Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What Should Everyone Know about Gifted Education?

That is so depressing. There is no such thing as a gifted school or even a gifted class here. When they switch to intermediate school at 11 or so there is an extension class but it is not really aimed at gifted more high achievers and it is really a bit late. By here I don't mean just locally I mean in the entire country.

I think there is a greater understanding that gifted comes in a wide variety of levels and differentiated talent but there is little implementation strategy.

A framework to really define gifted and any child's strengths and weaknesses to create an optimized learning plan would be ideal. Having money for that is probably not in anyone's budget. But with all the Internet based learning systems, so many tests that allow some identification, it would be great if frameworks could be developed so that parents could create what works for their child. But I think it will be the parent's responsibility for the next decade.

I do not have a problem with that. It seems that the current generation of parents is really big on farming out parental responsibility. Which is why Madeline Levine sells so many books.

Gifted students, by and large, do NOT respond well to "Tiger" parenting/teaching methods.


They are likely to become either:

a) damaged emotionally as the stimulus increases in intensity (because the subject hasn't yet responded "appropriately" with increased performance or compliance),

b) profoundly oppositional.



Treating cheetahs like border collies is BAD, bad news. It's probably not really good for either group (because only the most extraordinary of the border collies can run anything like a cheetah), but it's completely toxic to the former.

They can't respond the way that they are "supposed" to, anymore than an autistic child can respond "normally" to an undifferentiated setting.

I found this to be so true with ds11. Though ds24 was also gifted, and didn't mind doing worksheets and extra things on the side, ds11 wanted no part of any of that nonsense. He will work for hours on something he enjoys (writing, building, chemistry, minecraft) but he absolutely shuts down if I increase the demand with things he doesn't like so much like busywork.

Yep. Although actually my older tested son can be worked with ds4 becomes extremely unco-operative the minute he suspects you are trying to teach him. He will learn things in his own way in his own time thank you very much. His own way seems to be to refuse to try then suddenly be able to do it.

I'd almost prefer DD would be defiant or uncooperative. Her main tactic these days is to get it done as fast as she can so she can move onto her preferred activity but she sure lets it be known that work asked of her was beneath her. I think she is becoming that child that grates on teachers' nerves.

This quiz by Carol Bainbridge quickly and successfully identifies gifted myths, and provides great summary answers... all in a fun format: How well do you know gifted kids?

Update on this - the extension class will cease to exist at the end of this year. NONE of the gifted kids I know got into it.

For months, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has been airing a TV commercial which asserts:
This assertion is incorrect.
Claiming that talent is equally distributed invalidates "gifted" persons; it denies the existence of individuals with an abundance (overabundance?) of native talent. Setting educational policy and taking actions based on the false premise of equal distribution of talent is damaging to "gifted" persons whose academic needs are different from the majority.

Given that "gifted" persons are more at risk for dropping out, and given that SNHU may be considered a second chance at an education for non-traditional students, it appears:
1- ...likely that SNHU's belief about equal distribution of talent may further under-serve marginalized "gifted" persons in their school(s),
2- ...unfortunate that SNHU's assertion of their belief about equal distribution of talent as fact may have negative impacts to other "gifted" persons, to the extent that the general population buys into SNHU's statement heard repeatedly on TV,
3- ...reasonable that taking a different approach (an acknowledgement and affirmation of varying degrees of "talent") may help a larger number of marginalized "gifted" persons resume and complete their studies.

Unfortunately, the link in the quoted post above /\ is no longer active, and does not appear to have been archived on the WayBackMachine, Internet Archive.

Several articles by Carol Bainbridge are now found on Very Well Family, including this myth-busting article about "fixing" gifted kids, which describes that many normal "gifted" behaviors are unfortunately treated as pathology:
Pathologizing Normal Gifted Behavior