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Calculated Moves
Published on May 17, 2015 4:28 PM
Parents of mathematics whizzes try to nurture a love of the subject in their children with games and puzzles
Parents of mathematics whizzes try to nurture a love of the subject in their children with games and puzzles
Primary 5 pupil Winston Yang (above) is taking weekly Math Olympiad training at a private
centre, after his parents discovered last year he has an aptitude for mathematics. --
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOAN YANG
- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/parenting/story/calculated-moves-20150517#4
More Winston (full article) at http://women.asiaone.com/women/parenting/parents-mathematics-nurture-love-subject-children-games#sthash.VvV6vPXY.dpuf (The two olympiads are "MATH KANAGROO" and SASMO (search google) (neither with our school)
ReplyDeleteTake, for example, Winston Yang, a Primary 5 pupil who won gold at two Math Olympiads this year.
His parents had not realised he had an aptitude for the subject until a year ago.
His housewife mother Joan Yang, 49, said Winston was born with an enlarged ureter (the tube linking the bladder to the kidneys), which often got blocked and made him prone to urinary tract infections. He underwent two operations before he was four and his condition has since stabilised.
Hence, unlike what she did with her two older daughters, Mrs Yang did not push him too much academically or enrol him in any enrichment classes, even though his kindergarten teacher told her he was "slower than his peers".
"I was more focused on his health," she says.
So she was surprised when Winston managed to get into the gifted education programme in primary school, just like his two sisters did.
Last year, his fascination with mathematics suddenly grew after he took part in a Math Olympiad. His father is a 54-year-old self- employed investor.
Besides registering him at a private centre to undergo weekly Math Olympiad training, Mrs Yang leaves him alone most of the time.
She adds that her son is well-rounded and has diverse interests, ranging from science to reading to playing computer games, chess and violin. "Mathematics is not an all-consuming passion for Winston," she says.