By the time Laszlo Polgar’s first baby was born in 1969 he
already had firm views on child-rearing. An eccentric citizen of communist
Hungary, he had written a book called Bring up Genius and one of his favourite
sayings was "Geniuses are made, not born". An expert on the
theory of chess, he proceeded to teach little Zsuzsa at home, spending up to ten
hours a day on the game. Two more daughters were similarly hot-housed. All three
obliged their father by becoming world-class players. The youngest, Judit, is
currently ranked 13th in the world, and is by far the best female chess player
of all time. Would the experiment have succeeded with a
different trio of children! If any child can be turned into a star, then a lot
of time and money are being wasted worldwide on trying to pick
winners! America has long held "talent searches", using test
results and teacher recommendations to select children for advanced school
courses, summer schools and other extra tuition. This provision is set to grow.
In his state-of-the-union address in 2006, President George Bush announced the
"American Competitiveness Initiative", which, among much else, would train
70,000 high-school teachers to lead advanced courses for selected pupils in
mathematics and science. Just as the superpowers’ space race made Congress put
money into science education, the thought of China and India turning out
hundreds of thousands of engineers and scientists is scaring America into
prodding its brightest to do their best. The philosophy behind
this talent search is that ability is innate; that it can be diagnosed with
considerable accuracy; and that it is worth cultivating. In
America, bright children are ranked as "moderately", "highly", "exceptionally"
and "profoundly" gifted. The only chance to influence innate ability is thought
to be in the womb or the first couple of years of life. Hence the fad for
"teaching aids" such as videos and flashcards for newborns, and "whale sounds"
on tape which a pregnant mother can strap to her belly. And in
Japan there is a widespread belief that all children are bona with the same
innate abilities—and should therefore be treated alike. All are taught together,
covering the same syllabus at the same rate until they finish compulsory
schooling. Those who learn quickest are expected then to teach their
classmates. In China, extra teaching is provided, but to a
self-selected bunch. "Children’s palaces" in big cities offer a huge range of
after-school classes. Anyone can sign up; all that is asked is excellent
attendance. Statistics give little clue as to which system is
best. The performance of the most able is heavily affected by factors other than
state provision. Mr. Polgar thought any child could be a
prodigy given the right teaching, an early start and enough practice. At one
point he planned to prove it by adopting three baby boys from a poor country and
trying his methods on them. (His wife vetoed the scheme.) Some say the key to
success is simply hard graft. Judit, the youngest of the Polgar sisters, was the
most driven, and the most successful; Zsofia, the middle one, was regarded as
the most talented, but she was the only one who did not achieve the status of
grand master. "Everything came easiest to her," said her older sister. "But she
was lazy." In Laszlo Polgar’s opinion,
A. Bring up Genius is the ultimate guide for parents.
B. he himself is an eccentric citizen of communist Hungary.
C. Judit is the most talented among his three children.
D. proper trainings are more important than innate abilities.