Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Why is "gifted" negative?

There are so many issues within this community that are so much more important. How do people find the time to worry about such pettiness?

I don't agree with the argument " All children are gifted". Yes, everyone has their own strengths which can be developed but this has nothing to do with being gifted. I like how this writer (teacher) puts everything into perspective.
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/unwrapping_the_gifted/2008/11/this_years_kid_not_next_years.html

"It's the gifted kid who ends up feeling badly about himself because he�s treading water with no goal in sight, because he's constantly encountering roadblocks in his learning, because no one recognizes what he can really do, and because he's not learning to his capacity"

I love this article S-T. I was told my DS6 wants to jump ahead (yeah why is this negative!). We were told he had to follow the group and he can do multipication and division at home. Yeah at home after 5:00!! I just gave up. Next year I need to learn HOW to advocate for my child.

LOL Masterofnone at your reason: more whining.

I do understand what you are saying. I however would never say "I am gifted to have enough to eat" or "I am gifted to have such wonderful kids." I wonder if it's a regional thing to use gifted in that way? I'm southern and never heard it used in that way. I was in fact not familiar with the term gifted in any way until I had kids. I would say "I am fortunate/lucky/blessed to have..."

I will vote for BRILLIANT!!!

I'm midwestern and I've never heard it used that way either. <shrug>

<joking alert>
Rather than changing the official term, perhaps you all should stop using a precise term so inappropriately. (Said with a big, friendly smile, in the spirit of your very nice post, MON)

But seriously, I do get what you're saying, MON. I just think Shari is right that if we change this term, the next one will be equally disputed. Saying kids are smarter-than-the-average-bear--in whatever words you choose!--is frowned upon in our anti-intellectual society. No term is going to be okay. Any term used to ID GT kids will be seen as elitist. I guarantee it.

Aren't all kids talented, too? Can't some kids excel without being gifted? And really, that's imprecise, since some gifted kids aren't so much talented or excelling as they are kids with untapped potential...

It's why I just shrug and move on. It's a red herring issue. We can't win. Call GT kids whatever you want. Changing the name won't change a thing, so we might as well stick with what we've got and press on with trying to get something done for them.

IMHO...

I have an issue with the term gifted for two reasons:

1. How do I describe my "non-gifted" child when discussing both children, especially in front of either or both of them? And how does it make HER feel if I say she's the non-gifted, normal, or less smart one?

2. Also, what happens when my gifted child fails at something? **Oh, he's human. But he's a gifted human! He should be brilliant at everything. Things should come easy. Failure is not an option.** Now granted, we know that gifted children ARE indeed human, and they will fail. They will be better at certain things and horrible at others. But the term gifted tells the general population that this child or person is smart and great at EVERYTHING, which isn't the case. When a child is labeled as gifted, with the general populations' opinion on what the term gifted means, when he/she fails or doesn't do well, the child's reaction to his/her own self will be greater than a "normal" child who fails (depression, low self-esteem, etc). To me the term gifted suggests that the child is not normal. And while the gifted child's abilities are more advanced than the average child, the child is not abnormal in the sense that there is something wrong with him/her. I'm not sure how to get my point across on that one (I'm overly wordy, I know).

With that said, however, I do have many more important things to focus on than the word gifted, like making sure my child understands his abilities, is in a learning environment that supports them, and also understands that while it's really great that his brain is capable of so much, and he should continue to feed it, he is no more important in our household than his "ungifted" sister.

My 2 yr old is young for me to have thought about how he will feel if I call his DS "gifted". Very interesting comment. Ok my DS2 is young but so far I am not seeing any red flags for "gifted". So I will have to be careful what words I use when describing DS6.

Thankfully having one of each, a boy and a girl, makes it MUCH easier to use words like smartest, favorite, etc... DD may not be "gifted", but she is my smartest daughter. She is my favorite little girl in the whole world, etc...

LOL well I am in trouble then w/2 boys!