Today's Precocious Kids (1)

I love children! I especially love to chat with them. We never know what will come out of their mouths!!

Some years back, I met one of my brother's students, Janice Kam. I remember her well, because she also has the same surname as me. There are only a handful of people in Asia with this surname. However, what stood out most in my memory about Janice is her brilliance. Even as a young child, she was mature, way above her tender years of ten. She was already devouring books meant for the secondary school students in her Raffles Girls' School. By age 12, she had completed writing a book!!! She wrote with bombast.....many College students would not even know the meaning of some of the words she used. In the Gifted Program of her school, she still managed to learn to play the violin and piano! I have lost touch with Janice and her lovely and doting parents. I guess, she must have graduated and perhaps is now holding a high flying post in her chosen field of specialisation.

I received an email from a friend, Adrien Jones. It reflects again the precociousness of today's kids. Given the exposure, today's kids are even more mature and knowledgeable as ever.

THE CONVERSATION IN THE PLANE

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the
stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights
go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to
the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'

'Oh, I don't know', said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?'

'OK,' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a
question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat grass, the same stuff.
Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and
a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'

The stranger thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'

To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel we should talk
about nuclear power when you don't know shit?'