That sounds so much like my son at that age.

I've never thought if myself as "gifted" either - bright, yes - gifted, no. Not sure where DD4 got it, as even my own parents admit I wasn't as smart as she is.....the other night, she was dictating a story (which she often does as the mood strikes her) to me about a couple who left some bread in the oven too long and burned the house down. She was using phrases like, "As the fire died down, their crying did too," and my dad (who happened to be visiting from out of state) looked at me and said, "You were smart, but not THAT smart...."

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I just read an article about tracking down the genes for intelligece. Scientists are having a difficult time of it. No one has identified even one definite one yet. Even something as simple as height is influenced by many different genes on many different chromosomes. Imagine how much more complicated intelligence must be!

Believe me, I'm ready to bring my son's school a cheek swab, have them look under a microscope at his DNA and then give him a set of books and assign him classes at his readiness level, but I'm not holding my breath. Worse yet, human beings are so vulnerable to 'seeing what they already believe is true' even in science, that I'll bet you ten dollars that even if such a system were developed it would be carried out in such a way that was racist and discriminated against poor people. We really have to win the battle for the hearts and minds of our neighbors and not wait for science to come to the rescue.

Smiles,
Grinity

amen.

The moment someone lists a class of people to blame or a class of people to advocate for, I get very skeptical. The "Rich", the "poor", the "mexicans", the "whites", the "blacks", the "CEOs", the "arabs" - its all the same Rhetoric to me whether its for or against. One is used a stalking horse and the other as the whipping boy.

The fact that many people accept classifications ( social or intrinsic - "genetics" ) as a way to discuss individuals is has always been shocking to me. I suppose its because I find life stories so fascinating and see people as having many different qualities - that I see people as the events of their lives and not as their faces they present to the world. I literally do not care who someone is socially.

I'd make a good dog.

You can have a very alert baby who grows up to be a psychopath while the normal kid has "gifted" parents who provide a good upbringing and teach her how to work hard and she becomes very successful.

I think a lot about two little kids who were recently adopted from a horrible situation. They were literally animals when it started and now they are amazing little kids. I've fostered kids from some horrible families and after a few months, they hit their stride.

Its part genetics, but nurture is so much more powerful. Intelligence is not that important - what is that kids get the help they need and the opportunity to develop at their own pace while learning discipline and respect for others.

In this respect, non-HG parents may do a better job that those parents focused on "how smart Johnny is."

Good point. I am a social worker and am all about values and social skills, and all that good touchy feely stuff. I feel like my DS4 has a good shot in some ways because that is my emphasis. He is an amazing caring kid (not that I am biased) but clearly his focus is more academic. I would not change my DS for anything, but if you asked me what my goals for him are I would say that I want a caring, loving son that has values and respect for others. Education is important to me, but if he didn't want to go to college and he was happy I would be fine with that. Anyhow, sometimes I feel a little odd because I am so different from him, but I can still keep up pretty well. When he is 8 I may struggle a bit but I have a few years.

Intelligence by itself without the other values and qualities is useless. That is why it drives me nuts that classrooms focus all on academics and not character building and all that. I know that kids should be getting it home, but they often don't. I go into pre-k's and K's in the inner-city schools and teach about feelings, and what to do when we feel certain ways, and how to show others you care. It is great. Hopefully if we can start early enough we can see some changes...but that is another post entirely. I digress....