I think it helps if one thinks of Gifted as simple - 'having special educational needs that are not likely to be met in the regular classroom.'
Sure, many of our little ones have special needs at home, and in the community as well, but that seems to me to be more 'individual temperment' or 'personality' issues, but once they pass through the threshold of school, they NEED a lable, because schools are systems set up to deal with groups of students, and if the school isn't able to recognise a difference, and herd it into a group and give it a solution, they most kids will have real needs that aren't being met.
My hat is off to those wonderful children who can self-differentiate, who set themselves challenges and go after them. My goal is to turn my DS12 into one of those, but he just isn't, so far. I've seen kids who are self-motivated to do amazing things, but....why should only 5% of highly gifted kids grow up challenged and learning how to learn? Seems too harsh to me, particularly in view of the number of demands that ARE being made on kids in a school environment that don't contribute to these children's growth At All.
((stepping of soap box))
Grinity
