Crushing Tall PoppiesGiftedness is 24/7 for a Lifetime
Or to put it another way: we need to sever the misleading associative ties between giftedness and educational achievement that are so pervasive and harmful.
Lately, I’ve wondered how far we have come in promoting a true understanding of giftedness since I started writing about giftedness five years ago. Reading recent articles, seeing and replying to comments on my website, and talking to friends, colleagues and acquaintances have all proven to me that the mountain has not moved much if at all.
Recently, I was with a group of ladies with backgrounds in education, psychotherapy and medicine. I brought up (okay, so I was griping, really) some issues I had had with my gifted sons when they were young adults. The responses I received from them, though thoughtful and well-intentioned, proved to me that they did not completely understand the scope of what being gifted means in reality. It was also obvious from their comments that the misleading, but pervasive association of giftedness with education—achievement and performance in school—influenced their responses. This association promotes the notion that giftedness exhibits itself in children and adults only in regard to education.
I’d love to take a machete to the inimical noose tethering giftedness with education and sever it forever.
The tie between giftedness and education is destructive because associating giftedness with school performance, with learning, with education places the meaning of being gifted squarely and completely in the realm of the classroom, not outside of it. This has lead to, in my opinion, the educational neglect of our gifted children, and a total lack of understanding of the issues giftedness brings with it outside of the classroom and on into adulthood, and for a lifetime.
Giftedness should never be defined by educational standards because giftedness is a 24/7, lifetime condition with behaviors and issues that exist way beyond the classroom door. The social and emotional traits which most often come packaged with giftedness at birth can make life quite hard for gifted individuals. Anxiety, depression, overexcitabilities, intense emotions and extraordinary sensitivities, as well as social struggles make the lives of gifted people unbearable at times. And parents trying to raise gifted children can feel frazzled and isolated because who of your friends really want to hear about your daughter, who is obviously extremely intelligent, making you want to pull your hair out or run away from home?
“Having a gifted child is hard? Oh, give me a friggin break!”
But, this misunderstanding of what giftedness is and how the everyday lives of gifted people and their families can be difficult is the basis for my second book which I’m writing now. We need to see the true, everyday lives of gifted children, gifted families and gifted adults. We need to see their reality, their lives led outside of K-12 school hours—at night, on weekends, during summers, in college, in relationships, and in the workplace. Only then will a true understanding of what it is to be gifted will be had.
Without our educational, medical and psychological professionals’ understanding of what giftedness truly is, what it can look like, what the possible behavioral traits are, and the many special needs of gifted people, this population will continue to be educationally, psychologically and medically neglected. This misunderstanding has led to the misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of gifted individuals in school, in the workplace and in mental health practices.
It is widely known that significant numbers of gifted individuals are too often misdiagnosed with behavioral issues, learning disabilities, or psychological and mental health conditions which they really don’t have. Then they are treated or medicated for those conditions unnecessarily.
In his article, “Gifted Children and Adults—Neglected Areas of Practice,” published in Spring 2014 in the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, Dr. James T. Webb, PhD stated, “Dabrowski and others after him have observed that very bright children and adults are particularly prone to experience these overexcitabilities, and as a result, their passion and intensity lead them to be so reactive that their feelings and experiences far exceed what one would typically expect.” Dr. Webb is referring to Polish psychologist and psychiatrist, Kasimierz Dabrowski, who developed the theory of overexcitabilities which refers to the intensity, and extraordinary sensitivity and idealism with which gifted individuals live their lives. 1
Here are a few factors which I believe hinder the understanding of giftedness:
- *The elitism associated with the term gifted.
- *The lack of in-depth, factual information provided to pre-service teachers, current educators, practitioners in the field of psychotherapy, and medical providers.
- *The implementations of gifted programs in schools which promote the perception of superiority.
How can we ever combat this prevalent misunderstanding and promote the reality, the true meaning of what giftedness is?
Please share your ideas, solutions and suggestions in the comments below. And tell us how you have promoted a true understanding of what giftedness is. We need to work together to move that mountain of misunderstanding.
1. Webb, James T., PhD. Gifted Children and Adults—Neglected Areas of Practice National Register of Health Service Psychologists, Spring 2014, retrieved from https://www.nationalregister.org/pub/the-national-register-report-pub/spring-2014-issue/gifted-children-and-adults-neglected-areas-of-practice/
Articles defining giftedness:
What Does Giftedness Look Like in My World? by Paula Prober, a psychotherapist.
What is Gifted? by The Institute for Educational Advancement
What is the Gifted Thing Anyway? by Davidson Institute
Interesting comments. I quote “However, that program would likely perpetuate the perception of elitism and superiority, thus possibly indirectly hurting gifted children”. Seems maybe some of these “gifted” children might have some narcissistic family traits. I was the kid in the back of the class that was forgotten. Highly anxious. I was an avid reader and loved science. Not “gifted” . I went back to college and graduated in the top 2 or 3%. I made the 2nd highest grade on our exit exam. I seriously surprised most of my graduating class as apparently “stupid” not gifted has followed me through life. However, something interesting to note, does it really matter if your nurse in the hospital graduated in the top 2 or 3 % . Does your nurse cleaning up your family member wear a banner on her ugly blueberry colored scrubs with her/his GPA embroidered on them? Yup, I didnt think so. Most of us don’t care and think your “gifted and talented” is a load of crap that demeans and demoralizes other people.
Thanks for you input. Many people wrongly assume that gifted people excel in school and in life, which research has shown is not true. Giftedness is a lifelong trait that affects the way gifted people think, the way they feel, and the way they perceive the world. Unfortunately, giftedness has pervasively been defined through its connection to education and performance in school. Many, many gifted children don’t excel in school, don’t finish in the top of their class, and don’t end up in careers those who don’t understand giftedness expect them to.
It’s this misunderstanding of what giftedness is that causes the most harm to gifted children. Gifted students struggle in school and gifted students drop out of school in surprising numbers. Many gifted students also have learning disabilities. This misunderstanding also prevents teachers and schools from identifying and educating gifted children in different cultures and lower socioeconomic populations because too many believe gifted and talented students come from white, upper middle class families who have the means to push their children.
Because too many people don’t understand that giftedness is a genetic trait, much like artistic, athletic and musical talents, gifted children are constantly faced with envious and hateful rhetoric, much like your statement,”Most of us don’t care and think your ‘gifted and talented’ is load of crap that demeans and demoralizes other people.”
How many of us who were not athletic, artistic or musically talented were demoralized by those who excelled in athletics, art, and music?
The work of so many people like me who try to help others understand giftedness are faced with a mountain of seemingly-insurmountable myths and misperceptions that gifted children excel in school and life, and are arrogant and superior. Once people understand that giftedness is a genetic trait and has little to do with how a student performs in school, then maybe we wouldn’t have the number of gifted people who fail, drop out, hate being gifted, end up in jail, succumb to depression and anxiety, and commit suicide in surprisingly high numbers.
And many gifted students are the ones sitting alone in the back of the class, anxious and unhappy. Don’t confuse giftedness with high achieving–it’s not the same.
It’s so pervasive and consistent I wonder if it’s not just myths and misperceptions, but a carefully crafted lie. Is there some anti-gifted equivalent of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion floating around?
You have a noteworthy point there–a carefully crafted lie seems very probable!
It’s one thing to not care about qualifications as long as someone can do the task well (and may be better off for it – in some parts of the business community MBA stands for ‘maybe best avoided’). But disturbingly a lot of people a lot of the time don’t even seem to care about performance. Or if they do it’s the wrong kind – a theatrical performance that suggests competence rather than the real thing.
I suspect it’s because the mediocre have built the world for themselves. Bureaucracy, work ethic, ‘grit’, ‘paying your dues’, and networking are all like a trade union for the inept. It’s how they protect themselves from the more capable, who if allowed might outshine ten year veterans from their first week on the job. To them, talent and potential are threats to be controlled and ridiculed.
See also Jante Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante.
I’m gifted, and have a story to share about someone completely misunderstanding me. First, here’s a bit of background: I have all of Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities. When there is too much noise, I get overwhelmed and go into panic mode. I normally begin to cry, and become incredibly anxious. This normally results in me repeating myself over and over again, and performing certain behaviors that help me calm down, such as tapping my feet, playing with my hands, scribbling on paper, covering my ears, or hiding.
One day, my younger brother had a Blue and Gold Festival for Cub Scouts. I had already been there once, and had made the whole family leave early because they couldn’t stand me. I feel bad, but I can’t control it very well. I didn’t have good feelings about the 4 hour long event. It wasn’t too bad for the first 30 minutes. Then I started getting overwhelmed by all of the noise. I tried my best to suppress my anxiety, but by the time I’d been there for an hour, I began repeating the same phrases over and over again. It was quite annoying to everyone else, and I do feel bad.
Then, my brother won a jar of Skittles. Everyone cheered for him, and it was so loud! It didn’t help that my heart was pounding, adding to the overall noise. I ran downstairs the bathroom and stayed in a stall, finally getting some relief from the noise. Then, some kids came in and started to make a ruckus with the sinks, and I got up and left.
It had been only 2 hours, and I was absent-mindedly tearing up the plastic tablecloth. I was tapping my feet and began to repeat myself again. There was a little girl sitting at the table behind me (she was maybe 2 or 3 years old), and she asked her mother, “Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Why is that kid so weird?” She asked, pointing at me. Her mother looked over at me and saw me crying.
“That kid is a terrible example! I can’t believe that disgusting behavior! Never act like that! Those parents better be ashamed of themselves! If you acted like that at that age, I’d be so embarrassed!”
I was 11 years old at the time. Of course, I began to cry even more. At the 4 hour mark, I found out that there was going to be a carnival event that would last an hour. I got so stressed out that my mother took me home 30 minutes early. She yelled at me the whole way home (I hadn’t discovered what asynchronous development was yet, so she didn’t understand why I was acting so immature. I don’t hold her anger against her).
That is my story.
-Toby
Toby,
I’m so sorry that this happened to you, but I see you understand that gifted people tend to receive stimuli more intensely. You are not alone with that. Loud talking triggers me terribly, but loud music doesn’t–go figure.
We all have bad things happens to us where we are made to feel ashamed, or embarrassed, or angry; it’s not just unique to gifted people, but gifted people tend to react more strongly from those incidences. Looks like you understand that. I’ve learned that the problem is not with me, but with those who did not understand me and hurt me with their words or actions.
Thank you for sharing your story, Toby. I am really hoping the adults reading this better understand how deeply gifted children can feel.
Take care,
Celi
Toby,
I too have sensitivity to certain noises, and it’s been a source of consternation for me. It’s complicated by the fact that people tend not to believe me, because I’ve been in the Merchant Marine, and the Railroad, which are two very noisy professions.
Interestingly, train whistles, fog horns, anchor chains, and diesel engines don’t phase me in the least. And trust me, you need to experience these things in person before you realize how loud they actually are. The movies and television tone them way down. But certain sounds put me into stun mode.
We had these two dogs when I was in college, and they were little dogs, but their barks had just the right pitch that it actually felt painful. And I would get anxious at the same time. Smoke alarms do the same thing. There are even certain types of music I can’t listen to.
When I was in grade school, there was this guy who could make a loud popping noise with his tongue, and he used to think it was funny to get right next to my ear and do it. It felt like he was poking my eardrum with a pencil. And because most people didn’t have the same sensitivity, it was impossible to make people believe I wasn’t deliberately overreacting.
If people don’t understand, if they think it’s funny to make noise just to get you riled up, ask them how they’d feel if somebody kept getting in their face and shining a flashlight in their eyes. Because that’s what it felt like for me.
As for that little girl and her mother, I’ve noticed that people have gotten more blunt since I was your age. Back then, if I asked my parents why somebody was “so weird”, I’d be told it wasn’t polite to say that. That mother also seems to like drama, judging from the holier-than-thou way she said “Those parents better be ashamed of themselves”.
And she found your crying to be “disgusting”? That’s not even an appropriate word for that situation. “Disgusting” usually refers to things that make us feel physically sick. Her vocabulary leaves much to be desired.
And causing a ruckus in the bathroom would have gotten my classmates and me a stern lecture. What about those kids’ parents? Should they not also be ashamed?
People need to consider their own shortcomings before they so vocally criticize what they preceive to be someone else’s. Albert Einstein’s name is synonymous with genius, and it seems to be a favorite bit of trivia that Dr. Einstein couldn’t cross the street without the police directing traffic around him, but nobody seems to assume other gifted people might have similar quirks.
I’ve been talking with some fellow gifted folks on Tumblr, and though the term ‘gifted’ has never bothered me personally, a few of them HATE IT WITH PASSION LIKE A BURNING SUN. The perceived elitism of the term, as you point out, makes it even HARDER for them to make friends, when they’re already struggling socially with fitting in. Some have even said that if they’re having trouble with things related to their giftedness, they can’t talk to their friends about it, because whenever they’ve told a peer that they’re “gifted,” the peer immediately thinks they’re bragging and will end the friendship. We definitely need a new, less glowingly admiring term.
It would be great to change the term, but whatever the term is, it would still be perceived as elite, as “smarter or better than.”
Unfortunately, it will likely never be changed because it’s used in every educational, medical and psychological textbook, journal and professional publication which talks about “gifted” kids. It’s a psychological, educational and medical label that’s been around for many decades.
Most people circumvent the use of the G-word and say “asynchronous development” or “intellectually intense”–and a few others. Offer those alternatives to them. Maybe if they choose one and use it often, it may stick 🙂
Probably doesn’t help with perceptions of elitism, but this image conveys many things about the gifted experience: https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/2bxts0/sr71_towed_down_a_highway/. 🙂
There’s something odd about that picture though. Part of the right wing looks to be missing but the shadow looks intact.
Thanks for sharing this!
I hate to burst your bubble, but I think that picture was photo-shopped.
Those cars in the background look like late ’70’s or early ’80’s, and back then, the SR-71 was still very classified. I doubt the Air Force would allow it to be moved on a public highway in broad daylight.
Gifted children become gifted adults. Even if they get there without asynchronous development, they’ll still be “different” somehow. (You might not have the “problem,” but other can insist upon making it yours because they don’t know what else to do.) Exceptionality in all it’s glory, y’all.
Yes, indeed —> “they’ll still be “different” somehow”
Yes, I know I sound flippant, but there it is. The “different” part is unavoidable. Healthy or not healthy is the choice.
Not flippant, just the truth. I’ll add happy–happy and healthy.
Thanks for writing a new article. I have enjoyed your previous posts, and am glad to see you are back at it.
No, being gifted doesn’t end with school (and I’m glad your blogging didn’t). I’m certain many would be very happy to imagine that giftedness is a byproduct of ill-designed educational systems, and thus will go away up graduation, as children pass forward to the promised land of College. But maybe it’s not so easy for everybody.
I guess to the extent that the difficulties of the gifted individual are caused by being surrounded by people who are not gifted and do not understand him, when he leaves school, his problems may be solved to the extent that his new peers are gifted and do understand him. In some cases, this may happen at college. I had the good fortune to go to a college substantially peopled by gifted individuals, and that was wonderful for me.
However, life after college may involve a return to the challenge of a non-gifted environment. Few people are so fortunate as to find a workplace with predominantly gifted people, and most workplaces are not free of people who will resent an individual for being intelligent. Such people will usually have gotten where they are through excellent social skills, so that can be a pitfall, especially if the gifted individual has some deficits or idiosyncrasies.
Wouldn’t it be nice to think that one’s struggles as a gifted child were ended when one ceased to be a child? But even as some of us find excellent situations as adults, we see our struggles reflected (through a funhouse mirror) in our children.
One of the things I’ve learned recently about having a gifted child is that other parents seem more anxious about the intelligence of their children than they once were. Talking about a son who loves math is as dangerous as talking about a baby who sleeps through the night.
Hi G,
Thank you for your encouraging words! Also, thanks so much for your insights about being a gifted adult in college, out of college and in the workplace. It emphasizes that indeed, giftedness is 24/7 for a lifetime and the struggles can continue, unfortunately.
I really appreciate you leaving your thoughts here–made my day! ~~Celi
Thanks for a great article Celi. I have been working away in New Zealand to raise awareness of the gifted population in mental health and child development services. Clinicians are keen to understand, but do you think I can find funding or motivation from those who hold the purse strings to hold PD days or consult in individual cases? So frustrating – again families are stuck providing the funding. In the meantime, we can only keep sharing the information relevant to medical and allied health professionals and hope to get the reach to insert gifted traits as options considered in diagnostic processes.
Families here in America also foot the bill for having a gifted child–accelerating their child’s education, for private mental health services and homeschooling when necessary. It’s often a bigger expense raising gifted kids, but school systems rarely provide the needed money for anything to help gifted children or to promote understanding of gifted children.
Thank you, Karen, for all your advocacy and continuing to try to move that mountain!
I agree that teachers need to learn how to differentiate their classes strongly to allow the gifted students in the classroom to move at their own pace. I did this while I taught for ten years and I know that I was able to challenge those students. I differentiated even in math and allowed a group of 5-7 kids to move at their own pace through lessons (which was already a pre set program). They took the quizzes and tests when they were ready. They always received 100’s. I am certified as a math teacher for much higher grades than I taught so I was fully capable and did use resources to pull that group to a back table and teach a five minute advanced lesson. I made sure I did this with all of my math groups to check in with the main class lesson of the day. Some groups needed reinforcement or remediation. I made these check in groups homogenous. They all received different homework assignments. I usually had 4 groups. I felt as if the gifted students in my class found it a breath of fresh air that they were actually learning something new and different in math. It made math class sometimes feel a little crazy having to manage kids moving at their own pace, but I created a template to keep track of their work in a binder that had each kids name set up individually. It worked. I also had them create long term projects that were business related.
Now I’m a stay at home mom with my own children and I’m beginning to realize that my oldest is going to need me to advocate for him to make sure he’s challenged each year. However, I am relieved to say there is a gifted program in the district we live in and he already was identified and pulled with a math specialist in kindergarten.
Thank you, Jessie, for being one of those very special teachers who put in the time to differentiate for all students, not just the gifted. As a former teacher, I know that is not easy, takes an abundance of planning, a whole lot of energy, and can get out of control at times. You are one of those special teachers, and the gifted kids in your class were extremely lucky!
It’s so great to hear about schools that educate our gifted children appropriately and exceptionally–already being accelerated in Kindergarten is exceptional!
All the best with your oldest–you are way ahead of the game with your experience with gifted students. I hope it all goes well for you and your child!
We are superior that’s kind of the point though. I mean if we weren’t we wouldn’t be gifted. It’s where the discrimination comes from the belittling the everybody is gifted nonsense all of it. We should be treasured treated better given help to evolve be revered even but we are not the opposite happens. I am still coping with what they did to me as a child and what they lied about even now at 50!
It’s true that gifted individuals are not given the respect, treatment and understanding any person deserves for many reasons–giftedness is immensely misunderstood. I’m sorry your earlier life was so traumatic and sadly, many gifted adults had such hurtful childhoods because of being gifted.
No, we are not superior people. Gifted people can be turds too. We should not be revered, that is absolutely ludicrous. We should be invested in, however that is true for all people. Your perspective is precisely why people hate us.
Concur.
I am sitting during a break and having my lunch at a SENG mini conference. Reading your post only reinforces why I am here – your words reach the depths of my heart. My students leave my school every day and do not leave their giftedness at the door. They take it home in the evenings, weekends, and for the long summer break where parents are challenged, frustrated, and confused by their gifted children. These families need love, support, and understanding by extended family, medical professionals, educators, and friends. Yes, gifted is 24/7. We need to do so much more. This is an excellent and thoughtful post.
Debra, I really appreciate your kind words, more than you would know.
I did get some negative push back from another educator about this article in regard to gifted education, but living with my own gifted kids, I know too well the misunderstood issues that have nothing to do with school. You inspire me and give me hope that there are caring educators who truly do understand our kids–THANK YOU for being one of them! <3
Enjoy your SENG conference--they are a wonderful and compassionate organization!
This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. For me, personally, the way forward is to think of giftedness as a neurological difference – much like Autism, or ADHD.
There was a recent study in NZ on the stress experienced by parents of gifted kids. Their profile of stress actually matched those of parents of disabled kids (even after controlling for 2e kids).
This makes sense once you understand the social model of disability: that it is the social environment and expectations that are disabling, not the physical and cognitive differences. The stress of parents and gifted children are in many ways a confirmation of that model.
I think one path out of this dilemma for the gifted is to have a look at how advocates for change in the disabled community are shifting the way we think about people’s capacities. One where we acknowledge the difference in each child and have the structures to give them the supports they need to thrive.
Kathleen,
Excellent idea–look at how the advocates for the disabled shifted the way we think about people’s capacities!
No doubt parenting gifted children and being gifted are stressful–just look on most major gifted organizations’ websites for their list of gifted-friendly therapists and mental health professionals. Therapy and mental health support are common, everyday occurrences in gifted families, unfortunately. A better understanding would go a long way!
Thanks for your suggestion!
It’s true, gifted are non-neurotypical (NNT). Connective white matter is reduced to make room for processing gray matter in the brain. (The more with greater intelligence.) It can be seen on a CT scan.
Great article. There is so much misunderstanding about giftedness. Thanks again for sharing your wise thoughts about this topic.
Thanks so much! And again, thank you for all that you do for gifted individuals!
It might be better to say sever the tie between giftedness and grades. I know you mean educational achievement but it sometimes doesn’t come off like that. While I know giftedness is far more than education, if we could just get gifted education right that would propbably solve the majority of gifted people’s problems and set them up for a much better life outside and long after school.
I had the idea of a possible rebranding of giftedness to deal with the perception problem – instead of children having been given a gift, they are the gift. It’s not unreasonable when you consider what they could do for a society that looked after them. It would also allow you to subtly accuse those who would neglect the gifted of ingratitude (and possibly sabotage). 🙂
No, I really mean education. I feel misunderstanding of what giftedness is caused by giftedness being mostly a function of education. Just like autism or anxiety or being left-handed or or being musically talented isn’t defined in the realm of education–it’s something one was born with and will have for a lifetime. The association of giftedness with education causes the confusion of what giftedness really is.
Gifted children and all children need to be educated, and educational systems need to attend to the whole child and meet his needs wherever he is and with whatever tools help him or her to learn best. And education totally neglects the unique social and emotional needs of gifted children.
I really feel that the strong association of gifted children with education hinders the understanding of what giftedness means in the life of a gifted individual. Gifted children are much, much more than their educational performance, and gifted adults, who are likely out of school, need to be understood, also.
In my perfect world, every child would be allowed to progress educationally at his or her own pace with teachers as facilitators. This would reduce the need for many special education programs, for remediation, for children being held back, and it would prevent children from losing their self-esteem because they are not making the same high scores as their peers who are not challenged and find school easy, and vice versa–it would prevent gifted children from being bored, learning to hate school and falling into underachievement.
I really do feel that we’d have a better understanding of giftedness if it wasn’t defined and associated within education. But that is just my opinion.
Okay I see what you mean and I agree. I was worried I wasn’t explaining myself right but needed to go do something else so pressed ‘send’. When I think of gifted education I see it dealing with the social, psychological and other needs of gifted children, including preparing them for life surrounded by people unlike themselves, not just academics. In my mind while giftedness isn’t a function of education, that kind of full-spectrum education and development is one of the longest levers you could use to help gifted children. Sort of like the public health research that shows if you put an end to childhood malnutrition it fixes a bunch of other seemingly unrelated problems.
But that was just an assumption as I never had any experience with gifted education myself. I always thought a good gifted programme would fix pretty much everything and you’d just be set for life. Now I’m wondering if that’s the case. If children went through the best gifted programme imaginable (and thus were also away from the damage conventional education does), what else do you think they may need beyond that?
The best gifted program imaginable would help gifted children on their educational journey immensely! However, that program would likely perpetuate the perception of elitism and superiority, thus possibly indirectly hurting gifted children–they are already predisposed to envy, bullying and shunning. Yet, if it were offered to my child, I would jump at the chance for him to have an appropriate education.
My point is gifted children and adults have quirks, overexcitabilities, social and emotional issues that need to be understood, but as long as there are gifted programs that present gifted children as superior or special, those psychological needs will be scoffed at and the misunderstanding of what giftedness really is will continue.
If you look at the organization, SENG–Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted, you’ll see that their mission is to support the whole child, not just that child’s educational journey. Also, check out the comments on the Crushing Tall Poppies Facebook page for this post–moms discussing their young child’s sensory issues with socks and others. Those issues need to be recognized, not just the educational needs.
This is just my opinion and I am in no way claiming it is the right way or the only way. It’s completely anecdotal.
Thanks for your insights and sharing your thoughts. I very much appreciate your input!!
Thank you Celia for this post and your work. It IS important to define a new term, but if it is unrelated to education there are risks of trapping kids into false labels as they develop a “social” identity.
So much depends on environment, inside and outside the family. I subscribe to the idea that all identity is social and relative.
What exactly is gifted then? It’s a good conversation to continue. I see the label “Mensa” out on LinkedIn these days, and have seen “Mensa” certificates on co-workers’ office walls. Members are really proud. It isn’t educational achievement at heart, so…why is it they can boast about it? Who are these Mensa people?
What are we talking about actually? If giftedness is not something you can brag about socially, such as joining Mensa, it is perhaps an inherently pejorative term now. I hope you all can help continue the conversation and steer it in the right direction.
*I don’t completely agree with Kathleen’s suggestion to profile as a medical condition, given lack of standardization; however, I came back online here today because an article came my way. It’s related to what Kathleen commented on previously and recent, from 2 weeks ago.
https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-temple-grandin/
I was studying special education for a few years. Teachers still had really negative ideas about the children they can’t relate to our “help.” Thanks for what you do.
Hi Nicolette,
Thank you so much for sharing your insights into giftedness–it really is a complex condition and issue.
Sigh! I can’t agree more with your sentiment and frustration. I’ve been advocating for my now 14 year son since birth. I find that people tend to focus more on diagnoses and labels rather than the person as a whole. Even within the academic setting, “gifted” is still not understood by most educators let alone lay people. Yes, these gifted people have lives that extend way beyond the academic setting! Unfortunately, it seems that outside of academics the gifted can be misunderstood as “weird” and unapproachable.
How can we stop this misunderstanding?
I just take it a day at a time and each person at a time.
I provide education and insight to everyone in contact with my son. I never assume they “get it” even if they work in SPED.
Thank you for your thoughts and concern!
Kelly,
Good advice–take it one day at time and never assume they “get it” even when you feel they should!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for including my article here, Celi. I’m with you!
I LOVED your article, Paula! It was right on point and well-written! <3