I have a writing class at my school. And I wouldn’t normally bore anyone with my students’ work, but this was a truly standout achievement from a 12 year old anywhere in the world.
The topic was:
Give a description of your life as a pair of sneakers.
At 247, Maple Road, New York, a Converse shoe store has just opened. A pair of sneakers called Larry and Kevin had been put into a dark shoebox; they started to talk.
Larry:
It is not the work of a genius child. It is the work of his English Tutor.
I’m not kidding bob. I have not changed a word of what she gave me.
Publish it fox before the kid sticks a copyright on it!!! 
First, check online to see if they didn’t download this. Some kids will copy their homework straight from an internet source.
Second, give the kid another assignment-- easier-- and have the kid do it in front of you. If he does well on that you can start to get excited. Otherwise it’s more likely the kid got help from an outside source. Maybe an e-pal.
third, check to see if she has a USB port in the back of her head.
Fox,
pwh is right! (again)
First check the internet to make sure the kid hasn’t plagiarised it before you publish it. (Might save a lot of messy legal stuff)
Step two. If the kid has plagiarised it, don’t publish it!! Just photocopy it.
I teach a young girl of 8 years in my ESL program.
And she astounds me with her varied skills, intellectual capacity, genuine and sincere good-naturedness, natural leadership skills, disappointment at achieving anything less than 100% (a flaw, in a sense), charisma, etc etc.
It is rare to meet someone, age regardless, with this combination of characteristics.
She makes me want to stay on the island, just to map her progress in life, cuz she she is going places.
Is she a product of two fantastic parents, or a child prodigy? I can’t answer that question. But even on those days when I’m flu-ridden and more than willing to stay in bed, I drag myself to work just to have the pleasure of teaching her.
She’s the genuine article. She recently passed the intermediate level of the GEPT. I have a lot more of her stuff and we do much of the writing in class. I never have to help her.
Actually there are a few in the class who can write to about that level, but it was the humor that struck me the most.
Anyway Fox I hope you are right about this girl. I almost never teach anyone under 30 but I have fourteen year old girl these days and she is incredibly attentive, motivated and intelligent. She always shows up just dying to learn something. What a treat.
[quote]Actually there are a few in the class who can write to about that level, but it was the humor that struck me the most.
[/quote]
Wanna go into business? I know some good lawyers. 
Thanks for the action steps guys. My wife and i were just having a great laugh about them.
[quote=“Fox”]She’s the genuine article. She recently passed the intermediate level of the GEPT. I have a lot more of her stuff and we do much of the writing in class. I never have to help her.
Actually there are a few in the class who can write to about that level, but it was the humor that struck me the most.[/quote]
Well, in that case, you’re doing a good job and are blessed with an exceptional student. That’s always really sweet.
I’ve had a few clever students, but I’ve had a few who also have consistently cheated— particularly on writing assignments.
Glad that isn’t the case here. I am impressed by the writing.
Not a sign of genius, but just an indication that she grasps languages well.
maybe its an april fools joke?
[quote]Not a sign of genius, but just an indication that she grasps languages well.
[/quote]
Isn’t it possible to be a genius at language?
Like I said, I think her language skills are of course great, but what of the sophistication and timing of her humor. She’s only 12.
To be honest, I think a few of my 10 and 11 year old students are capable of that level of humour writing in English.
But, the grammar is exceptional. I don’t know adult non-native speakers who could write with so few errors.
Brian
I have taught writing/composition to a varied age of students over the years, and I must agree, to a certain extent, with some of the detractors as to the veracity of a 12 year old Taiwanese to be able to express her self so creatively and eloquently on such short notice.
Having said that, I will certainly give the OP the benefit of the doubt (obviously there are none on his part) as to the ability of this student.
What I would suggest, as would others, a controlled situation to double check this child’s writing skills.
What with palm pilots and wireless whizbangs abounding today, there are certainly many open possibilities to deception on the student’s part.
However, what must reign supreme is the teacher’s confidence in this particular student’s performance. If her parents are paying good money for her English education and would fit her with some sort of electronic cheating apparatus they would certainly be shooting themselves in the foot.
My suggestion to you is to do what I have done in the past just to break up the routine in my composition classes: Write out a different assignment (obviously with no prompting) for each student and then closely observe the student in question as you roam around the room.
I don’t know what your setup is, but any composition class worth its salt is divided into prompting, explanation of particular grammar skills that will be looked for, and the style that is demanded of the topic presented.
My classes are usually 90 minutes with the first forty minutes given to the above requirements and after a 10 minute break (which few take) followed by 40 minutes of writing.
During this time of 40 minutes of writing, I am (between sips of coffee and walking in and out of the room) very aware of what is going on in the room. The students know it, and they know better than to betray my trust lest I put out a cigarrette in some student’s eye or navel.
Didn’t mean to preach to the choir, but if you have a student as versant as this girl, you have come upon a jewel indeed. I’ve had two or three over the years, but none as creative and fluent as the one you have. I’m sure you realize the gravity of your responsibility to her future in English.
Who said composition can’t be fun!
Her classmates same topic for comparison.
I’m a pair of white and new sneakers. When I came to this world, I was buzing to find a special person to buy me. One day I was displayed on the shelf in a department store. First, I was so excited, wish that I’ll be the first pair bought. But it wasn’t easy, I saw other sneakers being sold. So I was very anxious. But the only thing I could was to wait, wait and wait. Luckily, a person came to notice and buy me. That day was so special to me. Since then, I’ve had a good friend…
Fairly nice writing but it doesn’t have that easy flow.
The interesting thing about these two students is that the original student wouldn’t do as well on her grammar assignments as this girl. And neither of these would do as well as this guy:
It was a beautiful sunny day. A pair of shoes were talking in a trash can. Nobody knew why they could talk and nobody knew where their mouths were either.
“Today we will tell the story of our owner before,” said shoe A.
“He was a prowler before, but now he’s a prisoner,” said shoe B. “About five years ago, he stole expensive things every day. He was so smart he hadn’t even been seen by anyone.”
“However, after a long time. A smart policeman appeared. Yes it was time to us to revench (sic revenge)”…
This guy is a test machine and also very creative. He suffers from getting a head of himself and his writing usually takes a nose dive in his excitement. However, I think his basic presentation is pretty decent.