Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion USA Today: Boy with 176 IQ is 1 in a million

Irish Eyes-

No, I wasn't pointing a finger at you! I think it is of general interest, but I wanted to try to "set the tone" if you will. We all need to make decisions on how and when to allow media exposure. (or whether to allow it at all) Those who know me well understand that my pet peeve has to be sweeping generalizations. It's cries of "this is THE best math program for gifted kids" or "homeschooling is the only way to educate a PG child" or "all media attention is bad" that bother me. Every child and every family will have different views, and though we can say that something has worked well for many, it doesn't mean it is the ONLY solution that is viable.

Just my two cents.

lol! too true!

Lorel -- very good point. I think one could say that the *author* is clearly uninformed; what she focuses on (the kid is counting to 1 million) reinforces the view of the masses -- that PG kids are little encyclopedias rather than thinking, feeling *people*.

If you gave me a chance to write an article highlighting a PG kid, you can bet I'd write something very, very different.

Hmm.

The thing I personally take away--and this is not any sort of judgement for or against this article, just my own personal thoughts whenever I read articles about GT kids--is that I will definitely think long and hard before allowing any sort of publicity about my child, were the opportunity to present itself.

Media coverage is not always in your control, and you ARE dealing with a child. Regardless of whether this particular family is thrilled by the media coverage or troubled or anything in between (or beyond), conversations like this always remind me that people who view the media coverage are going to feel like they have to right to comment about your child, your parenting, your lives. You are effectively inviting that, whether you want to or not. I think it pays to be think about that before you decide to allow publicity, even if you do choose to allow it.

Thinking about the ramifications of our actions is never a bad thing, I don't think.

FWIW...

The times I've been involved with the media has shown them to get the story wrong. Only once when the writer sent me the copy and I commented on it, did they get things right. Many editors and news directors are unscrupulous and will exploit any angle to get more audience or to raise ratings. Most editors and many writers are also excessively partisan in some fashion and its like being around an addict. I wrote extensively in HS and College for local news providers and just decided to walk away from it as I felt the news business had as much injustice in it as anything they could write about. And don't get me started about the stalkers who read blogs and newspapers and send you all kinds of weird things.

So, I refuse to deal with the press and counsel others to do the same.

Edit - I thought "Dirt" show on cable last fall was a pretty good synopsis of the whole business.

It just brings back the truth about the general perception of our kids. Most days I can just happily sit in my happy bubble. Then you read these comments and the world of ognorance just comes crashing back in.

It just shows you how unknowledgeable people are about gifted children. It truly amazes me at how defensive people can get about themselves and their own children. People were even defensive reading the article and were trying to put the kid down to make themselves feel better. To an extent, I understand the psychology as to why people do that, but I still just don't get it. People just can't think outside of themselves for a second.

Well, as a journalist and media relations pro I just had to read the story to see what all the commotion is about. Looks like the news angle was the boy's IQ. I don't see anything wrong with the way it was written.
Now as a mom, my instinct is to protect my child and I would not have exposed him to public scrutiny. No doubt the parents are very proud of him and there may be cultural issues at play (I don't know). The story is not exploitative, it just reflects the opinions of his parents and his teacher and is filtered through the reporter who I'm guessing is not an expert on gifted issues.

I guess I should have stated that my above comments were regarding other peoples comments to the article from the link. I don't think there was anything wrong with the article in itself at all. I could definitely see ways of improving it, but I am not a writer.