Rebecca speaks German, Spanish, French, Greek and English. Her knowledge of these languages is so complete she reads and writes them fluently. She snorkels like a professional diver, rides her bike at least three hours a day and works as a cashier in a restaurant. Rebecca loves all kinds of music; her favourites include Mozart, Abba, Reggae and The Beatles - because she adores Paul McCartney. She looks after a donkey, three lizards that live at the back of the restaurant and feed on exotic scraps, a stray cat, two shaggy dogs, a goat and six chickens. Every night she scours the Universe with a telescope, keeps a record of all the new things she sees and keeps a close look out for that space ship that every few days flashes across her viewfinder without warning. She grows veggies and sells them to the local shops. Her fishing skills are legendary, and on the island she presently lives the restaurant owners await her arrival with eager anticipation. Rebecca is never cruel to the sea creatures she snares, and dispatches them quickly with a knife she sharpens herself. Everything she doesn't need she gently returns to the sea. She is funny, and compassionate. In short Rebecca is a remarkable person who inspires everyone she meets. Four months shy of her sixth birthday Rebecca is looking forward to going to school. Her life has been spent travelling with her Cockney Nigerian dad, who travels the world with his young daughter and shares his life with her. Her mind and heart are sponges, and her confidence is infectious. She hasn't been conditioned to the limited learning pattern which most of us are subjected to. While discovering English she naturally picked up all the other languages being spoken around her as well, and began filing them away in the appropriate areas of her mind. The remarkable thing about Rebecca is, she's not remarkable. Just an ordinary child put in an extraordinary situation and allowed to develop at her own pace. All children have that potential. They are only restricted and stunted in their development by adults who hold them back, and only rarely do adults do this intentionally. A Primary School headmaster admitted that by Year seven 70% of children have lost the will to learn or enjoy the experience of school. That's a tough start to High School, and not what we imagine for our children. Children are wise, and clever. Allowing their imagination to soar at school develops wisdom. They have already learned how to talk and live in a complex environment by using their natural learning ability. Playing games with their imagination is already highly developed, but this ability quickly diminishes at school as academic expectations take over. Learning is meant to be fun, and children learn best by implementing their own ideas and imaginations, being allowed to make their own mistakes and develop skills by experimentation, however curious and unpredictable that path becomes. Children soar when theyre allowed to move at their own pace and learn quickly what works and what doesnt. There is a Rebecca living in every child; all with unlimited potential. |
