Book Review Raise A Genius I. A few months ago, I learned about Laszlo Polgar, the man who trained all three of his daughters to be chess grandmasters. He claimed he could make any child a genius just by teaching them using his special methods. I was pretty upset because, although he had a book called Raise A Genius, it was hard to find and only available in Hungarian and Esperanto. I/41sy4ThlioL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_PIAmznPrime%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C-5_PIStarRatingFOURANDHALF%2CBottomLeft%2C360%2C-6_SR600%2C315_ZA(7%20Reviews)%2C445%2C286%2C400%2C400%2Carial%2C12%2C4%2C0%2C0%2C5_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg' alt='Chess Genius Full Version' title='Chess Genius Full Version' />Many SSC readers contributed money to get the book translated, and Esperanto translator Gordon Tishler stepped up to do the job. Thanks to everyone involved. You can find his full translation here Raise A Genius I was hoping that this book would explain Lazslo Polgars secrets for raising gifted children. It does so only in very broad strokes. Nor does he seem to be holding much back. But it looks more like he doesnt really have secrets, per se. The main things he does differently from everyone else are the things hes talked about in every interview and documentary he starts young around the time the child is three, focuses near obsessively on a single subject, and never stops. Polgar The first characteristic of genius education I could say the most important novelty distinguishing it from contemporary instruction and its necessary precondition, is early specialization directed at one concrete field. Tabtight professional, free when you need it, VPN service. Chess is known as a great test of intelligence, but it is also a great test of concentration. One of the most important teachers of Confucianism after Confucius was. It is indeed true what Homer said, A person cannot be experienced or first in everything. Because of this parents should choose a specific field at their discretion. It is only important that by the age of 3 4 some physical or mental field should be chosen, and the child can set out on their voyage. He has a couple more things to say, but theyre more like vague principles than like specific details. The rest of the book is his opinions on the meaning of genius, his gripes about the Hungarian government, the ways public schooling destroys childrens natural creativity, and various related subjects. Manual De Astronomia Para Principiantes. And maybe this stuff deserves some attention. He spends a long time responding to people who say its inhumane or immoral to educate children the way he does it, and certainly those claims need a response. A lot of his pedagogical philosophy and personal philosophy of life come out in the way he answers these questions, and given how few specifics he gives, maybe understanding his broader worldview is the way to go. And although a lot of people talk about how public school destroys childrens minds, its always good to hear it from the mouth of somebody whos put his money where his mouth is and done a better job. But what can we glean from this book in terms of how one can educate a child in the Polgar method The closest Raise A Genius comes to anything like a specific prescription is Polgars description of what a day might be like in some kind of imaginary Polgar genius school In genius education it is necessary that the pedagogue whether the parents or professional teachers or tutors stay in direct, constant and intensive contact with the child. Because of this we imagine groups of only 1. In practice an intensive collaborative contact between the child and an adult must be formed, in which the child does not feel subordinate. Think how advantageous it would be if the child already understands at the age of 1. As for the curriculum, it would be 4 hours of specialist study for us, chess 1 hour of a foreign language. Esperanto in the first year, English in the second, and another chosen at will in the third. At the stage of beginning, that is, intensive language instruction, it is necessary to increase the study hours to 3 in place of the specialist study for 3 months. In summer, study trips to other countries. The division of study hours can of course be treated elastically. Chess Genius Full Version' title='Chess Genius Full Version' />The Genius Bruiser trope as used in popular culture. Want to know what happens when you put Brains and Brawn as one character, brawn dominant Its a. Get the latest iOS Apps reviews, iOS Apps buying guides, and iOS Apps prices from the knowledgeable experts at Macworld. All of this cries out for more explanation in particular, the humor lessons sound fascinating, but the only part he really explains is the foreign language. He quotes Frantishek Marek Learning foreign languages in early childhood is very important, because without that a person cannot later express themself spontaneously, rapidly, and appropriately, and I think suggests though I might be misunderstanding that languages are one of the easiest things to teach young children, and so a good way to get them into the spirit of learning things. He also thinks languages are nice because they have a defined end goal speaking fluently and obvious progress along the way, so children feel good about learning them. He argues Esperanto is perfect for this as a logical constructed language, its very easy to learn, and it convinces children that learning is fast and easy. Then with their Esperanto knowledge theyll be much better able to pick up other languages later on. Im not really sure what to think of this language learning might be more important if you grow up speaking Hungarian rather than English, and Polgar seems so enthusiastic an Esperantist that its hard to picture him recommending it for purely rational reasons but hes quite insistent on it. This idea that children should learn things they find exciting and enjoyable and where they keep making measurable progress recurs throughout the book. Often its in the context of a kind of counterintuitive point, where someone asks him Wont kids hate having to learn so much and Polgar answers that kids may hate public school, where they sit around a lot and never feel like theyre really mastering anything, but wont hate intensive genius education, where they actually feel like people are trying to make them good at things In conditions of intensive instruction a child will soon feel knowledgeable, perceive independence, achieve success, and shortly become capable of independently applying their knowledge. Let us take an example from language learning. Let us suppose that someone visits a class for interpreters at a school for geniuses, where they are occupied for 5 6 hours with a first foreign language, Esperanto if possible. Why precisely with this language I will clarify below. After some months they are already corresponding with children in other countries, they participate in meetings in and outside of their country and longer lasting where they experience serious successes, and they converse fluently in the language they have learned by then. Is this a nice feeling for a childYes, it is nice. Is it useful for the child Yes, it is useful. Is it useful for society It is useful. In the following year one can do the same with another foreign language let us say English and in the year after that another. The same is valid for any field of life. In this way a child really enjoys what they are doing, and they see that it makes sense. In contemporary schools students do not understand why they are learning. But in genius education schools the children know that after a few months they will speak Esperanto, in the following year English, in the following year German, etc. Or in the field of chess in the first year they play at level 3, after the third year at level 1, after five years as a master candidate, after 6 7 years as a master, after 8 1. So the child sees the goal and meaning of their work. And One thing is certain one can never achieve serious pedagogical results, especially at a high level, through coercion. I/618dJ30ii2L._SL1500_.jpg' alt='Chess Genius Full Version' title='Chess Genius Full Version' />If you havent play Battle Chess also known as already, go ahead and download it now Published in 1988 by Interplay Productions, Inc., Battle. A few months ago, I learned about Laszlo Polgar, the man who trained all three of his daughters to be chess grandmasters. He claimed he could make any child a genius. 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