Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Does this offend?

Depends on your definition of "great". I know little about dance and don't know what the common definitions of greatness are. For sports, would you assert that the average boy could be trained to be a major league basketball, baseball, or football player? I am certain he cannot be.

My favorite possibly offensive gifted child joke is the Gary Larson cartoon, "Midvale School for the Gifted," with a kid pushing on a door that says "pull." Every time I push on the pull door, I think of this one.

http://petitpoulailler.tumblr.com/post/1674073315/proud-alum

DeeDee

Ooh! I love that cartoon! I used to have a shirt with that cartoon on it and I wore it as a joke. :-P

I was thinking the lightbulb punchline could have something to do with PG kids lost in thought speculating, EG/HG kids overthinking it and being too elaborate then breaking down in perfectionistic fits, then one MG kid who steps over the other kids who are lost in thought or throwing fits, gets a stepladder, and screws in the light bulb.

@Bostonian: I agree, a more specific sports analogy would work, like, "You can give a child a bat and a ball, but you can't make them Babe Ruth."

(Side note: I discovered I can't use the name of a famous basketball star (MJ) on this forum or it marks your entire post SPAM)

I would say the answer is something like this:

"It depends! Is it a lamp or a chandelier or a recessed tracklight or something else?? How high is the fixture? It it inside or outside? How old and tall are the kid(s)? Do you need a ladder to get to it? Will the old lightbulb still be there? Someone might need to take care of the old bulb. Do you need to recycle it or can you just throw it in a bin? Will it be hot? Do we need gloves? Hey, is the new bulb a special halogen bulb that you can't touch with your bare hands? We might need more gloves. Wait. What about...?"

DeeDee,

That cartoon was on posted on the door of my gifted classroom!
We (the kids) thought it was hilarious.

Bostonian,
Of course, I see your point, but there is something beautiful in the striving (as long as it's the child pushing and not being pushed).

It's horribly unfair how IQ and talent is distributed. I don't feel comfortable with comments that "rub it in" because I have empathy for those that are not so fortuitous. It's like talking about your trust fund when you know that others don't have one--a little uncouth.

Of course, in this forum, we can talk freely because we are all dealing with the same thing, and it may be the only place we can say certain things (about dancers and otherwise). I'd hate to see it censored.

That's my favorite Gary Larson cartoon. It fits me as a child all too well.

I thought of that cartoon today when my child waltzed off the bus from her new gifted school without her backpack. ("I forgot. No one told me to take it home!")

I just got back from the library and checked in. I was surprised to see the references to Gary Larson.

Prior to leaving, I was thinking about what I wanted for my new siggy line and Gary Larson's cartoon of the penguin standing in the middle of a crowd of penguins singing, "Oh I gotta be me, I just gotta be me..." came to mind. I thought of that one because online everyone is so anonymous and unless you're allowed some measure of creativity, so "uniform". But, alas, I'm allowed only 100 characters.

Here's the cartoon: Far Side Penguins

Anyway, I've decided to delete the old and ring in the new.

Comments welcome.