Genius: The Hothouse Flower
I've been meaning to comment on this story for a couple of days:
When something like this happens, there are a lot of recriminations bandied about. Why was the child allowed to go to college so young? Didn't the parents know what an alienating influence such a leap would be? Did they drive him to it with unrealistic expectations?
Such ruminations are worthless and wrong.
I was not so blessed with intellect as this boy was, but when I was a child, I was considered to be "gifted". As with Greek myth, that often translated to "cursed". Gifted children are fundamentally different than other kids. They are high achievers, eager learners, and extraordinarily dependent upon the approval of adults.
The worst thing you could do to someone like Brandenn would be to stifle his intellect---sitting in a classroom full of kids trying to comprehend something you mastered long before getting there is the very definition of hell for a gifted child. Not only do they have to deal with boredom in this situation, but since the natural tendency of the teacher is to stop calling upon them after awhile, they get no novel interaction at all out of the time spent listening to the lesson drone on. Moreover, if they act out to break the spell of boredom, they are typically treated with hostility by their teachers for doing so.
Of course, letting these children plot their own course has its consequences as well. When young, their cognitive skills simply make them more advanced than kids their age---it's easy enough to let them sit in on classes with older and older students. The problem is, of course, that while they may be incredibly advanced in areas which hold their interest, they're still children in other areas, particularly in their social skills and emotional development. A 7-year-old sitting in Calculus class with 16-year-olds is far more prone to emotional outbursts than their classmates. Moreover, the very fact that these children are so advanced in some ways contributes to the view that they're social misfits.
The U.S. educational system bends over backwards to accommodate kids at the nether regions of the intellectual bell curve, even famously slowing down average students in an effort to "mainstream" the slower kids and preserve their self-esteem. For the gifted child, there is no such accommodation, and much resentment. Why can't they just stay in the box like the other kids?
Eventually these kids come to realize that adults lack the answers they seek. It's like exploring a forest for years, investigating every nook and cranny, ranging far and wide, only to come to the edge of the forest and realize that you're very far from home and on the borders of an alien landscape. There is no refuge for you, no one who can truly understand you, no one with whom to share your obsessions. You are alone.
I don't presume to know the specifics of what caused Brendenn to tragically take his own life.
But I believe I understand the generalities, if only vaguely.
A musical prodigy who completed high school at age 10 apparently killed himself at 14, authorities said.
Brandenn E. Bremmer, who taught himself how to read at 18 months and began playing the piano at 3, was found dead Tuesday at his home in southwest Nebraska with a gunshot wound to the head, sheriff's officials said.
Patricia Bremmer said her son showed no signs of depression, had just finished the art for the cover of a second CD of his music, and had plans for Wednesday. She did not disclose details of how he was found.
"We're rationalizing now," she said. "He had this excessive need to help people and teach people. ... He was so connected with the spiritual world, we felt he could hear people's needs and desires and their cries. We just felt like something touched him that day and he knew he had to leave" so his organs could be donated.
When something like this happens, there are a lot of recriminations bandied about. Why was the child allowed to go to college so young? Didn't the parents know what an alienating influence such a leap would be? Did they drive him to it with unrealistic expectations?
Such ruminations are worthless and wrong.
I was not so blessed with intellect as this boy was, but when I was a child, I was considered to be "gifted". As with Greek myth, that often translated to "cursed". Gifted children are fundamentally different than other kids. They are high achievers, eager learners, and extraordinarily dependent upon the approval of adults.
The worst thing you could do to someone like Brandenn would be to stifle his intellect---sitting in a classroom full of kids trying to comprehend something you mastered long before getting there is the very definition of hell for a gifted child. Not only do they have to deal with boredom in this situation, but since the natural tendency of the teacher is to stop calling upon them after awhile, they get no novel interaction at all out of the time spent listening to the lesson drone on. Moreover, if they act out to break the spell of boredom, they are typically treated with hostility by their teachers for doing so.
Of course, letting these children plot their own course has its consequences as well. When young, their cognitive skills simply make them more advanced than kids their age---it's easy enough to let them sit in on classes with older and older students. The problem is, of course, that while they may be incredibly advanced in areas which hold their interest, they're still children in other areas, particularly in their social skills and emotional development. A 7-year-old sitting in Calculus class with 16-year-olds is far more prone to emotional outbursts than their classmates. Moreover, the very fact that these children are so advanced in some ways contributes to the view that they're social misfits.
The U.S. educational system bends over backwards to accommodate kids at the nether regions of the intellectual bell curve, even famously slowing down average students in an effort to "mainstream" the slower kids and preserve their self-esteem. For the gifted child, there is no such accommodation, and much resentment. Why can't they just stay in the box like the other kids?
Eventually these kids come to realize that adults lack the answers they seek. It's like exploring a forest for years, investigating every nook and cranny, ranging far and wide, only to come to the edge of the forest and realize that you're very far from home and on the borders of an alien landscape. There is no refuge for you, no one who can truly understand you, no one with whom to share your obsessions. You are alone.
I don't presume to know the specifics of what caused Brendenn to tragically take his own life.
But I believe I understand the generalities, if only vaguely.
1 Comments:
This story touched me deeply, bring forth questions as to Brandenn's quality of life as might have been found in the "alienating" landscape of genius.
Listening to his "Elements" CD is calming and beautiful.
I am hoping that Brandenn is in a better place, for leaving this one was the choice of a very unsettled soul.
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