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"As a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child," begins an old biblical quote. My primary pre-occupations were after-school games of jump-rope and hide-and-seek; and sipping sugar cane juice as I walked home.
I certainly didn't have a career plan. However, not all parents believe as mine did in allowing children to discover their talents gradually; some plan meticulously from day one, the lives their children will lead.
They programme their children by shaping their thoughts and personality, and providing the finest schools and teachers for a particular profession. All this takes much time, effort, and money but such parents firmly believe, it's "all for the sake of our child's future".
That old biblical quote goes on to say, "but when I became a man, I put away childish things." The problem is such programmed children were never permitted to be childish in the first place.
Luu Hong Quang, a sophomore on a full scholarship at Australia's International Music Conservatory, is a musical prodigy.
Before enrolling at the conservatory, Quang won the special prize at the Chopin Asia Contest in Japan in January 2006 and the third prize at the Val Tidone International Music Competition in June 2006.
Musicians of all instruments and ages flock yearly to Piacenze, Italy for the Val Tidone International Music Competition; and earlier this year, Quang won the second prize (no first prize) as a pianist.
"Quang was introduced to music at the age of five, and was playing the piano within a year, training with Prof Tran Thu Ha, former Director of the Ha Noi Conservatory of Music," Quang' s father, Luu Quang Minh, the Deputy Director of the Ha Noi Conservatory of Music revealed.
"I am a musician myself and like many artists, I wanted my child to follow in my footsteps. Thus when Quang was six, my family pooled our resources to buy a piano hoping for our son's success," he added. "I've always put all my faith in my son; luckily, Quang had an interest in playing the piano, as well. He would hang around it all day without saying a word, while other children his age were out playing with their friends," he recalled.
Quang seems to have done well despite his strenuous road; his aptitude and talent shine bright in domestic and international music contests.
"The more successful he is, the prouder we feel of our son, the more we confirm we did the right thing in training him so vigorously from such an early age," Minh smiled. Tran Thuy Trinh loves foreign languages, and showed enormous potential as a child. She had dreams of being a linguist and teacher, but her ambitions were dashed by her parents.
Trinh, who now owns and runs her own clothes shop, was forced to enrol at the University of Civil Engineering, when her parents decided it was a more sensible option that would guarantee a very high income.
"I've never reproached my parents for what they did, but I do have regret," Trinh confided. "After two years at the university, I had no patience to continue with the complicated curriculum. Numbers danced night and day in my brain, and I was bored beyond belief," she added
"My soul was so frustrated, I even jumped at a chance to participate a contest to become an air-hostess. I thought it would be a good chance for me to take full advantage of the foreign languages I speak; plus I'd get to travel around the world," Trinh said.
"Unfortunately, fate did not smile on me: I was eliminated due to a congenital malformation of my vertebrae, despite passing every other criteria with perfect scores. In the end, I decided to go into trade in order to make a living," she finished with a sigh.
Undoubtedly, all parents want the best for their children: noble careers with high salaries, large houses with white picket-fences, faithful spouses and healthy children but as the poet laureate Phillip Larkin once remarked: "The f____ you up, your mum and dad/ they may not mean to but they do."
There are no simple solutions or trite truths, but a healthy balance between freedom and education, dreams and practicalities, might just provide the best way for all.
This article first appeared on vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
July 23, 2008
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