I gave my dd a copy of NAGC's Gifted Children's Bill of Rights:
Here it goes:
You have a right....
...to know about your giftedness.
...to learn something new every day.
...to be passionate about your talent area without apologies.
...to have an identity beyond your talent area.
...to feel good about your accomplishments.
...to make mistakes
...to seek guidance in the development of your talent.
...to have multiple peer groups and a variety of friends.
...to choose which of your talent areas you wish to pursue.
...not to be gifted at everything.
My problem still lies with the fact that at 3 years old the parents chose his path. They took his right to choose before he was old enough to know he had choices.
My dd tells me one day she wants to be a scientist, then a week later she decides she will be an artist or writer. Last I heard she will be a scientist who teaches art on the side. She has the right to dream about her future and make some decisions on her own.
At this time in her life, she is tasting all the flavors of learning. At one point she will decide what she likes best and specialize (used to be that was what college was for).
At my dd school the Drama, Art, and Music departments are treated as very important components of the children's educations. They feel that it is very important for the children to be given the tools to be able to communicate with others.
I am sure that many of our children would be able to get a 5 in a calculus AP test if we had prepped them since they were three years old towards that goal and they spent their days just doing math. If that boy spends 4-5 hours practicing the piano and even an equal amount of time working on math, he doesn't have the time to develop any other talents. Even when he describes the fact that he goes biking, the father emphazises that that keeps him healthy and strong to do more math. A little scary....
