Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion There's no such thing as a gifted child

Nope. You are wrong. I can personally assure you that though I am awesome, when I followed the Formula to Success - put in hard work, grits and still more hard work - I ended up with a gross and disgusting mess that everyone refused to eat. So, the formula is wrong!

Add only a bit of water at a time.

And everything is better with cheese.

The formula is not wrong.

In fact, the formula, by definition, cannot be wrong. It's self-referential and self-proving.

You simply did not have/use enough grit.

The solution is to be gritter.

Become the grit.

The author's thesis sounds like Dweck's growth mindset gone wrong.

In some cases, hard work can beat talent when talent doesn't work hard. But the combination of talent and hard work will wallop the less talented hard worker in every case for comparable effort levels. Heck, the combination of talent and middling effort often dominates. This is true in every arena; not just academics.

I shudder to imagine the parenting practices associated with this "anyone can be gifted" trope. Wait...no imagining necessary- Amy Chua painted that picture clearly.

Western nations' collective inferiority complex needs correcting. No, not everyone is equal in every way, and enforced sameness doesn't equate to "fair" or "desirable" outcomes for the individual or society. It's abusive to force-fit children into a path of academic achievement beyond their capabilities, just as it's abusive to deny a child the right to exercise his/her advanced cognitive ability because others can't do the same.

And, to Val's point, this article is riddled with sloppy thinking. Case in point--"Most Nobel laureates were unexceptional in childhood." Is this a cultural/observational artifact, or fact? If the literature on giftedness is to be believed, parent observations of milestones would likely disagree, even in the absence of eye-popping external achievement.

Most authors who touch on giftedness seem to lack an appreciation for the latency of thought. To develop a truly radical idea requires observation, thought, and inquiry. These activities aren't necessarily outwardly manifested at the time they are initiated, but they are integral to later outward "achievement". It's a lack of respect for--and understanding of--the creative process that is revealed in this article.

But authentic creativity and profound thought aren't what the author is going for. She wants a badge, a box that can be checked, some outward sign of a person being "truly valuable". So if little Johnny or Suzy can out-score X% of classmates, that's the "same" as Zack or Mia's internal contemplation of the space-time continuum or the metaphysics of the soul. Contribution of original thought to humanity be damned! This is an exercise in ego appeasement.

In brief: YUCK!

I'm imagining an anthropomorphized pile of oozing grits rearing up on its hind legs to accept an award.

Thanks Jon. Your comment catalyzed that picture.

I've even used the combination of talent, less than middling effort, and periodic active self-sabotage to obtain positive outcomes.

So that works, too.

Apparently the principal of my children's last school sent this article to all parents. The school has the reputation of being the better school in the area for gifted kids.

Hang on...are we married??

Maybe you could propose a more appropriate article be circulated and provide a refereed suggestion?

But utterly sublime with bacon!