Kyle Lograsso: the 5-year old Golf prodigy

Kyle Lograsso is a 5-year old Golf prodigy.

According to Yahoo videos where this clip was obtained Kyle Lograsso's was described as, "Kyle Lograsso is a 5 year old golf prodigy. And to think he started playing at the age of 2!"

Yes folks this kid learned how to play golf at age 2 and the best part of the story was that he learned to play golf while watching maybe an infomercial on tv just one time according to Kyle Lograsso's dad.

Thomas D. Willhite said that children absorbs about 50% from ages 1 to 4 years old. But this story is more than just an incredible absorption rate for kids. To give light to what I mean, let's look at the rest of the description for Kyle Lograsso's video which goes this way: "Watch this story about a loving family who overcame a great many problems. Be warned though, keep a box of tissues close at hand."

Below is the video of Kyle Lograsso, the 5-year old golf prodigy. As the description goes, you may want to keep a box of tissue handy (just in case).

Kyle Lograsso @ Yahoo! Video

When I watched Kyle Lograsso's video, I thought I was just watching a golf prodigy. Amazing as it is but I was proven wrong! Kyle Lograsso's story is not just about being a golf prodigy. Though that in itself is already a perfect story for my post on special education since it talks about gifted children. When I say gifted children here, I will be working on Howard Gardner's definition of gifted as per his theory of multiple intelligence. Just a short recap, there are several intelligences according to Howard Gardner's theory which includes Spatial, Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic and Existential intelligence.

The intelligence Kyle Lograsso is exhibiting can be found under the bodily-kinesthetic area.

However, there is indeed more to the story of Kyle Lograsso! More than meets the eye (pun intended).

When we hear the term "special education" we usually think that it is only for disabled or that the student has to have special needs. It is quite disturbing that a lot of people have long-standing programs about special education which makes them fail to realize that having special needs does not equate to being disabled. Gifted children have special needs too or that being gifted requires special education as well.

On the other hand, what if the child is gifted and at the same time has a disability. As the case of Kyle Lograsso, does this mean he requires special "special education"? I think not. When Kyle Lograsso's parents found out that he had cancer in both of his eyes, they didn't say "Oh no! What will happen now to our prodigy golfer. It's the end of his bright future" No siree! That thought was not even entertained. Because of Kyle Lograsso's mom's early intervention, she noticed that the white mark in his son's eye was something that needs an expert's opinion. And true enough, the white mark was a malignant tumor and the Lograsso family were able to address Kyle Lograsso's cancer. The best thing Kyle Lograsso's family gave him was to show him a picture of him playing golf the moment he opened his eye after his operation. It was as if the parents were saying that this is the vision of what Kyle Lograsso will become.

I think that that incident in the hospital where Kyle Lograsso was shown a picture of him playing golf is one of the episodes that could have made what Kyle Lograsso is now. His parents were persistent and optimistic so instead of cowering down they gave Kyle Lograsso the vision of future. Yes he lost an eye in the process and that he underwent cancer treatments that will make adults hate the world but that was not true for this boy. The incident affected only Kyle Lagrosso's depth perception but Kyle Lograsso's vision of becoming a great golfer someday has never become deeper.

Kyle Lograsso is one of those boys I look forward to see grow and become the world's most successful golfer.

To find out more about Kyle Lograsso, please read the article written by Matty G. for http://www.golfdigest.com

Kyle Lograsso Is Still Fighting The Good Fight:Golfdigest.com

Photograph of Kyle Lograsso taken from http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2010/08/kyle-lograsso-8-is-still-fight.html

West African Music & Dance: College of Music Abelardo Hall: Free Event

Last August 20, 2010, the UP Kekeli Ensemble presented a West African Music & Dance in Abelardo Hall. The event was provided for free and comprised of two parts. The first one is a workshop starting at 4pm and the second one is a concert starting at 7 pm.

When I arrived at the Abelardo hall about a quarter to 6 pm, the hall was already filled with students who just came from the workshop. The concert started at 7:30 pm and the UP Kekeli Ensemble together with Royal Hartigan made an entrance starting from the back of the hall performing Asaadua, a processional music of the Asante people of Ghana. The opening number was truly enchanting.



According to the Programme provided for this event:

The UP Kekeli African Drum and Dance Ensemble performs the traditional music, dance and songs of West Africa including the traditions of the Asante, Ewe, Dagbamba, Dagara and Ga peoples. Members of the group visited Ghana to studey and perform Asante Kete an were invited to perform to the Asantehe's (paramount chief of the Asante people) palace near Kumasi last June 2010. The group usually only performs when led by a master drummer from the culture but have been given permission to share this great tradition in their performance last August 20, 2010. The group is also believed to be the first Ghanaian ensemble of its kind in Asia.



Members of the Kekeli African Drumming and Dancing Ensemble are Tusa Mantes, Jenny de Vera, Toni Bernardo, Jinggoy Balane, Rodel Celestial, Patricia Rodriguez, Catherine Cheng, Catherine Grace de Leon, Frederick Ruiz, Gideon Amaca, Roan Opiso, Isobelle Primero, Valerie Vibar, Ralph Jalbuena, Alyssa Dioquino, and Thristan Mendoza.

For this concert, the UP Kekeli Ensemble performed with Royal Hartigan who is a professor at UMass Dartmouth. He is the student of the late freeman Kwadzo Donkar, Kobena Adzenyah, Helen Mensah, and Kwabena Boateng and has performed with Talking Drums, Fred Ho's Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, Hafez Modirzadeh's Paradox and his own group. Royal lives in Ghana every summer to learn drumming and dance styles, to share as part of the UMass Dartmouth Music Department's African Drum and Dance Ensemble.

For this concert, the programme consisted of:
1. Asaadua - a professional music of the Asante people of Ghana, referring to the many diverse branches of the human tree.
2. Gahu - a recreational dance of the Ewe people of Ghana. Lead drum rhythms call dance movements
3. Anlo Kete - a social music of the Ewe people
4. Bawa - a harvest dance drumming of the Dagara people of northern Ghana. Drum rhythms reflect the dance.
5. Misagodzi-Sovu-Adavu - these pieces commemorate the Ewe escape from Notsie in present day Togo
6. Sikyi - a social music of the Asante focusing in courtship
7. Agbeko - a warrior dance drumming of the Ewe people, dance movements depict ancient strategies, heroism and codes of honor
8. Kpanlogo - a recreational music of the Ga people of Ghana.

There are other upcoming similar events:

August 25, 2010 - Wednesday
A Concert of Music in the African American Jazz Tradition featuring Diwa Ensemble and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme Suite

4pm: Workshop
7pm: Concert

August 27, 2010 - Friday - 7pm
A concert of Music in the Maguindanaoan Kulintang and African American Jazz traditions

For a sample clip of the concert you can check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N2BPXG_bSY

http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=34TI1fy6KUY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bv87EMw--s