On BlackVoices I read the story of the wonder twins Paula and Peter Imafidon (9 years old) who floored academics a year ago when they aced University of Cambridge's advanced mathematics exam. They are the youngest students to ever pass the test. The future little scholars' father, Chris, and mother, Ann, immigrated to Britain from Nigeria more than 30 years ago and have actually been down this prodigy route before with their three older children, who are also overachievers.
The couple's oldest daughter, Anne-Marie, is now 20, but at age 13, she won a British government scholarship to take undergraduate courses at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Christiana, 17, their other daughter, is the youngest student ever to study at the undergraduate level in any British University at the age of 11. Youngest daughter, Samantha, now 12, passed two rigorous high school–level mathematics and statistics exams at the age of 6. She mentored the twins to pass their own math secondary school test when they were also 6.
Great story! The sad part is that the story triggered the "controversy" between US blacks and Africans. Read the story and the comments at BlackVoices Britain's Brainiest Family is Black and Has 9-Year-Old High School-Bound Twins
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I love the fact they see Maths as a game... genius
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about this a while back. I wish I could hear more from the parents! What did they do to foster this learning environment for their kids?
ReplyDeleteGem
Hi Rainbowlens, interesting question, but these kids are natural-born scientists.
ReplyDeleteI had private lessons in math, but looking back it’s clear the money could have been spend on something more useful.
HI Afro-Europe, i am sorry but these kids were not naturally born scientist as you said but it was their learning environment back home in Nigeria. I have experienced it as one of them and i know what i am talking about. Ask any one who has studied there for about 10 years to tell you the truth.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous I believe you, but you have to agree with me that it's mix of nature and nurture. If you're not good at math even the most nurturing environment won’t be able to help you. In school I sat next to a highly gifted classmate who actually “saw” everything. And I didn’t “see” nothing.
ReplyDeleteAnd I remember a former colleague who graduated cum laude from a technical University, but didn’t came from a learning environment you are referring to. Both of his parents were low educated.
I remember his story because he told me that he went back to his old school to show his former teacher his diploma of the Gymnasisum. It appeared his teacher had told him wouldn't achieve anything. My former colleague is white by the way.
So I agree with your partially!
I believe all normal healthy children have the potential to achieve at this level in the right environment. The problem with the current school system is that it is built on the premise that you get smarter as you get older. The fact is that if we were able to capitalise on the power of the brain between birth and 5 with uninterrupted learning a large percentage of kids would be able to achieve at this level. My observation of my kids is that school slows the pace of learning... Multimedia based home schooling should be considered by governments as an option...
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