The “Center for Gifted and Talented Kids” of the John Hopkins American University in the Anatolia College located in Pilea of Thessaloniki has begun operating since April.

The center, which is exclusively financed by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, accepts children from across the country who are taking part in special tests, in order to select the most gifted children, which will be housed in the college and will receive a scholarship from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The center will allow the most talented and motivated students to discover their academic potential, satisfy their curiosity and get to know a community of students.

Originally, the children are identified through special examinations which will show the talented students and then, through courses that have survived the test of time, which will be adapted to their needs, they make a concerted effort to develop their special skills and talents.

The first “experiment”  in Greece has been marked by success.

The first “Experiment” in Greece was very successful. Simeon Brodksy, director of CTY International explains that over 1500 children from every corner of Greece have expressed interest and participated in the examinations conducted in 12 cities.

“This is a big number, showing the good, hard work on Anatolia College’s part, on that which concerns the search for gifted, talented young people in Greece”, notes Mr. Brodsky.

He noted that the applications were not only students from Athens or Thessaloniki, but from all around Greece. “The top score in the selection tests was attained by a student from a village”, he stated.

About 40,000-60,000 children from the U.S.A. and other countries “pass” through the Center for Talented Youth of John Hopkins, every year. Alternatively, around 13,000 people attend the courses offered by the Center, online.

A global charismatic community or charismatic people?

Are there commonalities among talented children around the world? “The short answer to this question would be “yes”, after seeing the characteristics of students in e.g. Greece, are similar to those of U.S. students”, stated Dr. Amy Shelton, responsible for research in CTY John Hopkins.

However, she added “if we want to further develop our answer to such a question, we should proceed with our research. I.e. look at how different or similar the young people coming from diverse social, cultural, and other environments, are. This will help us figure out if we have a global community or if specific characteristics are identified only in specific populations. I think the answer to this question will be somewhere in the middle”.

Dr. Amy Shelton is a recent addition to the John Hopkins CTY and, coming from the field of neurology, she “marries” her subject with education, stating that she is enthusiastic about the challenge of being able to identify and work with talented children. “I am fascinated by the diversity and more specifically, how different these children can be”, she says and adds:

“When you walk into a room with talented and gifted children, you know that something is different. There is an incredible energy”.

Indeed, as Simeon Brodsky quips, things sometimes can be … difficult for the tutors themselves, since the questions the students ask are very demanding!

The first Summer School

The first CTY Greece program began in April, with the participation of elementary students from 15 different regions of the country. The program involves distance learning through the “Scratch” language, while a new “cycle” will begin anew, from September 014. The new school year will begin with more distance learning courses, with a new two-day program dedicated to Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and with a new round of tests to be included in the CTY Greece programs.

Anatolia College will hold the largest program of the Center, from the 29th of June until the 18th of July: Summer School for High School students and 1st Grade Lyceum students. Ninety students will attend classes such as: Probability and Game Theory, Design Principles for Engineers, Introduction to Biomedical Science, Cryptology, etc.

The children will be staying at Anatolia College, while a program of recreational activities and sports will also be provided. It is noteworthy that 66 out of 90 students of the Summer School are supported by partial or total scholarship from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

All the courses will be taught in English and are designed so that they enrich knowledge and accelerate learning in gifted students who have demonstrated exceptional skills in their field. The appropriate course depends on the level of the student’s education, not necessarily the age or grade. Students can choose from courses higher than the level of the school grade in which they are allocated, but which correspond to their special abilities.