The Push for Genius

“The world could be full of intellectual giants like Einstein, Shakespeare, Beethoven and Leonardo da Vinci if we taught babies instead of children.”​—Dr. Glenn Doman, director of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.

“No child is thus born a genius, and none is born a fool. All depends on the stimulation of the brain cells during the crucial years. These years are the years from birth to three. Kindergarten is too late.”​—Masaru Ibuka, author of the book Kindergarten Is Too Late!

THE awesome potential of baby brains presents a decision for parents. When do you start special training? What do you teach them? How much? How fast? Some results have been spectacular: small children two to five years of age reading, writing, speaking two or more languages, playing classical music on violin and piano, riding horses, swimming, doing gymnastics.

In most instances the target is the mental rather than the physical. One two-year-old counts to 100, adds accurately, has a vocabulary of 2,000 words, reads 5-word sentences, and has developed perfect pitch. A three-year-old names parts of the cell as they are pointed out to him on a chart: mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi bodies, centrioles, vacuoles, chromosomes, and so on. Another three-year-old plays the violin. A four-year-old translates Japanese and French into English. One instructor who teaches mathematics to small children claims: “If I dropped 59 pennies on the floor, our kids could tell you right away that there were 59 and not 58.”

While some are enthusiastic about such intensive training, others have reservations about it. A cross section of the reactions of professionals in the field follows:

“On the whole the evidence is not very favorable to starting children on academic skills at an early age. There is ample evidence that it can be done. The issue, however, is not whether it can be done but rather what are the effects, immediate as well as long-term.”

“It is a theory that turns children into little computers, it gives them no breathing room.”

“Children learn by taking the initiative and exploring their environment on their own. We might be interfering [by pushing mental development] with some other development that’s going on [such as emotional development and social skills].”

“My message is, beware of equating brightness with good development. Intellectual superiority is very frequently obtained at the expense of progress in other areas of equal or even greater importance.”

“This is not a healthy parent-child relationship. It’s giving children the message ‘I love you because you’re smart.’”

Undoubtedly there are some parents pushing their children, trying to turn them into prodigies or geniuses. In such cases parental ego and pride have taken over. Children are used as showpieces and the parents are basking in the reflected glory. This does not seem to be the motive, however, of some of the leaders in this field of early learning.

Glenn Doman, quoted at the beginning of this article, is against the thought of producing superbabies. His aim: “To give all parents the knowledge to make their babies highly intelligent, extremely capable, and delightful children.” Learning should be varied and fun for babies. They should be rounded out, mentally, physically, emotionally. Doman is against testing. “Testing is the opposite of learning. It is full of stress. To teach a child is to give him a delightful gift. To test him is to demand payment​—in advance.”

Masaru Ibuka, also quoted at the outset, said when asked if early training produces geniuses: “The only purpose of early development is to educate a child to attain a flexible mind and a healthy body and to be bright and gentle.”

Shinichi Suzuki, famous for his success with training children in the violin, says: “This phrase ‘Talent Education’ applies not only to knowledge or technical skill but also to morality, building of character, and appreciating beauty. We know that these are human attributes acquired by education and environment. Thus our movement is not concerned with raising so-called prodigies, nor does it intend to emphasize just ‘early development.’ We must express it as a ‘total human education.’”

Suzuki sees forcing practice as both ineffective and undesirable. When asked how long children should practice, he never sets down a rigid schedule. “It’s better to practice five times a day for two minutes with preparation and good attention,” he says, “than it is to stick with them for half an hour when they are balking.” His formula is: “Two minutes with joy five times a day.”

What, then, is a proper balance in the use of early learning for your small child? The following article offers some guidelines for consideration.

[Picture on page 5]

Don’t push. Suzuki’s formula: “Two minutes with joy five times a day”