Educators say that even if a child has talent, there's no need for deliberate cultivation.
By reporter Liang Li
"Good rain knows its time right, it will fall when spring arrives..." In a certain neighborhood of Tianhe, there is a 2.5-year-old little girl named Qingqing who has already gained some fame in the area. From over a year old, she could recite poems, read books and newspapers, and speak English. Her parents were very happy and even considered having her "skip grades" in the future. However, educators believe that even if a child has talent in a certain area, there is no need for deliberate cultivation; it’s better to let her grow up naturally with other children of the same age.
Parents:
No deliberate "pressure" on her studies
Mr. Chen, Qingqing's father, said that even before Qingqing could talk, she showed an outstanding memory ability. Mr. Chen also found that Qingqing liked reading books, so he tried to teach her some characters. Qingqing learned to recognize characters very quickly. At the age of 1 year and 1 month, she roughly recognized more than 300 characters, and by the age of 1 year and 6 months, she had reached 2000 characters. She often held a book and read silently by herself, pointing at the pictures and asking questions like, "Which one is Edison?"
Mr. Chen knew that many so-called "prodigies" are "pressured" into becoming what they are, but he stated that he didn't specifically force his child to learn anything. However, "If the child has such talent or interest, why suppress it?" He indicated that he would guide his child to a certain extent. He believed there was no need to send the child to kindergarten since Qingqing had already started earlier, so there was no point in letting her grow up with other children in kindergarten, which might lower her level.
Educators:
Early education should focus on comprehensive development
Regarding Qingqing's situation, the reporter interviewed Zhou Yan, head of the Preschool Education Department at Guangzhou University, and Chen Yishao, principal of Mingyuan Kindergarten in Tianhe District. They both believed that even if a child really has talent in a certain area, there is no need to deliberately cultivate it for the sake of so-called "talent." Early childhood education should pay more attention to comprehensive development.
Chen Yishao expressed that a child's growth should be "gradually waking up brain cells through limbs." The main theme of childhood should be play and practice. Recognizing too many Chinese characters too early may form fixed thinking patterns and "theories" about many things in their heads, which instead limits the development of imagination. If the child is really interested in reading, parents can accompany them while reading, but it is preferable to have "more pictures, less text," giving the child more space for imagination.
Zhou Yan also believed that being able to recite poems one after another may be based on a certain level of interest, but it is definitely also the result of conscious training later on. In fact, preschool education is more important in cultivating natural oral expression. "Repeatedly looking at a few lines of text doesn't have much significance."
Amazing Abilities:
Character Recognition: Reads Faster Than Pointing
Yesterday, at Qingqing's home, facing the newspapers the reporter specially brought, Qingqing quickly read out the headlines, "Yantang Fengxing average price increase of 5%," "Civil Affairs Bureau says proof can be processed, Qiuyi household registration in Guangzhou hopeful"... Except for some relatively obscure characters, she basically recognized most of them. Sometimes, Qingqing's reading speed was faster than the speed at which adults moved their fingers.
Poetry Memorization: Once "Spontaneously Composed Poems"
"Spring wind turns green again the southern bank of the river, when will the bright moon shine on my return...," Facing the reporter, little Qingqing continuously recited ancient poems such as "Boat Moored at Guazhou", "Thoughts in Still Night", "Spring Night Rain", "Occasional Book Upon Returning Home", "Ancient Grassland Farewell"... Although her pronunciation was not entirely clear, she still had a proper manner. According to Qingqing's grandmother, Qingqing once recited "Ancient Grassland Farewell" after sliding down the slide and grabbing a handful of grass.
Capital Knowledge: Some Adults Don't Know
For capitals of various countries, Qingqing could answer upon seeing the national flag - Beijing for China, Washington for the U.S., Berlin for Germany, London for the UK... For some relatively less famous ones, she could still name them, such as Bangkok for Thailand and Buenos Aires for Argentina. "The latter one, I don't even know," Qingqing's grandfather said.
Arithmetic Skills: Fluent Multiplication Table
For the nine-nine multiplication table, little Qingqing could recite it all the way through. Even if the order was mixed up, she could still give answers. She could complete simple addition and subtraction problems, but she had yet to master multiplication and division.
The reporter noticed that Qingqing needed to be in the right state to display her "talents." When in good condition or eating something, she could loudly and fluently read and recite, but when in a bad state, she seemed somewhat reluctant.
English Expression: Spontaneous English Speaking
The reporter randomly picked up a cup and asked, "What's this in English?" Qingqing answered, "Cup!" "What's inside?" "Tea!" The reporter then picked up a notebook, "What's this?" "Notebook!" The reporter then picked up a pen, "What's this?" "Pen!" "Then pencil?" "Pencil!" Little Qingqing could spontaneously express English words for small animals, fruits, colors, human facial features, common household items, etc.