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school's physics prize. By the
start of 1996, Christchurch's main newspaper, The Press, could report: "Most
13-year-olds will start secondary school next week. Daniel Witte will start university.
Too young to have a cheque book, hold a driver's licence, or vote, Daniel has enrolled at
the University of Canterbury to study electrical engineering. He sat bursary at 12,
scoring an A."18
And by mid-1999,
Christal Witte could report: "Daniel is firing on all cylinders, and continues his
Electronic and Electrical Engineering degree in his fourth year. What is truly wonderful
is to see and feel his enthusiasm, passion and motivation for the work he has chosen to
do."19
Like Choon Tan, whose elder son David had earlier
become New Zealand's youngest-ever Ph. D., the Wittes say their son is "not a genius,
just passionate". They believe many children would do better at school if allowed to
progress at their own pace. "If he had gone on in the system as he was," says
Stephen Witte, "he'd probably have been diagnosed as having attention-deficit
disorder syndrome or something like that."
Both Michael Tan and Daniel Witte were given their
first chance to study at high-school level by Christchurch's Hagley Community College.
An excellent book, Learning To Learn, by
Christine Ward and Jan Daley, has been based on their introduction of accelerated learning
methods to Christchurch's Cashmere High School.
And the first edition of The Learning Revolution
was launched at a South Pacific university marketing educators' conference at nearby
Lincoln University.
So the catalyst can be anyone, anywhere: in business,
at school, in a community or a family. It needs to be, for the evidence is overwhelming:
 The world is racing into an interactive era that is changing every
aspect of the way we communicate, learn, live, work and play.
These changes demand a complete rethink on how we learn; how we
can rekindle the learning enthusiasm we embraced as small children; how we can go on
learning and relearning throughout life; how we can provide the same stimulation to those
coming after us; and how we can positively reshape the world.
The tools are here. The time is now. The script is yours to write
- or dance, or sing, or play, or act, or draw, or orchestrate.
Anyone can lead
the world into the 21st century. Why not you?
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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