IN our quest to provide the best for our kids, we’ll undoubtedly face many obstacles along the way.
Take education as an example. Many parents have experienced all sorts of difficulties in this important area. While many students do enjoy a relatively smooth journey in their quest for knowledge, there’s also a significant number who are not so lucky. At the risk of labelling them, these children are often called “slow learners” or children with a “learning disability”.
I don’t like to label them as such but it’s a convention to do so. Whatever we call them, I strongly believe that no child should be left behind just because they learn differently. To parents who have such children, stay strong and don’t give up. Yes, they may have a different learning and even physical abilities, but they can be helped if we know the right way.
If they have difficulty in understanding a subject, or are slow to pick up on certain things, be assured that it’s not their fault, and neither are they “slow” or “dumb”. It’s just that they have not been taught the right way.
Our job is to continuously seek the most appropriate and suitable learning method that can match their learning ability. Be confident of their abilities and potential. Believe that each child is a genius in his own way. Most times, children are unable to unleash their genius for a variety of reasons, and this may include an incorrect learning methods. If you don’t believe me, let me share the story of Thomas Edison, one of the great inventors of our time.
Thomas Edison’s mother’s eyes were tearful as she read the letter out loud to her child: “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him. Please teach him yourself.”
After many years, after the death of his mother, and Edison had become one of the greatest inventors of the century, he happened to be sifting through old family things. Suddenly he saw a folded piece of paper in the corner of the drawer in a desk. He took it and opened it up. On the paper was written: “Your son is addled (mentally ill). We won’t let him come to school anymore.” Edison cried for hours and then he wrote in his diary: “Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child that, by a hero mother, became the genius of the century.”
Some people have argued that the story has been slightly exaggerated. But if you read his autobiography, Thomas Edison was indeed labelled as “addled” by his teacher, and his mother home-schooled him.
History tells us that one of the great minds of the century was indeed having trouble with how lessons were being taught at that time. It was all about rote learning in class. Edison had always been a curious boy who liked to ask lots of questions, experiment with things and played his way to learning about things. His hero mother found a way to unleash his genius.
So, let’s be these mothers and fathers for our kids. Regardless of their abilities, let’s not give up too easily in unleashing the genius in them.
Zaid Mohamad coaches and trains parents to experience happier homes and more productive workplaces. Reach him at zaid@smartparents.com.my
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