Mickel skips Grade One, overcomes bullying to excel in PEP

Mickel Thompson learned to read as a toddler by following subtitles on anime films he watched with his father. By the time he entered basic school, he was academically ahead of most of his classmates. To keep him challenged, his teachers recommended that he skipped grade one.

But, just as he was set to transition to primary school, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Unable to find a school that would act on his kindergarten school teachers’ recommendation, his mother, Darla-Jay O’Connor Thompson, homeschooled him.

O’Connor Thompson said she utilised the abeka curriculum and the cirriculum from the Ministry of Education but, after six months, her son was pleading with her to allow him to go back into the formal school system.

Again, she reached out to a few schools with the stipulation that Mickel would be able to skip the first grade. Old Harbour Primary School in St Catherine was the only one who gave them a listening ear.

READING ABOVE LEVEL

After conducting the relevant assessment, it was revealed that Mickel, who was just five years old, was reading at the grade nine level.

But this discovery did not surprise Mickel’s parents, who already knew the eldest of their four children was academically gifted.

At the time, Mickel recalled just being enthusiastic about returning to a formal school.

“I was excited to meet all the new people, the teachers and everything,” he said.

But his anticipation soon turned to apprehension as his days at school were disrupted by frequent bullying from his peers, who teased him for speaking standard English and for always actively participating in class.

This intensified when he was in grades four and five, sitting the first two levels of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination.

In order to cope, Mickel said he tried to fit in by speaking Patois and downplaying his intelligence.

“But, eventually, Mom and Dad, they helped me get over it and then, after that, whenever they bullied me again, I just ignored them and kept on focusing on my work,” he said.

“I had to remind him that success is the greatest revenge instead of trying to fight, trying to have arguments with them, trying to fit in by breaking who you are,” his father, Andre Thompson, said.

O’Connor Thompson said she also reminded him of who he was in God.

REMINDED OF FAITH IN GOD

“We are very heavy in faith with God, and we try to remind him that greater is He that is in him, and, if God is in him, you’re supposed to mirror everything that God is, and God is great so he should believe that he is great and never allow anybody to dim his light. He should be shining and not worrying about what anybody else thinks,” she said.

So Mickel entered Grade Six with a renewed confidence and a goal of topping his class in the PEP examination.

His father, an information technology professional, said he created a schedule to help his son with studying and timed test questions for him to practise using popular artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT.

At the time, O’Connor Thompson, who also works in information technology, admits that she was worried about whether they were pushing him too much. But Thompson was confident in his methods.

“If he can manage to do it under pressure at home, if he is in class, it’ll be a breeze because he is not going to have the pressure of somebody down his back saying, ‘Hey, the time is almost up. You have two minutes left, what you doing?’” he said.

This was essential, Thompson explained, as time management was an issue for Mickel in grade five and he was unable to complete his exam.

For Mickel, his father’s approach was “very much worth it”, as he was able to complete his grade six exam with a lot of time left over.

He achieved high proficiency in all four subject areas and had a 98th percentile in the mental ability test. In September, the 10-year-old will be attending his first choice, Ardenne High School in St Andrew.

And, when he takes this step on his academic journey, Mickel, who has aspirations of becoming a civil or structural engineer, can be sure of his parents’ continued support.

“I just want to be there, 100 per cent to support him,” Thompson said. “To make sure that, whatever dreams he has, I’ll help him to accomplish it as much as possible.”

“He must never be afraid to challenge and be the best he can be, and, once he has that in his head, and know that God is with him always, then he can accomplish anything,” O’Connor Thompson said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com