How would you feel being taught by an 8 year-old?

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This from The Guardian today.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1713183,00.html

Have any of you in the US come across this girl before? I hate to react with the cynical attitude expected in the article, but she does come across as a highbrow version of a child beauty queen. Plus, as a fellow 8-year-old I would have been utterly discouraged and envious when faced with Adora.

So class, what do you think?

― Anna (Anna), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:49 (nineteen years ago)

She's gonna get her head kicked in.

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:51 (nineteen years ago)

Did cross my mind, but I doubt they'll leave her unattended.

― Anna (Anna), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:52 (nineteen years ago)

"And that was just the teachers!"

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:53 (nineteen years ago)

I saw this yesterday and just thought pusheeeeeeee motherrrrrrrrrrrr.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:54 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, that also crossed my mind too.

― Anna (Anna), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:55 (nineteen years ago)

Don't worry, in 20 years she'll be bitching on ILX like all the rest of us burned out former child prodigies.

― Boris and the Johnsons (kate), Monday, 20 February 2006 11:55 (nineteen years ago)

Ha! The writing itself just seems to be "about" building a sentence around one precocious word, which is actually appalling exposition at any age.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 12:12 (nineteen years ago)

One of her slides reads: 'If I saw a black cat near my house, I could make up a whole story about a witch and the family she had cursed.'

Children makin up fantastical stories based on random things they see? Revolutionary! PULITZER PRIZE COMMITTEE TAKE NOTE.

― phil d. (Phil D.), Monday, 20 February 2006 12:26 (nineteen years ago)

Little girls like this are EXACTLY why I resisted the efforts made to yank me before The Publishers starting from about the time I was six; I felt freaky enough as it was - a long story not worth going into here. Luckily, mother not pushy, just a bit naggy. Her mom probably let her build a Clubhouse for Special People in the back garden, knowwhatamsayin?

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 12:37 (nineteen years ago)

I'm glad I wasn't a prodigy.

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 20 February 2006 12:40 (nineteen years ago)

I resisted a lot of stuff, when I was six, too

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 20 February 2006 12:40 (nineteen years ago)

Like sticky buns?

― Frogm@n Henry, Monday, 20 February 2006 12:48 (nineteen years ago)

Kid's got her own domain: http://www.adorasvitak.com/

― Jaq (Jaq), Monday, 20 February 2006 13:50 (nineteen years ago)

yeah lol i was genius too but i just said no way too lol

― the kit! (g-kit), Monday, 20 February 2006 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

There are about 4 or 5 ILXors who could have been "that kid", not just me.

I feel sorry for kids who are hothoused like this one, mainly because I think the parents should be throttled.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:04 (nineteen years ago)

It would be quicker and easier to throttle the child.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

Some kids aren't just quick at LARNIN'!

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

that kind is scarily nice ... which makes me wonder how much of her words are put into her mouth by her mother.
Nowadays children are lacking in reading and writing skills, and they are saying things like ‘I don't like to read' or ‘ I don't want to write.' That hurts me very much.

Seems like exploit to me, too. She should get all the books and education and anything she needs without being paraded around like a circus horse.

― clodia pulchra (emo by proxy), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:17 (nineteen years ago)

*kind = kid

― clodia pulchra (emo by proxy), Monday, 20 February 2006 14:17 (nineteen years ago)

"4 or 5".

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:11 (nineteen years ago)

Yes Colin, and that's just the girls.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:14 (nineteen years ago)

"*kind = kid"

In Dutch kid is kind, so you're actually RIGHT! :-)

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:14 (nineteen years ago)

I was sarcastically suggesting that yours was a low estimate, Suzy.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.adorasvitak.com/imgs/Main/adora-reading.jpg
http://www.adorasvitak.com/imgs/Main/adora-tv.jpg
http://www.adorasvitak.com/imgs/Main/komo.jpg

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:19 (nineteen years ago)

Precocious and curious Adora loves to receive questions from her readers. She has divided her expertise into four categories. She loves to teach and share her knowledge with children who have questions about reading and writing; she also enjoys hearing back from readers to find out what they like or don't like. Teaching your own child can be challenging sometimes; Adora can tell you what teaching strategies have helped her get to where she is today. She is dedicated to helping anybody who is willing to learn through reading and writing. If you have any questions, or simply need some guidance and encouragement for your pursuit of writing, Adora is happy to lend a hand either via e-mail or in person at a writing workshop at your school or library.

For Kids - Adora is looking for pen-pals.

For Parents - What teaching strategies work best? Ask Adora.

Schools & Libraries - Adora is available for hands-on writing
workshops.

Free suggestion & editing - Does your writing need polishing?
Adora can help.

http://www.adorasvitak.com/Ask.html

ok have at it - first person to get a response from Adora wins a prize.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

Come on ILX, we can be more petty than that--rip apart her work for grammatical and syntactic errors!

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

I am quite tempted to send her the stuff I'm editing right now, but that would just be cruel.

― Anna (Anna), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

Is that Aja?

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

HI ADORA IMM WOND3RNG WUT U THINK OF AL TEH NU WAYS OF WRITNG ON DA INT3RN3T AND HOW IT AFECTS PEOPL3S SMARTN3S AND STUF!1!1 OMG JO3

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:34 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.adorasvitak.com/imgs/Main/komo.jpg

Is she actually a co-anchor?

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:35 (nineteen years ago)

I saw this yesterday and just thought pusheeeeeeee motherrrrrrrrrrrr.

I just feel a lot of pity for this kid, because in most situations like this the mother is pulling the strings.

― My Psychic Friends Are Strangely Silent (Ex Leon), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:41 (nineteen years ago)

You mean like, The Turk?

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS STUFF?

― Mädchen (Madchen), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

nice link :)

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

The Turk's famous! He did world tours!

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

There was a book on the Turk that came out a couple of years ago, I believe.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 20 February 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

I would love to have been there when he was exposed. I imagine it was quite dramatic.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

I imagined this prissy blonde child... and then 'oh... an oriental....'

― Jimmy Mod: The Prettiest Flower In The Pond (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

I think for Americans of a certain age, mommy-spoiled child = Nellie Oleson, so those blond curls are culturally embedded.

Svitak is a Croat name anyway, one would hate to do Balkanization on her in other ways.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:44 (nineteen years ago)

See, Croat or not, that child is clearly a Mongol.

― Jimmy Mod: The Prettiest Flower In The Pond (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 20 February 2006 17:51 (nineteen years ago)

Di Di Mao!

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 20 February 2006 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

Is that Aja?

what?!?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 20 February 2006 19:55 (nineteen years ago)

Indeed.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 20 February 2006 19:57 (nineteen years ago)

I am sooooo glad I was allowed to be an underachieving, fairly normal kid who played in the dirt.

― Aimless (Aimless), Monday, 20 February 2006 20:01 (nineteen years ago)

She actually said "when I was little".

― Anonymous Coward, Monday, 20 February 2006 21:09 (nineteen years ago)

That kid needs one slap.

― Abu Hamster (noodle vague), Monday, 20 February 2006 21:10 (nineteen years ago)

Her poetry sucks.

She will be smoking crack with Corey Haim in about five years.

― Freud Junior (Freud Junior), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 05:19 (nineteen years ago)

Or a raging, anti-semitic lunatic like Bobby Fischer.

― Freud Junior (Freud Junior), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 05:19 (nineteen years ago)

She is named after She-Ra for fuck's sake, people. Please give her a little sympathy.

― Allyzay Rofflesberger (allyzay), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 21:37 (nineteen years ago)

http://scoopsnoodle.com/shera.jpg

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

pity her... its safe to assume she has no friends.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 21:55 (nineteen years ago)

she does though! there's a photo of her with her sister and another child prodigy (whose website i also went to, and it made adora look a LOT more normal).

― Maria (Maria), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

oh man i knew this guy who was a former child prodigy cellist. toured the world and whatnot. if oliver's parents could see how dale turned out, they'd rip that cello from his hands and throw it in the river.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 22:07 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.oliveraldort.com
http://www.artakiane.com

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

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