Parents Can Identify Giftedness in their Children

At HCOS, we don't always test to see just how gifted a child is, and rely a lot on anecdotal evidence from parents and teachers. (We are freed from having to test because we don't have funding attached to testing. That's a positive spin on the fact that at present we don't get direct funding for our gifted students).

I was heartened, therefore, when I recently read the following, by the esteemed Linda Silverman,

via the Gifted Development Centre, who does a lot of testing and research. Linda points out the following:

"Parents are excellent identifiers of giftedness in their children: 84% of the children whose parents say that they fit ¾ of the following characteristics score at least 120 IQ (the superior range). Over 95% show giftedness in at least one area, but are asynchronous in their development, and their weaknesses depress their IQ scores."

• Reasons well (good thinker)
• Learns rapidly
• Has extensive vocabulary
• Has an excellent memory
• Has a long attention span (if interested)
• Sensitive (feelings hurt easily)
• Shows compassion
• Perfectionistic
• Intense
• Morally sensitive
• Has strong curiosity
• Perseverant in their interests
• Has high degree of energy
• Prefers older companions or adults
• Has a wide range of interests
• Has a great sense of humor
• Early or avid reader (if too young to read, loves being read to)
• Concerned with justice, fairness
• Judgment mature for age at times
• Is a keen observer
• Has a vivid imagination
• Is highly creative
• Tends to question authority
• Has facility with numbers
• Good at jigsaw puzzles

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What_is_Gifted/characgt.htm

So there you go. It helps to answer the "Is my child gifted?" question. Now I can reply with authority..."Well, you tell me!"

Ceilidh Briscoe: Musicians for Japan

Encounters With Canada by Abbie Benett

Abbie, one of the gifted students with Learning Services at HCOS, took an opportunity to travel with Encounters with Canada to Ottawa last spring. She has kindly shared with us this reflection on her experience. Thanks Abbie! - Carmen

Encounters With Canada

International Affairs: March 20-26

Encounters with Canada is an organization with a mission to expose Canadian Teenagers to different careers, cultures, and at the same time give them a whole new perspective on Canada’s capital; Ottawa. There are many different themes, ranging from Medicine, to Law. The week I went was focused on International Affairs. We had an ambassador come to speak from Latvia, the chance to learn African Dancing, and we raised $800 for war orphans in Africa. Outside of this, there were many different workshops and tours to go on. We were able to visit some of Ottawa’s most renowned museums, and toured the city’s landmarks by bus. In addition to the museums we were also able to visit Parliament, and watch the House of Commons in action, visit the Library, and take a look at the Senate. It was amazing to be able to see a part of Canada’s history that I’ve never been able to before.

This was certainly a week I will always remember. I came back home with a better understanding of the Canadian government, a new perspective on International Affairs, and much better French. Considering all the workshops were bilingual, or only in French, we had to learn quite a bit of Canada’s other language which was quite a challenge. The best part of Encounters would have to be the friends we made. On the last day, there wasn’t a dry eye – Everyone was crying even the guys. As we headed off to the airport to return home, numbers and emails were exchanged frantically between people. I still have two really good friends from Encounters that even now, I’m in contact with, but I’d have never even met If not for EWC.

Thanks!

Abbie Benett

Ever Think Your Own Giftedness is Frustrating Your Gifted Child?

The question in the above blog title grabbed me, as most of my job is working, supporting the parents of gifted children. I'm not going to comment it, except to encourage you to think about it. The link to the blog from GiftedUniverse is below if you want to read the whole article.

"If you have a gifted child, it is most likely that either you or your child’s other parent are gifted yourselves. Probably both of you. And if you are gifted than the traits and qualities associated with YOUR giftedness also affect your gifted child. YOUR high energy level. YOUR emotional sensitivity. YOUR difficulty in finding a peer whether as a child or now. YOUR intensity. Yet if you read much of what is written about parenting a gifted child, it assumes the relationship is unidirectional: gifted child and their impact on the parent(s) rather than a reciprocal relationship...." by ELISA on NOVEMBER 12, 2009,

HTTP://GIFTEDUNIVERSE.COM/PARENTS-GIFTED-CHILDREN/EVER-THINK-YOUR-OWN-GIFTEDNESS-IS-FRUSTRATING-YOUR-GIFTED-CHILD/

20 Tips for Nurturing Gifted Children by Bertie Kingore

I came across this article on-line and thought it had some good ideas. Bertie's website is: http://www.bertiekingore.com/index.htm

Kingore, B. (2008). 20 Tips for nurturing gifted children. GIFTED EDUCATION COMMUNICATOR. California Association for the Gifted, Summer, 2008.

1. Appreciate gifted learners as children. Just as all children do, they need love, friendship, reasonable standards of behavior, responsibility, time management skills, free time, and creative pursuits. They need your involvement in their development of independence. Appreciate them for who they are rather than who they may become.

2. Interact with families with gifted children. Gifted children seek interest-mates and intellectual-peers as well as age peers. You may also find solace interacting with another parent who lives with and loves a gifted child.

3. Recognize how the personal and instructional needs of a gifted child differ from others. Gifted students require intellectual peers who understand more abstract ideas and get their jokes. They learn best when instruction is at a pace and level that respond to their accelerated readiness to learn.

4. Appreciate the differences among high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers. Skim the accompanying chart that compares high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers, and ponder which column or combinations of columns best fits your child. Consider discussing the chart with your children to elicit their perceptions.

5. Understand the developmental crises for gifted students. Linda Silverman cautions that gifted students experience uneven development, underachievement often related to a lack of curriculum challenge, conflict between achievement and popularity, and difficulty selecting a career due to multipotentiality. Access her web site for further information.

6. Assure your child that being different is okay. Gifted children can feel disconnected from age peers who interpret so differently. Help them appreciate individual differences in others and themselves. Provide a place where it is safe for children to be themselves.

7. Be an encourager. A parent uniquely understands the whole child as you view your child in multiple scenarios over an extended period of time. As an encourager, validate your child’s worth and goals as you encourage passions for learning.

8. Emphasize that what is learned is more important than any grade. Interact enthusiastically as your child shares school work with you. Rather than focus upon the grade, prompt your child’s response with: Tell me about what you learned doing this? Draw a star by something you did well or liked doing.

9. Be an active listener and elicit children’s perceptions. Strive to understand their messages and feelings rather than too quickly respond to their words. Insure that children know you respect them and are genuinely interested in their information. Power struggles can be deferred with a request for their view instead of a barrage of our answers. What do you think we can do about this? How do you feel about it? Why do you think that happened?

10. Follow their interests and leads in learning situations rather than pressure them with your agenda. Our goals may not be their goals. Consult them on issues affecting them whenever you believe they understand the consequences.

11. Talk up to them. Advanced vocabularies lead to higher comprehension and achievement.

12. Enjoy music, plays, museums, art, sports, and historical places together and discuss the experience. These shared cultural experiences give family members warm memories to talk about over the years.

13. Model life-long learning habits. Talk about current events and volunteer with your child to help others. Our actions may model more than our words.

14. Facilitate real-life reading, writing, science, and math experiences. Get library cards and go to the library together. Enjoy browsing. Help children find good books and materials in the areas in which they express interest. Start at an early age to shop together with a list and a budget, write thank you notes and invitations, and plan the area and plants for a garden. One gifted sixth grader expressed sincere appreciation for geometry skills after working with his father to plot a patio space and cover.

15. Give books and learning games as presents, and then spend time together reading and playing those games. Research supports that reading and playing card and board games increases vocabulary, math skills, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.

16. Recognize that gifted children need to question and respond critically. They sometimes are impatient with conventions, such as spelling, grammar, rules, and even patience for others. Talk frankly about the importance of conventions without stifling their creativity and spirit.

17. Maintain a sense of humor! As a parent, every day we can choose to laugh or cry.

AT SCHOOL...

18. Support school efforts to differentiate and provide services for advanced and

gifted children. Consider attending school in-service programs on differentiation and the needs of gifted children.

19. As appropriate, supply home perspectives and feedback on your child’s well- being, responses to learning, and interests. No matter what our occupations, I have always believed that our children are our greatest work.

20. Be an advocate more than an advisory.

REFERENCES

Kingore, B. (2004). Differentiation: Simplified, realistic, and effective. Austin, TX: Professional Associates Publishing.

Silverman, L.K. (2000). Counseling the gifted and talented. Denver, CO: Love Publishing.

Silverman, Linda Kreger Silverman. Web site. http://www.gifteddevelopment.com *Kingore, B. (2008). 20 Tips for nurturing gifted children. GIFTED EDUCATION COMMUNICATOR. California Association for the Gifted, Summer, 2008. In Press.

Empty Space to Become & the value of Futility

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a day listening to Dr. Gordon Neufeld speak. WOW. I've put link up on left to his website and I would recommend buying a book or DVD. He spoke about an issue that is huge in gifted kids - how easily they are wounded and how negative behaviour is born from that wounding.

Let me hit you with a few highlights though, that relate to the kids we are working with.

Gifted kids are often are often highly praised. Not so helpful. If a child is internally motivated, praise will shut them down. Instead of praise and reinforcement and high structure, these children need "empty spaces to become".

They need:

• room for initiative, creative and originality.
• to be placed in charge of their learning whenever possible

You (parents and teachers) need to:

• provide options and solicit intentions to get them into the Driver's seat
• give interest the lead when providing information
• generate questions before providing answers
• provide opportunities for experimentation and exploration
• not preempt intrinsic motivation with praise rewards and incentives. (from his notes)

The other thing that really hit me from this presentation was Neufeld's admonition that we, as teachers and parents need to be "Agents of Futility and Angels of Comfort" at the same time.

Many gifted children will try and reason themselves out of a "No" that is a firm "no". They will engage you in unending argument or withdraw ("I didn't want that item/experience anyway"). Neufeld's point is that in order to adapt, learn from your experiences and failures, gain resourcefulness and resiliency, you need to feel a No and understand it emotionally, not understand it intellectually. You need to be brought to tears over the futility of the experience, not allowed to argue your way out of it or wear their parent down. But that futility, that "No" should not alienate the child from their parent, which is where the "angels of comfort" come in. Comforting as you say no. You don't explain the No, which takes it to that intellectual level, you just stick to it and sympathize with the child's frustration.

Neufeld points out that those tears of futility have enough toxins in them to kill a small rodent. Which is why you feel better afterwards. I find this fascinating.

The other point I took was that Gifted kids are often born sensitive. It is a huge challenge to keep their hearts soft, and attached to their parents. If that fails, you often have behavioural issues.

Attachment goes into the importance for children to be primarily attached to and dependant on "tempered" adults rather than "untempered" peers, for the protection of their own hearts.

And as always, Neufeld promotes finding islands of competence and building on the positive rather than focusing on the negative.

Just to whet your appetite....buy the book or DVD!

Motivation (or the Lack Thereof)

I've gotten to thinking about achievement and motivation with Gifted kids. A number of the students I'm working with this year really struggle with this and it seems worth-while to explore why these kids, for whom learning is "so easy", should struggle so with getting their learning for school completed.

From my reading (in this case, largely from the Alberta Special Education department) and my experience around giftedness, some of the factors around lack of motivation or achievement may include: perfectionism, a lack of clear relationship between effort and outcome, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, and a sense of low personal control over one's own life. The factors that contribute include emotional issues, inappropriate curriculum, poor self-regulation concerns.

It has been suggested that positive reinforcement and relationships with adults make a difference, along with interest-based curriculum, a focus on strength, self-selected topics, mutual respect and addressing real-world problems.

In would be great if these gifted kids could select and shape their own topics and outcomes and make the learning as real to their specific and immediate needs as possible.

This year, with gifted kids, I have seen some shut down because of motivation - if they can't see the point, they won't do it - I would go so far as to almost say - can't do it. They will have to believe it is important and interesting before they put in any time at all. It is a different challenge from students with your regular need for learning services - these children can learn, they just won't. That is, they won't learn what we say is important on a timeline that we say is reasonable. They are often very very bright and are learning lots, but it is what is important to them and on their own timeline. Much like adults.

Often gifted kids are computer wizards, or read everything, or dance or sing, or play an instrument or make movies or cartoons - but it is really hard to get them to do school work. Because in their mind (and in reality) school work is "fake-work" or "busy-work". It is practise for real life and these kids would rather skip practise and engage life the first time around. They are generally capable enough to make that work for them. Sadly, most of our educational system is not geared to their needs and forcing them to do it our way often will only cause them to disengage.

When I think of motivation and gifted kids this way, not as rebellion or laziness, it makes a lot more sense to me. They may the be unconventional or perceived as unreasonable, but as George Bernard Shaw put it: "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."