Every child is born bright, but not every child has been taught to shine his or her light or encouraged to shine it brightly. We are all gifted from birth with an innate unlimited creative potential. The exceptions are those who, unfortunately, were exposed to factors or injuries during the intrauterine period or delivery, which resulted in abnormal neurological development or severe brain damage. This potential will remain just that, unless harnessed and developed through interaction, nurturing, upbringing, schooling and lifelong learning.

It must be stated also that there are many individuals who were born with seemingly impediments to learning who through patience, training, and determination excelled and reach great heights. A classic example is the world renowned physicist Albert Einstein, who today is regarded as a genius and one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century

The focus of many commentaries and discussions for improvements in education has often been centered on the: school environments, pedagogics, programmes and the policies and funding from central government. Of no less importance is the role or influence of proper parental guidance to encourage and ensure willingness and love for learning in the child from the earliest stages of development. An infant by nature is always eager to explore and learn. One of the best ways to develop and maintain this natural inclination is to instil in the child a love for books and reading.

Reading and reasoning stimulate, develop and sharpen the mind; in like manner that eating and exercising sustain, develop and strengthen the body. Repetition is the mother of learning, practice makes perfect and the child who reads a lot will learn a lot, even when living or learning in unfavourable conditions or environments. In this regard, story books are among the most useful tools to aid in memory and intellectual development. We read, reason, record and recall and always remember things much easier from stories. Facts often fade but stories stick.

Persons who have excelled in the arts, education, entertainment and other fields of endeavours, have not only a passion for what they do, but practise and train regularly to become leaders or masters in their fields. Train the brain! Regular reading and reasoning, the repetitious and continuous use of the brain, basically realise ability ingrained naturally, an unlimited potential.

Children should be encouraged to play and read a lot for wholesome development. The advice therefore is: Read every day, read for the stars to shine as bright or even brighter! Many studies have shown that those who have followed this advice have experienced significant and, in many instances, dramatic improvements in both confidence and performance.