Except that when you are that young and also that intelligent, doing things
like going to chucky cheese makes you want to go postal...
A recent experience I had with a similarly gifted child drove the point
home. At a birthday party at the earlier mentioned Chucky Cheese's, I saw
this particular young girl (my neice, who is 12 years old) crying. Not
weeping or wailing, but just one or two tears as she looked out over the
play area.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Look at all the sad, silly little morons!" she said.
"What's wrong with them?" I asked.
She looked at me and asked "Did you ever look at someone and see their whole
life - everything that's ever gonna happen to them - and you can't even tell
them because they don't believe you?"
"Yes" I said, stunned...
"It's sad, that's all" she said.
"Wanna go to the bookstore?" I asked.
"YEAH!" she said, and she was out the door like greased lightning.
Smart kids need challenges and interesting diversions, not fertilizer for
vegetation. Things that are great fun for most kids are insipid to them.
They have an appetite for greater and greater things, and that appetite
needs to be fed. I do the best I can as her uncle. With parts I gave her,
she built her own Pentium PC, and installs her own software (NT 4, IE 5,
language software, games, etc.). I am not sure what she does with the
chemistry set I gave her, but she hasn't burned the house down yet... She
hasn't started any Cisco certs yet, but the idea appeals to her.
Kids that do go after certs aren't comsumed by them like adults are. They
just play it like a game, and do it in between all the other stuff they do.
It's fun for them, and they relish the challenge.
PS - the book my neice decided on that day was a book of soccer plays and
strategies - she's on the team this year and is really giving it her all...
so being smart doesn't make here a "bookworm". She still gets out there and
lives her life, she just needs a lttle something more than Pokemon and video
games.
Dale
[=`)
>From: "NetEng" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: "NetEng" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: WHIZZ KIDS WHO HAVE THE CCIE number
>Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 10:41:09 -0500
>
>If your 12 or even 18 and trying to acheive any certification, your life
>must suck. What happened to having a childhood? I didn't know what I wanted
>to do until I was 20something. These kids should be forced to go to
>ChuckyCheese eveyday for a year.
>
>"Kris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > I commend young kids who attempt and more importantly achieve these
> > things. Though at a young age I was actively involved in subjects
>taught
> > in most first year university comp sci courses, I must say that it pales
> > in comparisson to a 12 year old who is working towards CCIE. He is
> > sponsored by Global Knowledge btw.
> >
> > Kris,
> >
> > > From: "McCallum, Robert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > Subject: WHIZZ KIDS WHO HAVE THE CCIE number
> > >
> > > Here is a little poser for you all. Who is / was the youngest CCIE
>and
> > what
> > > was his / her age when they attained the CCIE?
> > >
> > > Robert McCallum
> >
> > _________________________________
> > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
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> >
>
>
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