Child genius?

Or child missing out on childhood?

A 5 year old kid has passed one of Microsoft's professional exams.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30054140

I think that's extremely clever of him, but I can't help wonder if its right. Just like the kids dad in the article, I'm a bit of a tech specialist in computing, and I too let my 5 year old son have one of my old computers, but I limit the time he spends on it, and I make sure he spends the majority of his play time actually playing with toys or running about like a mentalist.

"Cached this opportunity"? Really? Who says that?

 

I agree that he is missing out on his childhood.

 

Mr Qureshi

Is he? He can't miss out on his childhood - he only has one and he's living his childhood

He is spending his time "playing" and playing at something he enjoys. Isn't that how many other children spend their free time: playing?

Ok, there is also the comment " .... He spends around two hours a day learning about the operating system and how to install programmes. ... ". But, how that is different from children who take music lessons and commit x amount of time each day practising? Or, those children doing ballet/dance? Swimming? Football?

And it is challenging, mentally stimulating and ... ultimately, productive! Far better than children of that age who spend 2 hours per day passively staring at a TV screen

 

That's not enough to pass the exam he passed. It doesn't say which module he passed but the implication from the story is that he passed more than one (because you're not a Microsoft Certified Professional off a single exam), and that at least one module was in networking and infrastructure, which would not be covered by his two hours a day of operating system tuition.

So how much play time does a 5 year old have. Lets say they get in from school at 3:30PM, and go to bed at 8PM. There's 4 and a half hours. Take half an hour out of that for tea (main meal, nit a cuppa ). Now we're down to 4 hours. Now as we all know, when it approaches bed time, most kids don't just instantly cooperate and get ready, so knock off half an hour for the bedtime battle of getting them ready. We're already down to 3 and a half hours of spare time.

2 hours out of that 3 and a half is spent learning operating systems we're told. So when did the kid learn to build a network? There's a photo in the picture of the kid next a corporate scale switch/router. The implication (backed up by the claim in the article that the kid built a network at home) is that the kid has also got a good solid grasp of networking. When did he learn that? After his 2 hours operating systems practice he only has maybe an hour and a half per day to learn that.

Its good that the kid is learning stuff, and being supported in his learning, but I think there has to be balance. What's he going to talk about with his peers when he's older and he needs something, anything at all in common with other people so he can interact socially?

When I was at uni, I met people who had been pushed there by their parents, and I met those that were there because they personally wanted to be. The former always had serious 'issues'. I wonder which group this kid will find himself in.

 

This is not an English born boy; the family moved here from Pakistan a few years back. In which case, you need to factor in the cultural differences (and attitudes!) towards education and self progression. Far more driven than our culture

Hasn't computer coding recently been introduced as part of the national curriculum (from Primary School age) here? In which case, seems to me the lad is doing rather well with the encouragement and support from his family.

 

Home schooled?

 

Could be.

 

He goes to the local Primary School.

 

You may find these versions of the same story interesting

Five-year-old British boy becomes youngest ever qualified computer specialist

Five year old British boy ....

 

That is a very good point. Asians in general, and from the sub-continent especially, regard education as a privilege. From personal experience I know that this remains the case even in first and second generation UK born Asians.