Student: xxx
Analytical Thinking
- XXX is able to read and understand things that (I think) are above his age level, and tie together concepts from diverse places. Example: He and I are currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia together. The characters find themselves transported to a world where everything is pitch black. When XXX reads that, he says, “So maybe they are in a black hole. But in a real black hole they would be squished by gravity.”
- He loves mazes and pattern recognition/spatial reasoning type puzzles. He has a very good sense of direction—before age 3, he would help his Mom find her way around and correct her mistakes.
- XXX likes to plan and organize things. Last year he threw a Halloween party for a bunch of his friends. He made a lot of the decorations himself. He planned the kids’ menu and the games and activities.
Meaning Motivation
- XXX likes to apply scientific concepts in conversation. Example: “This door is made of wood, which used to be living, so it’s made of cells. And the cells are made up of atoms. The glass and doorknob are made of atoms too, but they were never alive, so they’re not made of cells. Right?”
- He enjoys exploring concepts to their limit and asking thought-provoking questions. Examples: “What are atoms made of? (and what are the subatomic particles made of?)”; “How big is the Sun compared to the Milky Way?”; “How big is a cell compared to an atom?”; “What is beyond the edge of the universe?”; “Why do we need to sleep and eat? (and what would happen if we didn’t eat or sleep)?” He also asks lots of detailed questions about the life cycles of plants and animals.
- After reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, he asked lots of questions about poverty; e.g. why are some people rich others poor? Do poor people really have nothing to eat but cabbage soup? Etc. He was distressed to learn that there really are people living in conditions as bad Charlie’s family. Also, after hearing the criticisms leveled at Mike Teavee, he decided on his own to give up TV. (He relapsed after a few weeks).
Accelerated Learning
- XXX’s teachers at 蒙校 often remarked that he learns new concepts very quickly. At age 5, he was reading at a 2nd grade level, doing simple multiplication and division, and adding two-digit numbers in his head.
- During a weekend Chinese class, XXX would often wander around the classroom, apparently not paying any attention to the discussion (it was a small, informal class). But when asked to write Chinese characters on the chalkboard, he could write them perfectly after seeing them only once or twice.
- His favorite subject right now is the solar system. He has read many books on the subject, including books on individual planets which are meant for much older kids. He can tell you about the winds and temperatures on Venus, the composition of Saturn’s rings, and Pluto’s demotion to “planetoid” status.
这封信是我们做父母的写的，蒙校老师也写了推荐信，大家给看看是否合格？
