But yet it is still helpful to read about his experiences. His story is detailed in the book Exceptionally Gifted Children, and while his ability level is quite extreme, I found a lot of practical insight from the other stories chronicled there.
I agree completely that it is helpful to read about his experiences. One thing that really strikes me is how careful the family was about giving him time to develop a broad educational foundation; another is how careful they were about attending very seriously to issues of character development. Both of these seem like very important guiding principles. And after all, who can argue with success? I've never met him myself, but from everything I've heard and read about him it sounds like - leaving completely to the side his mathematical genius - TT is the kind of
person could hope your child emulates.
I see, too, that there are political reasons to have the PG label - and that in some very broad sense the EG/PG/prodigy kids have in common the need for an individualized plan. There is a good political reason, then, to treat them as a group. But from the point of view of a parent trying to figure out what's going to work for my kid, that general grouping might (and the might here indicates genuine uncertainty) but
might be too coarsely grained.
BB
