 
 > math the way normal children induce the rules =
of syntax
 > *     Has obsessive =
interests
 > *     Tends to begin =
reading early and voraciously. Reading at 
 > 6th-grade level at 5 isn't unusual.
 > *     Is adept with =
numbers. Mathematically giftedness: numerical, 
 > spatial, and working memory tend to go =
tegether.
 > *     Has a good =
memory
 > *     Is proficient at =
abstract logical reasoning
 > *     Tends to have poor =
handwriting
 > *     Engages in solitary =
play (by default)
 > *     Prefers to associate =
with older children or adults
 > *     Exhibits =
philosophical and moral concerns
 > *     Possesses a good =
sense of humor
 > *     Experiences of =
awe
 > 
 > The highly gifted child:
 > 
 > *     Occupies a special =
position within the family: often 
 > first-born or only children.
 > *     Grows up in =
"enriched" environments. Adam Konantovich.
 > *     Typically has =
child-centered parents. Yehudi Menuhin
 > *     Parents are =
driven.
 > *     Has parents who grant =
considerable independence.
 > *     Flourishes in an =
envrionment of high  expectations and 
 > stimulation, combined with nurturance and =
support.
 > 
 > When parents push too hard, the child may rebel =
or "burn out" 
 > Examples of this phenomenon are John Stuart =
Mill and William Sidis.
 > 
 > Social and emotional problems
 > 
 > *     Is characterized by =
autonomy, independence of thought and 
 > values, will, and nonconformity.
 > *     Engages in advanced =
moral reasoning.
 > *     Tends toward =
introversion.
 > *     Has heightened =
sensitivity.
 > *     Loneliness
 > *     Lowered social =
self-Confidence
 > *     Does the label =
"Gifted" cause problems?
 > *     May underperform =
because they are underchallenged, and/or 
 > because they want social acceptance.
 > *     Enjoys a =
challenge
 > *     Sets high =
standards
 > *     Generally has =
academic self-esteem
 > 
 > Gender differences:
 >      Boys with SAT =
math scores above 700 were 13 times as 
 > prevalent as 
 > girls. (However, the ratio is only 4:1 among =
Asian-Americans taking 
 > the SAT.).
 > 
 > Terman Study
 >      The Terman-Cox =
Longitudinal (Lifetime) Study of Gifted Children 
 > began in 1921-22 with a screening of ~250,000 =
schoolchildren in 
 > California. Nominally, the top 1% were to be =
accepted into the study, 
 > but in reality, only 1,526, or (0.6%) were =
accepted. To compound the 
 > problem, the initial screening for the Terman =
Study was performed by 
 > teachers. We know today what they didn't know =
in 1921: that the 
 > brightest-seeming, best-behaved children may =
not be the brightest. 
 > The brightest may be bored troublemakers or =
argumentative with the 
 > teacher. In reality, the Terman Study selected =
much less than 
 > half--perhaps, 20%- of the children who would =
later become gifted 
 > adults. In particular, it missed the two =
children who would later 
 > become Nobel Laureates in physics--Dr. William =
Shockley and Dr. Luis 
 > Alvarez.
 >      Dr. Terman laid =
by the heels the adage, "Early to ripen, 
 > early to 
 > rot". For the most part, his =
"Termites" went on to become successful 
 > professionals. However, in his zeal to counter =
the pejorative notions 
 > about prodigies that pervaded the public mind, =
Dr. Terman went a 
 > little overboard. His data actually showed that =
the brighter the 
 > child, the less well-adjusted he/she. was. =
There was a "sweet spot" 
 > ranging from IQ 120 to, perhaps, IQ 150 where =
the individual is 
 > smarter than the average bear, but not so smart =
that they have 
 > problems adjusting to a lesser world--like the =
plight of a 6' 4" man 
 > versus that of his 7' counterpart.
 > 
 > Gifted Programs
 > Special Problems for Gifted Children
 > 
 > *     Because of their high =
energy levels and boredom with trivial 
 > busywork, gifted children are often =
misdiagnosed with ADHD.
 > *     Difficult to =
distinguish between boredom, disturbed, or 
 > learning disabled.
 > *     30% show a =
discrepency between MA and reading achievement.
 > 
 > Types of Gifted Programs
 > 
 > *     =
Egalitarianism.
 > *     Ability =
grouping
 > *     Acceleration
 > *     Home schooling is =
last resort. Can't be with their peers.
 > 
 >      Dr. Winner has =
this to say about our current offerings 
 > for gifted students:
 > 
 > *     American schools have =
low standards
 > *     Low standards lead to =
underachievement
 > *     School plays litle or =
no role in the nurturing of their gifts
 > *     Gifted chidren from =
disadvantaged backgrounds suffer most.
 > 
 > Options:
 > 
 > *     Private =
schools
 > *     Magnet schools
 > *     Gifted =
programs
 > *     CTY
 > 
 > In 1972, the Marland Report concluded =
that:
 > 
 > *     Only 4% of gifted =
students were getting any kind of 
 > special services
 > *     Half the =
superintendents said they had no gifted children  in 
 > their schools.
 > *     Gifted are the most =
"retarded" in their schools because of 
 > discrepency between abilities and what schools =
could offer them.
 > *     Only disabled =
children have a law mandating that they get 
 > special educational treatment. Only about a =
fifth of our states 
 > include the gifted as special education =
students covered by the law 
 > for the handicapped.
 > 
 > The Riley Report, a Follow-Up Study to the =
Marland Report:
 > 
 > *     Again deplored the =
state of gifted education in our country.
 > *     Observed that we =
offer far more services to retarded children 
 > than to gifted children.
 > 
 > *     IQ's 2 s. d. below =
the mean (68) are given special help.
 > *     IQ's 3 s. d. below =
the mean (52) are enrolled in partial or 
 > full-day programs
 > *     IQ's 4 s. d. below =
the mean (36) are given special 
 > supervision and are in institutions.
 > 
 > Dr. Winner Concludes that:
 > 
 > *     We should pull up all =
school standards.
 > *     We are wasting what =
few gifted resources we have.
 > 
 > The Gifted Child Grows Up
 > Benjamin Bloom: Not one world-class performer =
in a variety of fields, 
 > including math, art, music, and athletics ever =
achieved expertise 
 > without a supportive and encouraging =
environment, including a long 
 > and intensive period of training, first from =
loving and warm 
 > teachers, and then from demanding and rigorous =
master teachers.
 > Anders Ericsson: Levels of achievement reached =
in piano, violin, 
 > chess, bridge, and athletics correlate highly =
with hours of 
 > deliberate practice.
 > (Shows necessity but not sufficiency.)
 >  
 > 
 > Childhood: 30% hereditary, 30% family =
environment, 40% other 
 > environmental.
 > Adolesence: 50% hereditary, 10% familial, with =
40% environmental.
 > Adulthood:  75% heredity, 5% childhood =
background, 15% environmental, 
 > 15% error.
 > 
 > Eitan lost his passion for art.
 > Out of 70 musical prodigies in San Francisco in =
the 20's and 30's, 
 > only 6 (including Yehudi Menuhin and Leon =
Fischer) went on to become 
 > well-known soloists. Norbert Wiener, Jean =
Piaget, and Pablo Picasso 
 > went on to become highly successful adults. =
There are four classes of 
 > outcomes:
 > 
 > *     Gifted children who =
drop out. Wiener made it; Sidis didn't.
 > *     Gifted children who =
become experts, but not creative geniuses.
 > *     Gifted children who =
become adult geniuses. Not only early 
 > ability but a rebellious disposition.
 > *     Late bloomers. Bill =
Gates, Edwin Land, Buckminster Fuller
 > 
 > Terman subjects were too well-adjusted.
 > Adult geniuses stand out far more clearly in =
personality and 
 > motivational factors.
 > Above an IQ of 120, there is no relationshiip =
between IQ and genius. 
 > Some inventors have verbal IQ's as low as 60. =
Shockley and Alvarez. 
 > Marilyn vos Savant. IQ tests tell nothing about =
social skills, 
 > intrapersonal skills, "practical" =
intelligence, and resilience. 
 > (Quotation about high-IQ societies.)
 > 
 > Greatest classical composers tended to have =
been child prodigies. 
 > Prodigies take about three fewer years to =
achieve greatness, and they 
 > tend to achieve g
Ericsson also maintains 
 > that such memory function, and the superlative =
performance that goes 
 > with it, can be attained by anyone-biology no =
bar-given enough 
 > practice and perseverance.
 > 
 > This is a much more contentious point. Twenty =
years ago, Dr Ericsson 
 > tried to prove it by training some ordinary =
laboratory volunteers up 
 > to prodigy-level performance in a number-memory =
task. Average people 
 > tend to have a "digit-span" of =
seven-in other words they can recall a 
 > string of seven random digits after hearing it =
read out once. But 
 > after a year's practice, two of his =
particularly dedicated subjects 
 > were able to increase their digit-spans to =
lengths of 80 and 100.
 > 
 > Just as Dr Ericsson took people with no =
discernible talent and turned 
 > them into champions, so, in a fashion, did a =
Hungarian, Laszlo 
 > Polgar. When he began training his daughters, =
it was widely believed 
 > that women could not play serious tournament =
chess. But through a 
 > deliberate (and still continuing) psychological =
experiment, Dr Polgar 
 > and his wife created a trio of world-class =
chess champions out of 
 > their own daughters, overturning this =
prejudice.
 > 
 > By 1992, all three had reached the women's top =
ten worldwide. The 
 > third, who presumably received the most refined =
training regimen, 
 > became the youngest grandmaster in the history =
of the game and is 
 > reckoned by her peers to have a good chance of =
becoming world 
 > champion one day. With remarkable, if not =
hubristic, prescience, Dr 
 > Polgar had written a detailed book on the =
subject of child rearing, 
 > entitled "Bring Up Genius!" before =
beginning the coaching of his 
 > children. But would any child reared by such a =
parent have become a 
 > chess prodigy?
 > 
 > Ellen Winner, a psychologist at Boston College =
who has been studying 
 > the relationship between exposure to the arts =
and subsequent academic 
 > achievement, believes not. She argues that only =
children with the 
 > "rage to master" a skill could make =
it through the gruelling years of 
 > training needed to achieve expert ability. The =
rage to master may be 
 > the point at which nature unequivocally makes =
its constraints felt. 
 > Even Dr Ericsson concedes that there might be a =
genetic component 
 > separating the child willing to persevere with =
a rigorous schedule 
 > from the child who would rather play =
videogames.
 > 
 > Put it another way: even if there are no born =
mathematicians or 
 > musicians, there may be "born =
achievers". The particular area in 
 > which such people make their mark might be =
determined purely by the 
 > kind of environment or skill to which they were =
exposed and how hard 
 > they then applied themselves. But among many =
psychologists this 
 > all-purpose view of genius is not a popular =
one. Dean Simonton of the 
 > University of California, San Diego, dubbed it =
the "drudge theory" of 
 > genius in a recent book review.
 > 
 > Dr Simonton considers genius to have more of a =
genetic component. Yet 
 > this conviction has not stopped him from =
writing a book of profiles 
 > of psychologists who were reckoned to be =
geniuses. The American 
 > Psychological Association will publish this =
book later this year, so 
 > that its members may learn from Dr Simonton's =
observations on the 
 > great prodigies of psychology. And though Dr =
Ericsson is not on his 
 > list this year, in ten years from now he =
doubtless will be-if he 
 > wants it badly enough.
 > 
 > 
 > Copyright =A9 1995-2001 The Economist Newspaper =
Group Ltd. All 
 > rights reserved.
 >

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