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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 April 2000 Issue No. 477 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 April 2000 Issue No. 477
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Nurturing talent
By Dahlia Hammouda
Talented children - a vital national resource - need more support at the national level if we are to tap their skills and abilities. This was the gist of a two-day conference, called "The National Conference for the Talented," held this week under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. In the speech delivered on her behalf by Minister of Education Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin, Mrs Mubarak said the conference was a step towards achieving one of the stated goals of the Second Egyptian Child Decade (2000-2010), declared by President Hosni Mubarak as being dedicated to protecting and caring for the Egyptian child. The goal is to provide the opportunity for talented children to refine and sharpen their skills and develop their scientific, literary, cultural and artistic abilities through programmes that would invest their special potential while safeguarding their talent.
Mrs Mubarak noted that the conference, organised by the Ministry of Education on 10 and 11 March, is a continuation of the work of previous meetings that dealt with primary and secondary education in addition to the role of the teacher.
Attention, Mrs Mubarak stressed, should not be reserved for only those children with readily apparent gifts and talents, but should be extended to a recognition of the special talents that exist within everyone. "We are not talking about only a few people; we see that talent exists in everyone," she said. "Paying particular attention to this collective talent born of the interplay of individual talents creates a new energy that forms a locomotive for the advancement of our nation."
This is not to minimise the needs of gifted students, Mrs Mubarak added, who require services not normally provided by schools, in order to fully develop their capabilities. Mrs Mubarak spoke of the necessity of providing these students with needed extra help. "Some of the talents of these children can remain buried throughout their lifetimes because of a lack of stimulation," she said.
The most effective way to enhance the education of gifted students is to advance the knowledge and skills of teachers, counsellors and administrators, Mrs Mubarak said. "The school is a fertile ground which can provide students with the opportunity to discover and develop their talents. The role of the teacher, the curriculum, the atmosphere, the school building and facilities are indispensable," Mrs Mubarak said.
The school is not the only institution responsible for nurturing these abilities, Mrs Mubarak pointed out. "Research in brain growth and intelligence stresses that the first few years in a child's life, before entering school, are the most important. Parental care and basic education is a determining factor," she said.
The media, Mrs Mubarak added, also plays a vital role in creating a climate which recognises that gifted children are a valuable asset. "The media's role far surpasses that of many other social institutions in that it is an educational medium that transfers knowledge and culture to children and families."
At the close of the conference, Education Minister Bahaeddin announced a number of initiatives, which were adopted as conference recommendations. Non-governmental organisations were invited to support the Ministry of Education in executing programmes for discovering talent and encouraging its nurturing and development in all the nation's governorates. One decision already taken will establish a new division in the ministry to manage everything that pertains to gifted children's development.
In addition, the ministry will be available to work with school districts on in-service workshops and staff development programmes, the focus of which will be the cognitive and effective development of gifted students and how school and home environments can nurture talent effectively. Extra training is planned for teachers in training colleges in this respect.
Bahaeddin added that each student will be allocated an "abilities card" in which all his special talents and distinguishing characteristics, personal preferences and hobbies, will be listed starting from day one in school until graduation.
Additionally, financial and moral incentives will be earmarked to reward all kinds of talents and a special day will be designated to celebrate gifted children each year, both on the local and national levels.
Bahaeddin also said that school curricula will be enriched with extra information and activities to challenge the aptitudes of gifted children. Moreover, extra-curricular classes will be made available to such children and a new Web site will be established on the Internet through which they can interact and exchange experiences and ideas.
