Speeches
Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the Opening Ceremony of the 10th Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness on Monday, 14th July 2008, 9.00am, at Nanyang Auditorium
Mrs Tan Ching Yee, Permanent Secretary
Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, 2nd Permanent Secretary
Miss Seah Jiak Choo, Director-General of Education
Mr Loh Ngai Seng, Deputy Secretary (Policy)
Prof Lee Sing Kong, Director, National Institute of Education
Prof Kuo Ching-Chih, President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children
Ambassadors And Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning
Welcome to the Opening Ceremony. Singapore is delighted to host and organise this 10th Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness. There is still much to be learnt about how we can optimally develop our brightest and benefit from their special talents. I hope that the discussions among 1,600 participants from 29 countries at this conference, and the collective wisdom from different experiences and expertise in the area of gifted education will produce useful insights for all countries to apply.
Critical Importance of Developing the Gifted and Talented
Mankind has been the prime beneficiary of inventions of the human mind. History reminds us repeatedly that the actions and ideas of a select few can have an enormous impact on millions. Over the last 50 years, inventions and discoveries - the microwave oven; the jet airliner; communications satellites; high-yield rice; the ATMs; the pacemaker; the handphone; personal computers; the internet; the hybrid electric car; reclaimed potable drinking water; gene therapy, to name a few - have altered, often irrevocably, our daily living, the way society relates and brought wealth and comfort to the World at large. Novels written in the past about the future, do not seem so futuristic any more as outlandish fantasies become reality. The word “globilisation” could only be coined because advances in technologies related to communications and travel enabled a radical change in how and where we do business. Together with political changes that were ushered in with the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has literally transformed nations. A new China and India are ascending. Millions have been lifted out of poverty.
Even the problems that we face today will require the creative energies of a select few to help produce break-through solutions. Massive industrialisation, urbanisation, growing populations, ageing populations, climatic changes, food and energy shortages - will require advances in technology to expand the space for World leaders to find common ground, or give us more time to find temporary work- around solutions.
We need to invest in our brightest who are talented creators, inventors and problem solvers. A well-regarded longitudinal study in the US looked at the educational and professional accomplishments of 2,409 adults who had been identified as being in the top 1 percent of ability at age 13. The study showed that they had produced an impressive 817 patents and published 93 books by their thirties. In addition, 50% had earned a doctorate compared to the 1% within the general population. Eminent gifted-education researcher, Dr. James Gallagher, recently said, “Each nation needs brilliant minds that can see alternative answers to pressing problem. …. (to) find the cure for cancer, or new uses for corn, or ways for peacefully solving conflicts of interest.”
But the gifted also need appropriate attention and the right environment to develop to the fullest. Many studies from different countries have shown that abilities and dispositions associated with creative endeavours in medicine, engineering, technology and the humanities need to be cultivated - they do not always flourish spontaneously. The same longitudinal study I mentioned earlier found that, to “truly develop exceptional scientific expertise”, an individual needs appropriate educational provisions that will enable early identification, build the right attitudes, and provide the necessary life skills to collaborate with others and make an impact on society.
Gifted programmes, therefore, play an important role in cultivating the necessary skills and fostering desirable traits of inventors and creators within our gifted young to translate possibilities into reality. Expansive knowledge from diverse fields; the ability to use that knowledge selectively; to be challenged instead of daunted by uncertainty and the unknown; the capacity to accept failures and learn from them - all these are common characteristics of creators and inventors which can be systematically developed with the right educational tools.
As the educators of the gifted from all over the world, you are most likely to have the next generation of great inventors sitting in your classrooms. If chance favours the prepared mind, your careful and informed preparation of curriculum, your cultivation of the best teaching strategies, will determine how “fortunate” we will all be for the next fifty years, and beyond.
Gifted Education a Global Phenomenon
25 years ago, Singapore began to develop a gifted education programme. We studied and adapted from methods already established in the United States, Israel and the Soviet Union. Other Asian countries have similar programmes. Vietnam has a history of over 40 years of gifted education. China’s “Shao Nian Ban” (Special Class for Gifted Youngsters) commemorates its 30th year this year. There is currently national-level legislation for a growing number of countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, and white papers and laws supporting gifted education provisions have been approved in Taiwan and South Korea. Australia, England and Germany have clearly articulated plans for gifted education.
In today’s innovation-driven economy, nations worldwide and regardless of political orientation have recognised the need to put into place specialised programmes to systematically nurture their best young minds.
Singapore’s Approach to Gifted Education: Fair, Holistic, and for the Greater Good
For Singapore, where human capital is our most precious resource, we need every Singaporean to find his or her talents from a young age, and develop them as far as possible. We need our people to be equipped for the global workforce, armed with valuable expertise to contribute in international collaborations, and continually adapt to worldwide trends and changes. We want to be a place where people who are passionate and talented thrive; where there is support for them to do pioneering, cutting-edge work across the different disciplines.
We need to develop every child - those with special needs; those talented in sports or the arts; and those who are intellectually gifted. We should accept the inherent differences in our children’s abilities. Pupils should be taught at a pace and through a curriculum that is suited to their academic ability.
We also have specialised and purpose-built schools to serve these needs. The School of the Arts; The NUS High School of Maths and Science; The Singapore Sports School; the School of Science and Technology due to open in 2010. Each of these has specially trained teachers and up-to-date facilities. Some of you will have the chance to visit these schools during the post-conference workshops.
For those identified as intellectually gifted, we place them in centrally run Gifted Education Programme (GEP) classes at primary level, and School-Based Gifted Education (SBGE) at secondary level. Chosen based on merit, such gifted children even from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to these programmes.
In Gifted Education classes, the focus is on providing pupils with a broad-based education. Their curriculum is enriched in depth and breadth to stretch their critical and creative thinking capacities. Interdisciplinary research and real-world problem-based learning are important aspects of the curriculum. In addition, out-of-class learning opportunities such as mentorships with professionals and international competitions are also offered, where appropriate. Gifted pupils are trained from a young age to become creators and inventors who will, as adults, cross breed diverse areas of knowledge, transcending disciplines and boundaries.
Affective competencies and National Education are also differentiated and infused into the curriculum. We attempt to instill in children of all abilities the concern for others and desire to contribute to lives within their community, their society and the global community. It could be through something as simple as a community involvement project to teach disadvantaged children, or something as exciting as learning from a research team at an overseas tertiary institution. Big or small, each act nurtures a spirit of volunteerism and an awareness of the larger world beyond their own. It is our hope that this gradually becomes a lifelong habit of wanting to learn more and to improve things.
For some topics and subjects, gifted pupils are taught in self-contained classes. But they are put into regular schools so that they can interact with the entire school community, and participate in a range of co-curricular activities where they work and socialise with others and learn important leadership, character building and communication skills.
Dr Linda Silverman, a renowned educator and researcher of gifted education, once said: “The natural trajectory of giftedness in childhood is not a six-figure salary, perfect happiness, and a guaranteed place in Who’s Who. It is the deepening of the personality, the strengthening of one’s value system, the creation of greater and greater challenges for oneself, and the development of broader avenues for expressing compassion.” We certainly hope that our education system achieves this for each gifted and talented child. Our system aims to nurture an admirable individual, one who will be an inspiration and a pillar of strength for his or her community, and also a valuable global citizen.
Conclusion
Many in the field of gifted education have worked hard in the belief that the welfare of humanity may in large measure be dependent on the careful and systematic nurturing of its best young minds. It is not surprising then, that a number of international collaborations to improve the quality of gifted education have already been forged. Perhaps more of these may find their beginnings in this conference, to create strong partnerships with one another. We will need bright minds working in unison to solve our world’s prevailing problems, and they include the young people in our classrooms today.