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For one psychological consultation with a child prodigy Alisa Teplyakova, it is already possible to take 50 rubles from clients, the girl’s father said. Earlier, he inflated the scandal, accusing the teachers of the fact that his daughter did not pass the session. Our experts comment on the situation.
The father of nine-year-old Alisa Teplyakova said*that his daughter may well practice as a psychologist after reading some literature. Today, according to him, consultations of girls are in high demand: “Due to the large number of applications and the rush demand, we regret to inform you that there are no free places for recording in the near future. Please be understanding.»
The father estimated the cost of one session of his daughter at 50 rubles per academic hour (000 minutes)
Recall that at the age of eight, Alisa Teplyakova passed the exam and entered the paid department of the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University. According to representatives of the educational department, the girl started the school year successfully, but then stopped attending classes without providing a certificate of good reason. During the session, the father said that Alice had been “flunked” in the exam, and, according to the press service of the faculty, attacked the head of the department.
About the formation of prices for the services of psychotherapists — in our material «Six window sills per hour: how much does a psychotherapist get and why.»
After the failed session, the girl’s parents set out to sue the Faculty of Psychology for the fact that, in their opinion, the child is not provided with conditions for learning. They wrote to Rosobrnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, Roskomnadzor, as well as the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of Russia and Moscow, so that they intervene in the situation.
Why all this to Alice and her family?
In the interaction of a student-child, her father and the university, something is constantly happening. Now father Yevgeny Teplyakov is conducting a correspondence debate with a member of the Human Rights Council, Professor of the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University Alexander Asmolov. He urged to stop the girl’s education at the university and called for a serious reform of the system of the unified state exam**.
It was the Unified State Examination, as well as the absence of age restrictions for admission to universities, that allowed Alice to enter Moscow State University. However, the result of the state exam was not enough to get into a budget place, so she was enrolled on a commercial basis. We asked three psychologists — Ilya Latypov, Oksana Fadeeva and Katerina Demina — to comment on this situation.
Oksana Fadeeva:
“I think that a child of 8-9 years old cannot have a sincere desire to enter Moscow State University, because, due to his age, he does not really understand what it is. He has other desires. He may want a doll, Lego, going to the ice rink with his parents.
The desire, it seems to me, first of all belongs to her father — and, perhaps, only to him. It was imposed on the child, and perhaps it was so persistently imposed that the child also began to simply broadcast it after him. Because in general, at this age and even much later, it is difficult and scary to go against the will of the father.
Ilya Latypov:
“Alice is clearly seen by her father as a psychological extension of himself. In this situation, it is very difficult to distinguish the real desires of children from the desires of their parents, which the child is trying to realize in order to become “good”.
Katerina Demina:
“As far as I can tell, the girl has no desires of her own at all. She does not behave like an ordinary healthy child, I have such a terrible feeling that she is just a medium, a ventriloquist doll, voicing the wishes of her father.
Alice is the eldest child in a large family. She has six brothers and sisters. Their parents Natalya and Eugene are engaged in their education. Children don’t go to school, they are homeschooled. All live and study in a one-room apartment.
According to the older Teplyakovs, sons and daughters are ahead of the school curriculum according to a unique methodology developed by their parents.
Alice’s seven-year-old brother passed the OGE for the ninth grade. The five-year-old sister graduated from the fourth, the four-year-old is now studying in the first grade of the school. Three younger children are not yet able to study due to their age. But it seems that the same thing awaits them — mom and dad seriously decided to make all their children geeks.
Do the children of the Teplyakovs really have any outstanding abilities? According to our interlocutors, at least Alice’s behavior suggests otherwise.
Oksana Fadeeva:
“If a person starts pumping the same muscles, they can become hypertrophied, swollen. I think that Alice really has some «intellectual muscles». Perhaps she remembers very well. But this does not mean, unfortunately, that her personality is developed comprehensively.
Katerina Demina:
“A child prodigy is a child who demonstrates extra abilities in some area, usually associated with creativity. And Alice demonstrates memory. And quite mechanical. Nothing else. I feel sorry for the child. Most of all, this is similar to how in the old circuses they showed counting dogs and horses.
Failures in the implementation of grandiose plans
The girl has not attended full-time lectures at Moscow State University since the beginning of September. According to her father, Alice had mastered the semester program on her own by the end of the month. Yevgeny Teplyakov began to insist that the university provide his daughter with an individual training program. In his opinion, Alice should complete a six-year course in two years. But the girl did not cope with the first session. At the end of December, Evgeny Teplyakov, trying to break into the audience where the exam was held, even arranged a brawl at Moscow State University.
Ilya Latypov:
“When Napoleonic plans to become famous with the help of children meet with real difficulties, Alice’s father becomes furious as a reaction to the frustration of his own desires. He does not question the idea of the exclusiveness of the child. Instead of coming into contact with reality and lowering the level of demands on the daughter, there is an attempt to “bend” the unyielding reality for themselves.
The fact that Alice flunked this session is comforting news and partly salutary for the reputation of Moscow State University in general and the Faculty of Psychology in particular. This is a natural and natural result of training a person to memorize any information without comprehending it. Another thing is whether someone helped Alice emotionally survive this failure, accept it not as a humiliation, shame or conspiracy of villainous teachers, but as a normal, natural event? After all, it’s normal not to be able to lift a weight that is beyond your capabilities. I’m afraid not, and Alice is very sorry.
All our interlocutors are sure that Alice will not be able to graduate from the university in either two or six years without interrupting her studies. And they think that this situation hurts her.
Oksana Fadeeva:
“We have some important deadlines. Pregnancy lasts 9 months, milk teeth all fall out by about 12-13 years, and these processes cannot go faster. They have their own internal logic, their own pace. And an attempt by one’s power to ignore or accelerate these processes breaks a person, breaks the psyche, not allowing it to develop according to its own laws. That is, unfortunately, no matter what happens next, this situation cannot pass without consequences for Alice.
Katerina Demina:
“If Alice focuses solely on her parents, on her father, then she must now be in wild stress. Because it did not live up to expectations, disappointed, did not fulfill its mission. And this does not correspond to any age-related tasks at all. A child at this age should build relationships with peers, separate from their parents and master the world. Instead, we see that the girl is absorbed in the family, learns texts by heart and demonstrates miracles of responsiveness to the messages of her father. Very bad feeling.»
Ilya Latypov:
“When a child is treated as an object, “pumping” his functional abilities and ignoring his emotional ones, this is a traumatic situation. And for any person. People are not things.»
Can something be done?
According to Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights, the family was checked by guardianship authorities at the place of residence, but nothing threatening the life and health of the children was found. Of course, no one can force Alice’s parents to slow down.
Oksana Fadeeva:
“I begin to fantasize in this direction and understand that I can’t find an answer on how this situation could be optimally resolved. Some outside force must stop the father. But who can do it? If someone puts spokes in his wheels, we see how he reacts. It will only be an escalation of aggression, he will insist even more that he is right.”
Katerina Demina:
“It is dangerous for other organizations to interfere in this situation. Children are not beaten, fed, dressed. Well, they’re a little pissed off at them. This is not under our control at the moment. Guardians have a lot to do. And then what can they do? Pick up the kids? Transfer them to a foster family? What?..»
Some psychologists believe that the inevitable media noise is hurting Alice’s family. However, it seems that discussions in the media are so far the only thing that allows society to realize the essence of the problem. Every age has limits.
Oksana Fadeeva:
“Perhaps, in this way there is more attention to the issues of healthy development, the natural change of its stages. Perhaps other people will think, looking at it from the outside. Because the situation is a cartoon. She is even a little scary in her caricature, and maybe someone will draw conclusions.
Katerina Demina:
“If you do not focus on personalities, but consider the situation in a general way, then this will certainly benefit. It is very good to speak as much as possible about the phenomenon, about the process and the symbolic role. It is worth introducing the concepts of age norms, introducing the concepts of age tasks. We all want some achievement for our children. But the question of measure and degree is important.”
After Alisa’s father made a public statement that she was giving consultations — that is, in fact, starting to work as a psychologist — Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Education (RAO), Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences Gennady Onishchenko called for Teplyakov to be held accountable for the exploitation child labor. Children’s Ombudsman for Children’s Rights in Moscow Olga Yaroslavskaya believes***that, from the point of view of existing legislation, the Teplyakovs do not violate anything.
* https://ria.ru/20220212/teplyakova-1772474768.html
** https://news.rambler.ru/education/48060014-prizyvavshiy-ostanovit-eksperiment-nad-teplyakovoy-chlen-spch-vyskazalsya-protiv-ege/
*** https://ria.ru/20220212/teplyakovy-1772517845.html