Agreed. Words are important. "Gifted" invokes, for some, a negative sense akin to jealousy, and also myriad myths. In response, much time is spent attempting to define and describe what "gifted" is, and what it is not. Unfortunately, so far attempts to substitute other phrases have resulted in different meanings, and some may say serving other populations, while neglecting the "gifted".

Similarly, words such as "challenge" and "differentiation" benefit from discussion of what is meant by them in the context of educational offerings for our kids. For example, this is not my idea of a positive challenge, rather it is a requirement for a "gifted" child to do more work for the same grade.