The gifted children controversy
Gifted on board!
Yes, yes! It is
a hugely sensitive topic. I know! But I want to tell a little bit about it, to
help you in your dilemma: “Is my kid gifted and talented?”. As I'm currently involved in a project related to the gifted and talented education I faced many issues and controversies and I decided to address at least some of them. First of all, I’d
like to point out why it is essential to identify the gifted and talented children. What does it mean to be a gifted child and how these kids differ from others? I'll also say a few things about what to do in case your child is gifted.
NB: If your kid has average abilities don't force him/her in gifted and talented programs! Inappropriately placed in a program like
that, these kids may start feel inferior, unable and they may have difficulty
socializing with their classmates. It is important to point out that gifted
kids are kids with special needs. They need to be included in special programs
particularly designed to be in alliance with their unique needs. To do so, schools create programs that allow these kids to study in a stimulating environment and socialize with other
gifted kids, thus not feel isolated and "weird".
Many parents
take the issue of gifted children as an Ego matter. They get offended if their
children are not considered gifted by specialists. As much as all parents want
to see the best in their kids though, only about 10% of the highest part of
the bell curve makes up the gifted group of students. So, statistically
speaking it is not possible to consider everybody as being gifted. In fact, there is no need to do so! The levels of ability and potential of performance should not be a reason for competitiveness, but a ground for taking care and responsibility for all children according to their needs.
We all know the above average illusion-
meaning that everybody thinks they’re above average. Then we set the logical question we often
find in social psychology- who is average if everybody are above average? As I said these issues frequently cause competition, negative emotions and make people feel
upset. No one likes to feel inferior, right?
Indeed! That’s why it
is very important to clarify the following…
The topic of
gifted children doesn’t have to do with worth! All students and all children are equally worthy!!! However, not all children
have the same needs. Therefore, we do not explore who’s better (as some parents
very incorrectly interpret it), but in a gifted identification program we
try to identify different needs-
and provide the appropriate care for those who need another type and style of
education.
It is important to
point out that, if placed in a regular academic environment gifted kids become fall into a risk group. They may feel demotivated, they
may start misbehaving in class and they may disrupt the discipline by either
interrupting the teacher, asking questions or by not being able to follow the
rules of authority figures. When part of a mainstream school program, gifted kids
could be considered lazy and not motivated. Also they have the risk of social
isolation, because they’re often not accepted by their peers and they're viewed as weird and they have a hard time to "fit in". Often, because of
their high abilities
they don’t feel in place either in class, or socially.
If you
think that your kid is
exceptionally bright and he/she may
really fall in the above average category, you may want to go to a specialist
and run some tests. The most
common way for identification of giftedness is through IQ tests, but there also
may be a specific test/exam for certain abilities such as dancing, sports and
musical giftedness etc.
If you happen to find out that your kid is gifted, make
sure that you explore all the options for providing him/her with the most
suitable education that will enable your kid to further and advance his/her skills
and knowledge in a stimulating environment where other kids are similar, which
will help your child not only in academic sense, but also in the sense of socialization
and integration of the child.
Gifted and talented:
Gifted and talented is a kid that performs, or exhibits the potential to
perform at considerably higher levels than his same age peers in one or more of
the following areas: mathematics,
natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, sports, dancing and music, and
different art divisions.
Issues:
Frequently schools for gifted and talented kids provide very
few places and are quite
expensive. If you can’t
afford their tuition, or the classes are already full, explore the best
possible option that you can afford or it’s available at the moment. If there
are no options available in your area you can try to include your child in an
extracurricular activity where he/she could develop his/her giftedness and
talent.
Note:
Do not force your child to do something in an area you would
like them to be gifted in, but instead let the child try different things and
select the one that he/she shows
the greatest potential at and
the one that he/she wants
to participate in.
In addition, if your child is gifted and he/she’s about to
start kindergarten or school, make sure that you search for
schools/kindergartens and you fall in the set DEADLINES for testing and submitting application forms! Make sure that when your child is around 2 1/2
you start researching your options for kindergarten and when your child is
around 5 ½ start looking for schools. Frequently the admission procedure
takes place months before the child starts to attend school!
Finally:
If you have a gifted kid, enjoy him/her! Be patient, know
that gifted kids are
often challenging, but when properly
taken care of they are extraordinary
and have the potential to provide not only happiness in your
family, but prosperity and beauty to
the world!
Hope this was helpful! Come back soon! xoxo Geri
