You raise an excellent point, Colinsmum. I for one am going to come out of the closet and admit that I do value giftedness. I think where we get into trouble is with the assumption that that means thinking gifted people are better people. In trying to avoid that, we somehow persuade ourselves that we ought not to find giftedness desirable.
Let's pull out the ever-useful analogy to athletic skill. Parents of athletic kids are allowed to take pleasure and pride in it. They don't accuse themselves of thinking their kids are better people.
And yes, it would be tactless and insulting for a professional (a coach, or a sports doctor) to remark, "I guess it skipped a generation, huh?"
So I'm going to come out and admit that not only do I love my daughter, I love her giftedness. If she were to suffer a brain injury and lose her intelligence, I would grieve that loss, even as I would continue to love her with every fiber of my being.
I think maybe we all feel a little bit brow-beaten into saying we believe that "gifted isn't better, it's just different." See, it's that word better that gets us into trouble. It's a loaded word. But I, for one, think giftedness is wonderful.
