Talented children among us By Sonia Morgan, Staff Reporter GIFTED children. How do we determine when a child is gifted? How do we measure a child's talents? We learn that some of the geniuses in the history of mankind were not exactly at the top of their class. But, academic excellence is not all. We have seen children who have excelled in music, the arts, athletics and other areas. For example, lead violinist, Jessica Yap, now seven, has been wowing audiences with her talent from age four. And, eight-year-old Ayisha Ricketts sings the blues with the voice of an adult, which won her gold in last year's JCDC National Finals. More recently, two such children were highlighted by The Gleaner and The Star. A young gardener, 12 year-old Theo Smith, was featured in the Faces & Places of May 3. The Star of May 16 featured Jemoy Puran, who is a grand champion in Karate and owns a black belt at age eight. This week, Outlook takes a look at the children whose gifts have not been given the title 'genius'. Those children whose interests precede their years leave others astounded at their sometimes simple but significant achievements. There are more of these children around who have found their niche in unusual fields and Outlook has found five and will tell their story. Genius in expression 'BMW designed by A'Mil and Company Limited' was written in pencil at the bottom of a drawing of luxury cars by 10-year-old A'mil Pendergast of Hydel Group of Schools. A'mil, a quiet child, buries himself in his art which he says he likes very much. With a designer mom and a father who does sketching in his spare time, A'mil, his bother and two sisters all got the artistic genes. He carried a number of pieces which ranged from sketching to craft. Some depicting super heroes like Superman, Batman and the Joker, the villain in Batman. He said his first drawings were of people and cartoons. A'mil says he taught himself by first drawing 'small things' and then onto more complex pictures. Of course, he made the top of his art class, and how! He says teachers often call on him to draw posters on cartridge paper for them. "I started drawing since I was 5 years old and I like it." A'mil wants to be an artist and his creative pieces are admired by his parents and teachers alike. Like A'mil, many artists have dreamed from a tender age and have developed their skills. He too would like to have that opportunity, he said. And so she sews AFTER being Valedictorian last year at pre-school, taking home the trophy for Most Outstanding Girl of the Year 2000 and having the reading capacity of a grade three student, what more could six-year-old Jodi-Kay Laing possibly do? Sew. The six-year-old of Hydel Group of Schools says her grandmother taught her to make her dolls clothing only in March of this year. An assertive girl, she hastens to tell Outlook that it took her only "a few days" to learn how to sew with her hands. "I wanted to sew from I was about four, but she (grandmother) said I had to wait until I was older." And two years later, she can dress her dolls in fashions she made. The careful grandma, Barbara McGregor, doesn't allow her to cut the fabric or stitch on the machine yet, though she strings the needle all by herself. Jodi-Kay has every intention of continuing to sew and, who knows, she might some day have her own clothing line. In every profession there are a few pricks and Jodi-Kay has already got her share, but that isn't stopping the precocious six-year-old. Profile of a gifted child
Intellectual
* reasons abstractly Social or emotional
characteristics:
* criticises self
Bend me shape me any way you want me
EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Kristinna 'Krissy' Foxx-Smith of Stella Maris Prep school has good interpersonal skills, her mother, Marcia Abrahams, said. "She gets along with people very well, even if you have just met her, you feel like you have known her for a long time." When Outlook asked Krissy how she interacts with people so well she said: "I don't know." And, she really doesn't because it is a gift.
But, that is not all she can do. She has the ability to bend and twist her body is very awkward positions, and she has been doing this from she was much younger, her mother told Outlook.
Miss Abrahams said the things that they would like to do are not possible because of the lack of money. "We have to focus on the educational aspect of he life, so she is held back in other areas of development.
"She is not as flexible as she used to be, because she doesn't get a chance to practise much," she added, referring to her kinetic ability.
Similarly, Karesha 'Kim' and Shawn Ming have body kinetic giftedness, but are not really given a chance to develop their skills. Karesha, nine, is still flexible, as she dances at school, Yadar Kinder-Prep, but she too is loosing it. "I used to put up both legs around my neck, but now I can only do one. I would like to do gymnastics," she told Outlook, but that is not offered at her school and even then her parents would not be able to finance it.
Kim wants to be "a pedestrian" -- pardon me -- a paediatrician when she grows up. Although she didn't quite pronounce the word she knows that it involves taking care of children. Her mother, Catherine Page, said, "Kim wants to do everything; dancing, swimming, computer studies -- but we can't afford it, we have to let her do the most important things."
Shawn, 12, asserted that he wants to be an 'inventor'. And, he has always drawn and made things. But he wants to "help people make their work easier." His father and uncles run a garage, and he has seen the hard work that it takes. Shawn often helps them out, so he has been exposed to the tools of the trade.
He also watches educational channel such as the Animal Channel and The Learning Channel, next to his favourite, the Cartoon Network. All that cable television has not prevented Shawn from going to the library and reading after school.
His most famous move is making an 'Indian cross' with his legs and then walking on his knees. He then folds his knees up to his chest and balances on his buttocks. Interesting 'invention'.
Most of the schools don't offer the facilities to allow them to practise this skill, but even if that were so some parents are not in the position to finance it. Just giving them an education without the frills of extra curricular activities is costing many parents more than they can afford.
IFTEDNESS has been extended and now includes the concept of the creative and the talented. The gifted are those children and youth who have demonstrated high performance capabilities or have shown potential for high performance. These performances maybe in academic, sensory, motor, or in leadership areas. They include the arts and sciences, music, drama, sports and aesthetics.
"There are eight areas of giftedness," said a counsellor from the ONE 2 ONE Parent Hotline, who wished not to be named. The eight are:
* Mathematical giftedness academic brilliance
The counsellor added that only three of the eight gifts are widely recognised. These are: mathematical, athletic and musical. This, the counsellor said, has marginalised many children who are not gifted in those areas and therefore these children do not understand that they too have special gifts.
The counsellor explained that gifted children are not neccessarily motivated externally, but, they discover that they have these gifts. If parents do not recognise and encourage them, the interest will eventually be lost. They also have to be appreciated and think 'whatever I am good at is good enough for my parents'.
The other areas of giftedness are now being recognised, but according to the counsellor "It is a new thing because some people didn't know that giftedness could include kinetic abilities. I think that by educating the public a difference is being made a little bit more can be done. But, people are catching on to the concept."
More children are being allowed to explore their areas of interests and are able to make their own choices.
Giftedness can warrant several reactions from parents, teachers and peers, and this is by no means unusual. The counsellor admitted that "Anything that we consider not normal is often treated with ridicule" and added that the children sometimes struggle to fit into a group. Parents and teachers should allow them leeway in their gifted areas with education and the introduction of specific programmes, she said.
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