... He has seen the word gifted in the material that I read as well as it being mentioned and asked us what it means. We simply told him that it applies to kids who use their smarts and hardwork to achieve great results - and he believes us.
He frequently tells us that he is trying to be "gifted"' by being careful in his work and being hardworking and it is cute to watch
It is great when
a child is motivated by knowing that their efforts matter and can have positive impact on results.
At the same time it is sad to see
a system built upon
identifying children's giftedness by results attained (output/achievement), rather than a way of being (input/processing). Unfortunately, the system fails to identify and support many gifted children, because the system may not be attentive to true identifiers but rather only seek out those who may be careful and hardworking in their academics... therefore the system may treat eligibility for gifted programs/services to be a "reward" for desired behavior, rather than needs-based. The system may further design the content of gifted programs/services to consist of busy work intended to keep children occupied when they complete gen ed lesson material earlier than their classmates. This may often be work sheets to complete without benefit of teaching or opportunity to ask questions. These programs/services generally do not match the needs of gifted learners, but may more closely align with the hot-housed high-achieving.
This is not to say that being gifted and careful/hardworking are mutually exclusive. Children ought to be encouraged to chase down every bit of learning. Unfortunately, rather than acknowledging and sustaining internal motivation to continue learning by providing antelope (reference to Stephanie Tolan's analogy
Is It A Cheetah?), the system rewards happy consumers of zoo chow who may occasionally chase down a rabbit.
