MANILA, Philippines — He was teased for his small built and brainy demeanor, but when the bespectacled Filipino pulled out his smarts and delivered his quick wits, the jokes turned into admiration.
Ten-year-old Darren Diaz came through with straight A’s in an elementary school in the city of Alpharetta, Georgia, earning him an education award from United States President George W. Bush.
“It was exhilarating, exciting. I didn’t expect it. I just don’t expect things… they just pop in my face,” Darren told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, his undeniably American accent coming through the phone.
Darren was the only Filipino among 12 fifth graders of Cogburn Woods Elementary School who were given certificates for academic achievement from the White House through the President’s Academic Awards Program on their promotion to Middle School on May 25.
Established in 1983, the program “was designed to help principals recognize and honor those students who have achieved high academic goals by their hard work and dedication to learning,” according to the program’s fact sheet posted on the website of the US National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Darren’s certificate, the President’s Award for Educational Achievement, is given to students “that show outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment or intellectual development in their academic subjects.”
“We were really thrilled when it was announced during the promotion ceremony… I didn’t know that he had an award, and I was teary-eyed, I felt light-headed and the parents around me were looking at me,” said the proud mother, Rhea Diaz, an OB-Gyne who set aside her practice to attend to her three children after the family migrated to the US eight years ago.
“He was the smallest one on stage,” Diaz said with a chuckle.
Diaz and husband Dindo, a computer programmer, knew their first born was special as early as he turned one. While other babies could only speak syllables on their first birthday, Darren spoke straight and showed a sharp photographic memory.
While he was still developing his motor skills, the boy, who stayed in the Philippines until he was two and a half, immediately developed a fondness for books and made his parents read him to sleep.
“We read to him every day. At first there were Barney books, and then as he grew, he quickly graduated to the encyclopedia. We read him 100 pages every night and he knew if we skipped a page,” the mom said.
Now, Darren could finish novels overnight and constantly yearned for more pages to read through. It helped that programs on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel were also favorites, filling his insatiable thirst to know more when all his books have been covered from page 1 to end.
“He has a great vocabulary and he was the one who taught English to his yaya (his nanny, also a Filipino),” said Diaz, laughing.
He even had time to learn how to play the piano and get physical in soccer and swimming, though he mostly toyed with educational games in his laptop as too much exhaustion usually caused his asthma to flare up.
It came as no surprise for the Diaz couple that Darren proved smarter than children his age when they enrolled him in kindergarten. When he was tested for the entry level, then five-year-old Darren’s intellectual level showed he could already compete with first graders.
Teachers at his first school, Manning Oaks, hence decided to enter Darren in the Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program, an academic program for students who showed exceptional IQ levels.
“When he was in kindergarten, he was given materials for the first grade. So in the next school year, he got bored because he told me he already knew what was being taught. And of course, I did not want him to lose interest in his studies,” said Diaz.
After initial hesitation, the Diaz couple decided to speak with school officials to have their son promoted to second grade. They knew only then that the school was in fact planning to move Darren to third grade.
The parents then suggested: “Why not transfer him to second grade now instead of skipping it? At that time, Darren was already crying [because he wanted to move up]. After a week, he was transferred to second grade.”
Toward third grade, Darren had to change schools as the family moved from a rented apartment to a house the couple purchased, also located in Alpharetta but within a different school district.
It was in that first year at Cogburn Woods, an elementary school with only a sprinkling of Asians among close to 900 students, when Darren encountered classmates who called him names because of his size.
“He had to adjust because the culture was different and kids were calling him names because of the way he looked. They called him small fry because of his height… But he never complained, I just asked him to tell me what’s going on in school,” said Diaz.
“For him it was OK…. See, Darren, though he’s very smart, he is very humble and he doesn’t show off… But I told him he shouldn’t be called names, that he was being bullied,” said Diaz in a mix of English and Filipino.
The intelligent kid that he was, Darren used his smarts to respond to the nasty comments. But he only resorted to his arsenal of wits when he got very upset.
“I just ignored them or if they got me really angry, I just spat witty retorts back at them… like sometimes, I just say “Whatever,” he said.
Darren’s classmates apologized as soon as his parents brought up the matter with school officials. It did not take long for his schoolmates to notice that Darren deserved not laughs but praises and emulation for his intellect.
While on a summer break before moving up to Middle School, Darren is taking no vacation from his favorite pastime: learning. He has begun reading a new history book his mother had just bought to catch up on Darren’s knowledge on the subject.
For his new adventure, Darren is going to Fulton Science Academy, an institution that offers all middle school courses but with special focus on math and science.
“I’m kind of nervous about the new things because none of my friends are going there… Right now, I’m doing a lot of studying,” he said.
On the side, Darren said he may take up extra courses in his new school, particularly computer programming using the Flash program, movie-editing, dissection (biological) and chess.
It may well suit Darren best as the boy hopes to take up science courses in college.
“I might be taking up biology or mechanical engineering, because I like tinkering with small things like circuits and stuff,” he said.
In the face of a new endeavor and another change in environment, there may well be no need for the Diaz couple to worry. Besides, Darren has proved that his wits could conquer any challenge, even bullies who may be six feet tall.
Tags: Darren Diaz, Education, Young Achievers
