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It would be nice if all of these talents could be somehow noticed and encouraged. It could make a huge difference in their lives.
Absolutely...all kids, of any ability level, benefit from as individualized attention and instruction as possible.
Unfortunately, most schools are not properly equipped or funded to provide this kind of attention and instruction to meet kids' needs in such an individualized, tailored manner. I work for a private school that is.
Honestly, I think my "non-gifted" hardworking, responsible daughter is going to be far more successful overall than my "gifted" child. The gifted label is narrowly applied to focus on academic ability. Her God given gifts are, in my opinion, far more valuable, even if she does not come near the 95%ile cutoff on the standardized tests they use to judge the kids.
Every time this thread pops up you have numerous people all claiming to have gifted children, same with a thread about IQ. Last thread I saw on the topic of IQ there were about 3 people that claimed to have IQs over 130, two over 140, and two 160 or over! Gimme a break, such bs.
I personally don't even know why anyone would want to take an IQ test. What's the point?
If I took an IQ test (which I never have, because whoop-dee-do!) and I scored a high number, I would never tell anyone. Why would you? Just to say, "My IQ is higher than yours! Na-na-na-na-na!" or "This is how smart I am!!"
Well it's just as distasteful to brag about one's children in that manner. And I personally think it's unfair to label children with those sorts of expectations in life. I think most of the time it has more to do with the parent than the child, frankly.
According to a Parenting.com poll, nearly 70% of more than 1,000 mothers claim their child is gifted (only 2% to 5% of kids actually deserve the label, the accompanying article notes).
Strange... most of the gifted people I know turn out to be regular people working regular jobs later in life.... and even stranger, some of the most gifted adults turn out to be regular schoolkids earlier in life... it isn't about how well you "do" at a test, its actually how well you understand and love the subject matter that you are working on.. if everyone was to do the one thing they love the most, then you will realize that the "gifted" student is everybody... I think people 'over-hype' the "gifted" student scenario... spending more money so that they can "feel" better about themselves doesn't help the country much... and neither should our money be used to do so...
I had the good fortune to observe a 'gifted child' when the child was a toddler. His mother and her brother belonged to 'Mensa'. The most interesting thing in watching this family was that the child was not pushed to do or be anything except the baby he was. Yet at ten months he was doing things a 2 year old could do. His manual dexterity and problem solving was astounding. by the time he was three he read, and by the time he was five he read the newspaper to grandma. She laughed and said her kids did it too. Gifted was simply not unusual in her family and it was not treated as special or unsual. The only difference was her kids were in accelerated classes because regular classes bored them. They did very well in the advanced classes; it is where they wanted to learn. They both graduated at age 16 and went to college.
On the other hand I've seen parents who said their child was gifted. The parents were college educated and had enough money they could give their kids the world. Between gymnastics, dance class and school, these kids were too busy and too tired to just be kids. I felt sorry for them.
I think there is a big wide line that separates naturally gifted children, and parents who think they have gifted kids because their kids do well academically or they are physically adept at sports.
It is both a joy and a challenge to watch kids learn.
You know, you say that and yet you keep coming back to this thread. If you don't want to hear about it, go away already. It's not that hard.
Dear Drover,
What happened to smart? Why can't kids simply be smart anymore? Why the gifted label? I mean, why settle for 'gifted'? Maybe you could call them 'special' or 'superior' instead?
When you classify your child as 'gifted', what does that say about other children? Does it mean they are a bunch of Deltas and Epsilons? The future working class meant to serve the Gifted Ones?
And how did you come to determine that your child is Gifted? Is there a special test that kids take that rates them as gifted?
And if there is a special test, how does it rate the other children -- the ones who don't quite make the grade?
And if there is no formal test, is it just the parent who decides their kid is special? (Whoops! I mean, gifted!) Or is their some kind of neighborhood consensus? I mean, do other people think your child is gifted?
I'm not trying to knock anyone here. Just curious. I hope you don't mind explaining things to me. After all, I only got C's in school. And I was never very good at math. I had to take Calculus a few times just to pass.
What happened to smart? Why can't kids simply be smart anymore? Why the gifted label? I mean, why settle for 'gifted'? Maybe you could call them 'special' or 'superior' instead?
When you classify your child as 'gifted', what does that say about other children? Does it mean they are a bunch of Deltas and Epsilons? The future working class meant to serve the Gifted Ones?
And how did you come to determine that your child is Gifted? Is there a special test that kids take that rates them as gifted?
And if there is a special test, how does it rate the other children -- the ones who don't quite make the grade?
And if there is no formal test, is it just the parent who decides their kid is special? (Whoops! I mean, gifted!) Or is their some kind of neighborhood consensus? I mean, do other people think your child is gifted?
I'm not trying to knock anyone here. Just curious. I hope you don't mind explaining things to me. After all, I only got C's in school. And I was never very good at math. I had to take Calculus a few times just to pass.
I guess you could say, I'm an Epsilon....
Woofers
Seriously, if it bothers you that much, GO THE HELL AWAY ALREADY so that those of us who are interested in the actual subject can discuss the actual subject without pointless semantics and "we're all special in our own way" arguments. You've made your point. We get it. Your objection is noted. Thank you. Now, your argument is still so important to you that you just can't let it go, then start your own thread on the topic so that those of us who aren't interested don't have to listen to you complain endlessly about it even after your point was made long ago.
I'm so tired of hearing people talk about their gifted children. I don't want to hear about it.
All children are special. Let's hope the parents are gifted enough to guide each child to his/her full potential.
Woof, I'm sorry you're tired of hearing it -- of course, you could choose not to click on this thread -- and of course all children are special.
However, "all children are special" does not mean "all children are gifted" any more than it means "all children are tall" or "all children are Irish" or "all children are lactose-intolerant." Gifted children have needs that, for the most part, are really not being accommodated in the current educational system we now have.
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