Nature or nurture?

I have taught English to MOE scholars from China since 1998 and I have always been fascinated by how fast their minds work. Even though English is their second language (many of them claim it is more like a foreign language), it is amazing how after a few months into the bridging programme here in Singapore they can role play, act, sing and even debate fiercely in English over topics such as euthanasia and capital punishment. One might argue of course that all that is needed is memory work whether it be to sing a song, to role play and even to remember points/facts during a debate. But to be able to rebut the opponent's points clearly in a free debate and in a language not native to them surely requires more than just rote memory. It demands the ability to think quickly and logically and to analyse the weaknesses in the argument presented by the opposing team. This is especially so in a debate format where there is free debate.

I have always wondered, did they get where they are today because they were born smart or were they nurtured from young? Is intelligence nurtured or is it a God-given gift?

Although I believe that intelligence can be nurtured, I think genetics plays a large part in determining how we turn out mentally and of course, physically and physiologically. My three children are a case in point. Despite having the same set of parents and more or less the same exposure to the English language, Maths, Science, etc., all three, especially the first two, have quite vastly different mental abilities. Why the difference? To me, the answer lies in the genes. The "Maths" genes that my elder son inherited from his father is the reason why even at about
five to six years of age he was able to multiply numbers easily because he understood the concept of multiplication and did not have to memorise the times table, something my second son grappled with at Primary Two. Of course you would have guessed by now whose "Maths" genes my second son inherited. I'm also very sure my elder son's tremendous memory power came from his father who in turn must have gotten it from his mother who has an elephant's memory. She can remember the birthdays of every member of her family and my family (including my parents and siblings) as well as the wedding anniversaries of her children and my siblings. This is in addition to the dates she is able to provide for mundane and trivial events such as when a particular set of tupperware/cutlery/washing machine...(the list goes on) was bought. Was she taught memory skills such as mnemonics or the use of "hooks' which educational experts advocate in their effort to help our children remember better? I doubt so. It's not just her memory power that amazes me; I've always marvelled at the speed at which she is able to understand new ideas, concepts, etc. despite her age. I believe she would have excelled academically had she been given the opportunity to attend school. Unfortunately for her, schooling then was a privilege reserved only for boys.

What I'm hoping to bring across here is that many times Singapore parents are so caught up in the rat race that they fail to understand that children are endowed with different gifts, talents and abilities and that is the reason why we often hear remarks such as "Why you so stupid? Such a simple question also cannot do!" or why I once witnessed a father slapping his son in the swimming pool because he was revising schoolwork (yes, in the swimming pool!) with his son but the poor boy could not answer his question.

Having two sons who are so different in their mental and language abilities, I realised when my second son was about four (his brother was six plus then) that he could not do many of the things which the elder could. For example, I tried to teach him how to pronounce words phonetically (thinking that since his brother could do breeze through it at three, he shouldn't have a problem at four) but it simply made no sense to him. Neither could he do simple subtraction at Primary Two. I remember him coming home one day with all his ten subtraction sums wrong. I sat him
down and tried to explain to him how it worked but the minute I made the sum a little more difficult like 83 - 36, he was lost. Even after explaining how he had to borrow units from the tens if there were not enough units to subtract a number, he could not get the answers right consistently. I would like to reiterate that I'm not saying intelligence is solely determined by our genes and therefore nurture or our life experience has no part to play. Of course with nurture, children can and do improve or else why would we send our children to school or for tuition and all other types of enhancement or remedial classes?

In fact, according to Reuven Feuerstein, the Jewish psychologist who came up with the theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability, human intelligence is viewed as the propensity of the individual to modify itself in order to adapt to changes in the conditions of the stimuli and its particular needs. However, such modification on the part of the individual requires an intervention programme that lasts at least 300 hours over a period of two to three years. Although there have been numerous studies that lend support to the validity and effectiveness of such intervention programmes, there have been other studies that have not been conclusive.

This leads me back to my point that intelligence is still very much predetermined at birth. One who is not so academically endowed may have to work extremely hard to attain a certain level of proficiency or excellence compared to another who is able to complete the task effortlessly and with ease because the latter has inherited the gene that enabled him to process information quickly and logically. As teachers we know who are the hardworking ones in a class and who are inherently smart. The latter are able to understand and grasp concepts after one explanation; the former need two or more explanations and examples before you see the glint in their eyes.

As parents, we should recognise that every child is different. What we can do is to encourage them to do their best. Of course as parents, we should know how far they can be pushed and what their best means. My husband and I have never asked my second son why he could not produce the same academic results his brother produced. We know he is born with different abilities and talents. We constantly remind our two boys that God has given them different gifts and no one is necessarily superior to the other. My second son plays table-tennis and is in the national training team. To me, he has been endowed with intelligence of a different kind- kinesthetic intelligence. Unfortunately in rat-race Singapore, paper qualifications are of utmost importance in securing a place in the university or clinching that much-coveted award/scholarship unlike in some other countries where sportsmen are held in high esteem and scholarships abound for many with sporting abilities.