It's In The Details

One of the amazing characteristics of one of the children the program is his penchant for details. 

This kid, now the second youngest of the group looks and listens for details in the lessons. 

It's amazing how his young mind seeks out the smallest of details. 

If I had to explain how his mind works (and this is only my imagination), I would say that while he is learning or being taught, he has a video downloading and he's like an editor catching every action and word.  

And then he processes it in his mind and while he's doing this, he searches for details. That's when he raises his hand and begins to ask questions.

Perfect Example 

During our visit to Frederick Douglass' home in Washington, DC, at the close of the tour, the tour guide shared his death. 

Frederick Douglass died of a heart attack at age 77 on the evening of February 20, 1895, at his home, Cedar Hill, in Washington, D.C.

He had returned home after attending a meeting of the National Council of Women and was preparing to speak at a local church when the fatal heart attack struck. He included that Frederick Douglass fell and died at the bottom of the very stair case we were in front of. 

This kid quickly asked, "Which way did he fall?"

The tour guide paused, and responded, "That's a very good question young man."

He turns around and looks at me for the answer.  Admittedly, I don't have the answer. But I tell him, when we get back to the AirBNB, he can research it on his phone. 

And He Did Just That

I suspect, but can not prove in any way that his process of learning and retaining information is by way of video graphing it in his head, again, this is what I imagine he does. You'll read why in a minute.

As soon as we returned, he ran to his phone and began to research which way Frederick Douglass fell at the foot of the stairs, after having a heart attack!

The Answer

During our 'free time', he excitedly raised his hand and said, "I know which way Frederick Douglass fell when he had a heart attack!" 

Well, of course at this time, we all wanted to know! 

And in the way that only he could do, this is what he did...

He got up and demonstrated it. 

He suddenly clasped his hands to his chest and collapsed, first to his knees and then to the floor, at the foot of the stairs. 

He did this in slow motion so that we could get the full effect.

On his own, he researched the answer, and found it. 

I believe that by doing this, he was able to complete the video in his head of how Frederick Douglass, also the most photographed man during his time, fell after experienced a heart attack. 

It's the details that make the difference. 

Picture credit: Richard Hedrick@Unsplash.com

A special thank you to all of you who help make GBOC's trip to Washington, DC possible.  We appreciate you!