Gifted and talented kids on focus!

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