Kelly, M. P. (1985). Unique educational acceleration: The dilemma of John Stuart Mill and contemporary gifted youth. Gifted Child Quarterly,29(2), 87-89.
Objective: To explore the dilemma faced by many exceptionally gifted youth of having to choose between pursuing their own intellectual path and accepting outside control.
Design: A collection of biographical and autobiographical sources.
Setting: Biographical sources concerning the life of John Stuart Mill from as early as 1926. John Stuart Mill’s autobiography. Personal writings of 20 gifted children as recorded in On Being Gifted (American Association for Gifted Children, 1978).
Participants: John Stuart Mill and a group of 20 gifted students with current experience of education in the United States of America.
Assessment of Variables: The experiences of John Stuart Mill are compared to the experiences of a group of 20 gifted students in an attempt to identify similar concerns regarding the influences of important others in shaping the course of their education and career.
Main Results: John Stuart Mill was a prodigy living at the beginning of the twentieth century. His IQ was measured at 190. He was educated solely by his father, James Mill, until he reached the age of 14. His father believed that the mind of a child was a “blank slate” upon which all experiences were recorded. He believed that the ability to imprint experiences on the mind diminished with age and that any single new experience had many others with which to compete. He also believed that one could determine the character and ability of a child by choosing and sequencing appropriate experiences.
Jeremy Bentham was a friend of James Mill and influenced the way he educated his son. He espoused Utilitarian theory, believing that human behaviour was determined by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. He believed that educators should work from this premise when devising learning experiences for students. Along with John’s father, Bentham believed that home
schooling would be most appropriate for John as he could then learn in a manner in line with Utilitarian theory and be encouraged to develop his abilities to the full. Such an educational option would allow for John to develop at his own pace, away from environments and people that might have detrimental effects on his academic and social well-being. John made excellent academic progress, surpassing expectations held by educators of his time for children of his age.
Unfortunately home schooling as based on Utilitarian theory meant that, during his childhood, John was isolated from much of the outside world. The author believes that such treatment of a child today could be seen to be abusive. He suggests that such an approach to education could be seen to be denying John the childhood right to healthy development due to his restricted access to worldly experiences.
The author uses the case of John Stuart Mill to highlight the conflict of interests between the rights of the individual to his intellectual freedom, the rights of parents to educate their child as they see fit, and the rights of the state to guarantee some minimal educational standard for every citizen.
A group of gifted adolescents claim that a fourth right should be considered when any decision is to be made regarding students’ educational options: the right to an education that will lead to a child’s fullest potential being realised. This right is identified by children in a book, On Being Gifted, coauthored by 20 exceptionally gifted children in which they detail their educational experiences (American Association for Gifted Children, 1978).
The educational experiences described by the authors of this book are first described in an effort to show that the education of John Stuart Mill could in fact be seen to have been positive in some respects. John, for instance, did not have to suffer the bullying and teasing from peers that many of the young authors experienced in the school setting. Nor did he have to suffer ridicule from teachers who were unable to understand the plight of gifted students. Many of the gifted children recorded feeling the need to underachieve at school so as to become less conspicuous and thus avoid ridicule and humiliation. This would not have been a concern for John Stuart Mill. Ironically, John had only his father to compare himself with and did feel inferior to him in relation to intellectual ability. This was despite his father insisting that achievement was a reflection of opportunity and amount of work rather than of any innate ability.
Another beneficial aspect of John Stuart Mill’s education was the continual support he received from his father. His father was determined that John should reach his potential and encouraged him daily to extend his knowledge. He believed that John needed to be offered learning experiences that would stretch him beyond his abilities. Thus there were many instances when John attempted very challenging work, and he learned to accept mistakes as important catalysts for moving towards deeper understanding. Such a strategy allowed John academic achievement well beyond that of his same age peers. At age 14, John was functioning at an intellectual level that was more than three years in advance of peers of a similar age.
Despite the remarkable academic achievement of John Stuart Mill, the author notes social and emotional setbacks that he attributes directly to Mill’s educational experiences. The author claims that a depression suffered by John at the age of 20 was a result of his father’s style of education. As he recovered from this depression John resolved to embrace many styles of thought other than Utilitarianism. He began, for the first time, to integrate into the wider world. So, although James Mill may have helped John to achieve his intellectual potential, he may well have hindered his social development.
The modern day authors of On Being Gifted suggest that a good teacher should not only know his or her subject matter well but should also understand and be able to respond to the unique
characteristics of gifted children. Rather than seeing talent development as something that a teacher does for a child, teachers need to see achievement as a reflection of innate ability. In this way, gifted children will have the chance not only to develop their intellect but also to achieve social and emotional well-being.
Conclusion: The story of John Stuart Mill has been used to illustrate the importance of addressing the social/emotional needs of exceptionally gifted children as well as their intellectual development.
John was fortunate to have been able to learn at a pace most suited to his abilities and was able to take advantage of radical acceleration. His social and emotional needs, on the other hand, were not addressed in a similarly appropriate way and he suffered because of this. The author stresses the need to address the social and emotional needs of gifted children when employing any options for educational acceleration. Acceleration can then be employed and acknowledged for the intellectual benefits it allows rather than being viewed as a source of emotional damage.
Commentary: This article draws attention to the influence of underlying theoretical beliefs on the strategies employed to teach gifted children. The author challenges the reader to think about conflicts between the rights of the individual to his intellectual freedom, the rights of parents to educate their child as they see fit, and the rights of the state to guarantee some minimal educational standard for every citizen. The reader is also challenged to revisit beliefs about the source of achievement, in particular to explore theories about innate ability and the effects of outside
influences on talent development. Such beliefs need to be considered by anyone involved in devising and delivering programs to gifted students.
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