Teachermom7-- Those are great stories to hear! Your son has a prodigious memory! As a teacher, you probably have a richer perspective than most of us as to how an eidetic memory compares to most children's memories. I may be asking a larger question than I intend, but how has your son's memory affected the way you approach learning with him? Does he self-pace more/less than most children in your teaching experience?
Maybe I should throw that question out generally--how has an eidetic memory affected your parenting/learning approach with your children?
Well, there are a few areas in school where he truly shines with this gift. He attended a school that had the children memorize a passage every 4 weeks. He hated studying at a younger age (he was 8) and he had to memorize a 2 page passage. He refused to study it, looked at it once, maybe twice, the night before, and that was it. He was chosen as best speaker for his grade too. I try very hard not to do repetition with him because it is like fingernails on a chalkboard. He now attends Stanford's Online High School, and while the work load can be a bit heavy, it still doesn't seem like it takes him very much time to study. I found it very unusual at a very young age, so I have been aware of it for a while, but it does continue to amaze me. He knows more about music history than anyone I know. At 9 he was obsessed with guns (gun history and construction) and once in an airport, the pilot, also a very gun knowledgeable, saw his encyclopedia and began to talk to him, then quiz him. They talked for over 30 minutes, and he turned to me and said, not only does he know more than any child I have ever met, but more than any adult I have ever known.
To be honest, he was very challenging for me to challenge. I am glad I have people who have PhDs in their fields instructing him now!
