I wonder whether people here have resources/books/research to recommend on the topic of maximizing the potential of creative kids who are out of the box and determinedly staying there. This population of kids overlap somewhat with gifted kids, but not entirely so. I'm sure we all have examples, and I have also read various reports in the past about gifted kids who are not creative, and creative kids who are not gifted as measured by IQ tests.
My perception is that providing the right educational setting for these kids, especially in high school, could be even more challenging than for gifted kids. A lot of gifted education focuses on acceleration. But the out-of-the-box kids might be better off taking an alternative route, instead of progressing faster on the same route. GPA might not be a good measurement of their potential, and they might not care much about it. Some of them might want to develop their potential through apprenticeship, research, independent work and real life experience, instead of learning through classrooms and teacher assignments.
My DS (high school sophomore, DYS) is definitely an out-of-the-box kid, really, really stays away from any box. While he is doing well in school, I keep feeling that the traditional classroom setting is not what he is excited about. The primary focus among academically oriented high schoolers on high GPA -> prestigious college is, in my mind, also limiting to out-of-the-box kids. So I'm very interested in learning about the trajectory of such kids and how they find a balance between accommodating their creativity and conventional expectations.
I hope I'm making myself clear.
