It's been a difficult summer. The last few weeks of June, Chuck's mom started having some pretty serious "elopement" problems with her dementia, which created demands on his dad's health. And then on July 5th his dad suffered from kidney failure. After a week in ICU, another week in the hospital, and nearly 3 weeks in an in-patient physical rehab facility, he's recovering nicely though he's now on permanent dialysis. During the whole process it became obvious that they could no longer live alone and we have moved them into a specialized care facility where they can get the care and attention they need.
We literally just got them moved yesterday and we still have things to take care of regarding their medical and financial needs, but we'll be back to blogging on the GiftedGalaxy soon.
Chuck and Lori
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Gifted Children and The Visual and Performing Arts
You might think that this blog, the 5th and final in our series on Areas of Giftedness, should be lumped in with the first blog on creative giftedness. But in the same way that we drew a distinction between general intellectual capacity and a specific academic ability, we’re drawing a distinction here between creative thinking and this area of giftedness for specific capabilities in the visual and performing arts. In the first blog we discussed creative thinking in general, i.e. independent thinking, a sense of humor, standing out from the crowd. When it comes to giftedness in the visual and performing arts, we’re talking about a specific ability to express themselves through the arts.
Just as with specific academic ability, gifted children with characteristics in the visual and performing arts have an uncanny ability to learn advanced modes of expression, whether in art, music, drama, dance, writing, or any other artistic expression. It simply comes natural to them. Both of our children, for example, are prolific writers and have not only tried their hand at creative writing, but have completed complex works and crave time to spend working on more. They also excelled in band (even though they didn’t relish practicing, which in hindsight indicates they had this gifted characteristic but perhaps didn’t have the personal interest that they do in writing).
Children gifted in the arts have great spatial skills and good—although not necessarily athletic—motor coordination. They easily connect the abstract emotional expression with the medium they’re working in (moral lessons in writing, for example, or themes and stories in music). They are observant and study those who have mastered the mediums: if their interest is writing, they enjoy critical literary analysis, or if their interest is dance, they crave watching and attending performances.
But perhaps most importantly, gifted children in this area will want to emulate the masters for their own expression, and you should definitely foster their expression. If their interest is writing, buy them a journal. If their interest is music, find an instrument that interests them, or let them compose their own work (there is plenty of great music composing software out there, like Noteworthy Composer, one of our personal favorite software packages).
We hope you've found this series of blogs useful. If you have any questions about this series, our blog in general, or just want to talk to us about your gifted child, we want to hear from you! Email us at giftedgalaxy@gmail.com
Just as with specific academic ability, gifted children with characteristics in the visual and performing arts have an uncanny ability to learn advanced modes of expression, whether in art, music, drama, dance, writing, or any other artistic expression. It simply comes natural to them. Both of our children, for example, are prolific writers and have not only tried their hand at creative writing, but have completed complex works and crave time to spend working on more. They also excelled in band (even though they didn’t relish practicing, which in hindsight indicates they had this gifted characteristic but perhaps didn’t have the personal interest that they do in writing).
Children gifted in the arts have great spatial skills and good—although not necessarily athletic—motor coordination. They easily connect the abstract emotional expression with the medium they’re working in (moral lessons in writing, for example, or themes and stories in music). They are observant and study those who have mastered the mediums: if their interest is writing, they enjoy critical literary analysis, or if their interest is dance, they crave watching and attending performances.
But perhaps most importantly, gifted children in this area will want to emulate the masters for their own expression, and you should definitely foster their expression. If their interest is writing, buy them a journal. If their interest is music, find an instrument that interests them, or let them compose their own work (there is plenty of great music composing software out there, like Noteworthy Composer, one of our personal favorite software packages).
We hope you've found this series of blogs useful. If you have any questions about this series, our blog in general, or just want to talk to us about your gifted child, we want to hear from you! Email us at giftedgalaxy@gmail.com
Friday, April 9, 2010
Gifted Children: Excelling in Specific Areas and Interests
In our previous blog on giftedness in intellectual capacity, we were referring more to a general ability to learn, a broader capacity to learn and excel in any problem solving area. In this blog we’re talking more about a specific—almost preternatural—skill in a specific topic.
Everyone’s familiar with the stereotypical nerd with mathematical capabilities, or the 9 year-old programmer. But the topic can be almost anything, even athletic ability (with the winter Olympics fresh on our minds, who would question whether Apolo Ohno or Lindsey Vonn are “gifted”?) Our son, for example, aced the state biology exam, and our daughter has always excelled in English.
What gifted children who excel in specific areas all have in common, regardless of the interest, are an advanced and natural comprehension of that interest. That subject simply “comes easy” to them. They possess the ability to memorize data, perhaps selectively with respect to their interest, and they will read and study their topic with voracity and an ease of comprehension. And naturally they will excel at their area.
If your child is gifted in a specific area, by all means do all that you can to feed their interest. Get them involved in activities that not only encourage them to develop their interest, but pushes them to refine their capability (for example, Apolo Ohno’s dad didn’t just take him to the skating rink, he drove him to Vancouver to participate in competitions).
(An advertiser's plug...check out UPromise at the link below. This is a simple, easy, and free way for you to save some money for your child's college. It's simply a customer loyalty program, like S&H Green Stamps, where you earn money for everyday purchases; if your child is below age 5 and you start now, you could easily accummulate a few thousand dollars by the time they're ready for college, more if you also get family members to sign up. With 2 in college myself, I only wish I had known of it sooner!)
Everyone’s familiar with the stereotypical nerd with mathematical capabilities, or the 9 year-old programmer. But the topic can be almost anything, even athletic ability (with the winter Olympics fresh on our minds, who would question whether Apolo Ohno or Lindsey Vonn are “gifted”?) Our son, for example, aced the state biology exam, and our daughter has always excelled in English.
What gifted children who excel in specific areas all have in common, regardless of the interest, are an advanced and natural comprehension of that interest. That subject simply “comes easy” to them. They possess the ability to memorize data, perhaps selectively with respect to their interest, and they will read and study their topic with voracity and an ease of comprehension. And naturally they will excel at their area.
If your child is gifted in a specific area, by all means do all that you can to feed their interest. Get them involved in activities that not only encourage them to develop their interest, but pushes them to refine their capability (for example, Apolo Ohno’s dad didn’t just take him to the skating rink, he drove him to Vancouver to participate in competitions).
(An advertiser's plug...check out UPromise at the link below. This is a simple, easy, and free way for you to save some money for your child's college. It's simply a customer loyalty program, like S&H Green Stamps, where you earn money for everyday purchases; if your child is below age 5 and you start now, you could easily accummulate a few thousand dollars by the time they're ready for college, more if you also get family members to sign up. With 2 in college myself, I only wish I had known of it sooner!)
Friday, April 2, 2010
Gifted Children and Intellectual Capacity
This is the characteristic area of gifted children most everyone recognizes, but obviously (the point of our most recent blogs) isn’t the only area. There have been many Presidents of the United States obviously gifted in leadership and certain, specific academic areas (our next blog), who haven’t been particularly gifted with the kind of intellectual capacity we’re talking about here. And of course there have been many artists, musicians, and writers/poets who abound with creative gifts and skills in the visual and performing arts (blog after next) who don’t exhibit gifted levels of intellectual capacity.
Children gifted in intellectual capacity are able to process information in complex ways. This information can be almost anything you can imagine: numeric problems, written information, or even their environment. For example, our daughter exhibited some unique capabilities in this area. Even at the age of only 5 or 6 she was keenly aware of everything in her room (and I do mean everything). She would come home and a few seconds after going to her room, would come out and say something like, “who moved my Pound Kitties?” If I switched the positions of 2 (seemingly) insignificant items on her dresser, she could spot the change within seconds of her return (I know, I did this as an experiment on many occasions to see what she would do). She has uncanny skill with Where’s Waldo.
Gifted children with intellectual capacity can easily formulate abstractions and inferences. They are amazingly observant, even of intangible concepts, and are continually inquisitive. They can get visibly excited about new ideas, and they enjoy hypothesizing solutions. They will employ a complex vocabulary that far exceeds their years and they are voracious learners, though not of topics that you or their teachers may want them to learn.
If your child exhibits characteristics of intellectual giftedness, try to identify the topics that interest them and foster their independent learning in those areas. Take them to the library—the university library if necessary—to explore their interests. Let their teachers know of their specific interests, and encourage them to develop projects or experiments so that they can reach their own conclusions and develop their own hypotheses.
Children gifted in intellectual capacity are able to process information in complex ways. This information can be almost anything you can imagine: numeric problems, written information, or even their environment. For example, our daughter exhibited some unique capabilities in this area. Even at the age of only 5 or 6 she was keenly aware of everything in her room (and I do mean everything). She would come home and a few seconds after going to her room, would come out and say something like, “who moved my Pound Kitties?” If I switched the positions of 2 (seemingly) insignificant items on her dresser, she could spot the change within seconds of her return (I know, I did this as an experiment on many occasions to see what she would do). She has uncanny skill with Where’s Waldo.
Gifted children with intellectual capacity can easily formulate abstractions and inferences. They are amazingly observant, even of intangible concepts, and are continually inquisitive. They can get visibly excited about new ideas, and they enjoy hypothesizing solutions. They will employ a complex vocabulary that far exceeds their years and they are voracious learners, though not of topics that you or their teachers may want them to learn.
If your child exhibits characteristics of intellectual giftedness, try to identify the topics that interest them and foster their independent learning in those areas. Take them to the library—the university library if necessary—to explore their interests. Let their teachers know of their specific interests, and encourage them to develop projects or experiments so that they can reach their own conclusions and develop their own hypotheses.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Gifted Children and Leadership
Another way a gifted child can express their talents is through leadership. This isn’t just their ability to earn the respect or devotion of their peers (that may be part of it), but more like an inherent capability to assume responsibility long before other children of their own age are exhibiting the same capability.
We think a gifted child’s talent in leadership most likely comes from their own high expectations for themselves. Gifted children usually know that they are exceptional compared to other children and can automatically assume a leadership role in a situation, sometimes inappropriately (like assuming that they should be the team captain, or taking over a group situation even without designation).
Children gifted in the area of leadership will be confident in their abilities of expression, and sometimes supremely frustrated if others don’t “get them”. Despite the physical lack of maturity of their brains (see our previous post) they will tend to make good decisions and can foresee the consequences of their own actions and those around them, perhaps even better than some adults. They are self-confident and organized.
If you child expresses characteristics of leadership giftedness, provide them the structure and organization they crave. Encourage them in activities where they can express their leadership capabilities, but coach and communicate with them if others (coaches, teachers, band directors, other children) don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Keep an open dialog going with the other adult leaders in their lives, and never stop helping them identify ways of expressing themselves.
We think a gifted child’s talent in leadership most likely comes from their own high expectations for themselves. Gifted children usually know that they are exceptional compared to other children and can automatically assume a leadership role in a situation, sometimes inappropriately (like assuming that they should be the team captain, or taking over a group situation even without designation).
Children gifted in the area of leadership will be confident in their abilities of expression, and sometimes supremely frustrated if others don’t “get them”. Despite the physical lack of maturity of their brains (see our previous post) they will tend to make good decisions and can foresee the consequences of their own actions and those around them, perhaps even better than some adults. They are self-confident and organized.
If you child expresses characteristics of leadership giftedness, provide them the structure and organization they crave. Encourage them in activities where they can express their leadership capabilities, but coach and communicate with them if others (coaches, teachers, band directors, other children) don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Keep an open dialog going with the other adult leaders in their lives, and never stop helping them identify ways of expressing themselves.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Creative Giftedness
Every child is unique and gifted children can express their talents in many different ways. For the next few blogs we’re going to explore some of these different areas of giftedness, starting with creative giftedness. While we’re looking at each area individually, keep in mind that a child is more likely to exhibit characteristics of several of these areas; helping a gifted child more fully develop begins with recognizing their gifted talents and tailoring a learning plan accordingly.
We knew pretty early that both our son and daughter were creatively gifted, but for different reasons. Creatively gifted children aren’t just talented artistically or musically, though those are certainly good indicators. Our son expressed his creative giftedness with a complex and quirky sense of humor: think Monty Python vs. Charlie Chaplin. Not to mention the elaborate near-reality stories he used to come home from pre-school with that left us saying, “huh?”
Our daughter, on the other hand, simply stood out. An obviously independent thinker from the time she could smile and coo, she has never shied away from being different. This made for some challenges during her early teen years. I heard an NPR report recently that a neurologist has identified that the teenage mind isn’t fully wired yet and as a result teens didn’t have the ability to fully understand the consequences of their actions. This is pretty interesting and worthy of a future blog or two, but parents of gifted children should remember that headstrong individuality is also a good indicator of creative giftedness.
The child who is creatively gifted thinks outside the box, will devise several solutions to a problem, will challenge assertions, and will readily invent and create. Complex and challenging problems will engage them, and they will express interest in activities that don’t interest other children. They will surprise parents and teachers with behavior that might even border on the eccentric. And yes they might be interested in art and music.
If your child expresses characteristics of creative giftedness, feed their creativity. Find creative activities that interest them, and foster their continual learning and skills development in that area, even if they exceed your own capabilities or understanding of what they’re doing, but if they burn out on it and lose interest, just go with the flow and help them explore their new ideas.
We knew pretty early that both our son and daughter were creatively gifted, but for different reasons. Creatively gifted children aren’t just talented artistically or musically, though those are certainly good indicators. Our son expressed his creative giftedness with a complex and quirky sense of humor: think Monty Python vs. Charlie Chaplin. Not to mention the elaborate near-reality stories he used to come home from pre-school with that left us saying, “huh?”
Our daughter, on the other hand, simply stood out. An obviously independent thinker from the time she could smile and coo, she has never shied away from being different. This made for some challenges during her early teen years. I heard an NPR report recently that a neurologist has identified that the teenage mind isn’t fully wired yet and as a result teens didn’t have the ability to fully understand the consequences of their actions. This is pretty interesting and worthy of a future blog or two, but parents of gifted children should remember that headstrong individuality is also a good indicator of creative giftedness.
The child who is creatively gifted thinks outside the box, will devise several solutions to a problem, will challenge assertions, and will readily invent and create. Complex and challenging problems will engage them, and they will express interest in activities that don’t interest other children. They will surprise parents and teachers with behavior that might even border on the eccentric. And yes they might be interested in art and music.
If your child expresses characteristics of creative giftedness, feed their creativity. Find creative activities that interest them, and foster their continual learning and skills development in that area, even if they exceed your own capabilities or understanding of what they’re doing, but if they burn out on it and lose interest, just go with the flow and help them explore their new ideas.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Test Score Obsession
I read an interesting article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution last week entitled “Analytical Learning is the Big Loser in Test Score Obsession.” The article was written by Shannon Howrey, Assistant Professor of Education, at North Georgia College and State University.
In the article, Dr. Howrey talks about the efforts of the Georgia legislature to tie teacher salaries to their student's standardized test scores; i.e. paying teachers based on how well their students do on the standardized state test (the "CRCT" here in Georgia). Some states call this merit pay. Dr. Howrey states that Georgia is trying to "ensure a well-educated, successful work force resulting in a strong economy." But, Dr. Howrey goes on to explain, these bills would essentially do the opposite.
We here in the Gifted Galaxy agree wholeheartedly! Standardized tests measure knowledge and base skills only; memorizing knowledge and performing discrete skills is only a small part of what children need to be successful.
Robert Sternberg, a Yale psychologist and advocate for gifted education who has studied successful people for many years, found that they possess a "triarchic" set of personal qualities. The first of these is "analytical" intelligence, which can be, to some degree, measured on standardized tests.
Equally important, says Sternberg, are two other types of intelligence: "creative intelligence," or the ability to manipulate ideas and think about things in new ways, and "tacit intelligence," or the social/emotional skills needed for dealing well with people. (If you're interested in Sternberg's book, here's a link: The Triarchic Mind: A New Theory of Human Intelligence
Dr. Howrey claims that these skills (all 3 of them) are not only necessary for success, but may be critical for survival in a globally and technically interconnected world. Thomas Friedman, author of “The World is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
,” has stated that our country’s ability to compete in a global economy will depend on people with analytical skills to synthesize large amount of information, creativity to apply that information to new ideas and products, and communication skills to lead teams of individuals from a variety of countries and cultures.
According to research by Sternberg, Torrence, Eisner, Renzulli, Reis, and others, children develop these creative and social skills through exposure to the arts, music, and drama; opportunities to apply mathematical and scientific knowledge in experiments and projects; and rich, open-ended discussions of literature and social studies. Dr. Howrey says that these types of opportunities are the exact programs that the Georgia Legislature wants to do away with by cutting funding for them in the near future. She goes on to say that none of these skills can be measured through CRCT scores, "as they require thinking outside the box, not marking inside a box of predetermined right or wrong answers."
State testing can be used to test factual knowledge learned and discrete skill sets but Dr. Howrey believes that the Georgia legislation that rewards teachers and schools for increasing test scores are "dangerously short-sighted" and provide only a small portion of the knowledge and skills that Georgia’s children will need to succeed in the 21st century. And as has been painfully pointed out in Georgia in the last few weeks, tests--even the CRCT--can be manipulated. Start tying teacher's pay to test performance and the incentive to manipulate testing is that much higher.
It seems very convenient in this time of economic distress when states and school districts are trying to cut every ounce of extras out of their budget that they would push for rewarding only those teachers and schools that increase test scores. The rewards sound like the cheaper alternative and--at first glance--seem logical and a good "business decision". But learning isn't so cut and dried, and teachers aren't commissioned salespeople.
Besides, we all hear how far American students lag behind other country's students in test scores, yet American workers are--by far--the most productive in the world. Why are we trying to emulate the education system of less productive societies?
Parents everywhere (not just here in Georgia) need to question their local districts when they start to cut funding for band, orchestra, music, art, etc. and everyone needs to pay attention to the debate over "teacher merit pay".
In the article, Dr. Howrey talks about the efforts of the Georgia legislature to tie teacher salaries to their student's standardized test scores; i.e. paying teachers based on how well their students do on the standardized state test (the "CRCT" here in Georgia). Some states call this merit pay. Dr. Howrey states that Georgia is trying to "ensure a well-educated, successful work force resulting in a strong economy." But, Dr. Howrey goes on to explain, these bills would essentially do the opposite.
We here in the Gifted Galaxy agree wholeheartedly! Standardized tests measure knowledge and base skills only; memorizing knowledge and performing discrete skills is only a small part of what children need to be successful.
Robert Sternberg, a Yale psychologist and advocate for gifted education who has studied successful people for many years, found that they possess a "triarchic" set of personal qualities. The first of these is "analytical" intelligence, which can be, to some degree, measured on standardized tests.
Equally important, says Sternberg, are two other types of intelligence: "creative intelligence," or the ability to manipulate ideas and think about things in new ways, and "tacit intelligence," or the social/emotional skills needed for dealing well with people. (If you're interested in Sternberg's book, here's a link: The Triarchic Mind: A New Theory of Human Intelligence
Dr. Howrey claims that these skills (all 3 of them) are not only necessary for success, but may be critical for survival in a globally and technically interconnected world. Thomas Friedman, author of “The World is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
,” has stated that our country’s ability to compete in a global economy will depend on people with analytical skills to synthesize large amount of information, creativity to apply that information to new ideas and products, and communication skills to lead teams of individuals from a variety of countries and cultures.According to research by Sternberg, Torrence, Eisner, Renzulli, Reis, and others, children develop these creative and social skills through exposure to the arts, music, and drama; opportunities to apply mathematical and scientific knowledge in experiments and projects; and rich, open-ended discussions of literature and social studies. Dr. Howrey says that these types of opportunities are the exact programs that the Georgia Legislature wants to do away with by cutting funding for them in the near future. She goes on to say that none of these skills can be measured through CRCT scores, "as they require thinking outside the box, not marking inside a box of predetermined right or wrong answers."
State testing can be used to test factual knowledge learned and discrete skill sets but Dr. Howrey believes that the Georgia legislation that rewards teachers and schools for increasing test scores are "dangerously short-sighted" and provide only a small portion of the knowledge and skills that Georgia’s children will need to succeed in the 21st century. And as has been painfully pointed out in Georgia in the last few weeks, tests--even the CRCT--can be manipulated. Start tying teacher's pay to test performance and the incentive to manipulate testing is that much higher.
It seems very convenient in this time of economic distress when states and school districts are trying to cut every ounce of extras out of their budget that they would push for rewarding only those teachers and schools that increase test scores. The rewards sound like the cheaper alternative and--at first glance--seem logical and a good "business decision". But learning isn't so cut and dried, and teachers aren't commissioned salespeople.
Besides, we all hear how far American students lag behind other country's students in test scores, yet American workers are--by far--the most productive in the world. Why are we trying to emulate the education system of less productive societies?
Parents everywhere (not just here in Georgia) need to question their local districts when they start to cut funding for band, orchestra, music, art, etc. and everyone needs to pay attention to the debate over "teacher merit pay".
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The ABCs of Parenting Bright Children, Part 2
If you read my last blog, you know that I try to keep my stuff organized. I like to go through my old units looking for things that need to be used. Last blog I started the ABC’s of Parenting Bright Children. This was a list that was compiled by KIDS Work Studios and presented in a workshop that I attended back in 2000. So, here is the rest of the alphabet…
M-Make time to talk quietly with your child when there has been a disciplinary lapse, whether at home, at school, or in a social situation.
N-Never try to argue through discussions. Bright children are usually strong-willed and have a well-developed sense of duty.
O-Offer them choices. Encourage in them the ability to make decisions.
P-Plan time to be together with your kids. Listen to what they have to say. It isn’t as much what you do for them, as what you do with them.
Q-Provide quite challenging things to do with your child. Expand those interests and open new horizons.
R-Encourage respect and common courtesy for others. Being bright is no excuse for bad manners.
S-Set a good example of being a worthy person.
T-Treat your child’s teachers with the utmost respect and admiration. Teachers and Parents should have common goals and may employ different methods to achieve them.
U-Utilize better ways of showing your child when phrasing a question or making a suggestion if needed. For example, never say, "That’s a dumb idea; I have a better one!" Say instead, "Would this be a good idea?"
V-Value you child's talents and creativity. "Multiple Intelligences" by Howard Gardner help children to realize the many different ways they can be smart.
W-Work on respecting your child and his or her knowledge. Be open minded and ready to listen.
X-Extend your knowledge base by brushing up on giftedness by reading books, attending seminars, and exposing yourself to new areas of expertise.
Y-Yearn to keep a level head and a sense of humor. Though your child is smart, there is always someone smarter. Remember, everyone is a genius at something.
Z-Zip through life with the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your best, although the joys of excellence are tempered by frustrations with school, lack of understanding by many and the fact that your bright child(ren) will keep you busier than you could ever imagine!
Above all, have fun with your children! Laugh often and look for the silver lining in every situation. It is a great thing when you can laugh at yourself. This lets your children know that you are not always perfect. Perfection is a topic for another blog! As is the apple not falling too far from the tree!
Happy Parenting!
M-Make time to talk quietly with your child when there has been a disciplinary lapse, whether at home, at school, or in a social situation.
N-Never try to argue through discussions. Bright children are usually strong-willed and have a well-developed sense of duty.
O-Offer them choices. Encourage in them the ability to make decisions.
P-Plan time to be together with your kids. Listen to what they have to say. It isn’t as much what you do for them, as what you do with them.
Q-Provide quite challenging things to do with your child. Expand those interests and open new horizons.
R-Encourage respect and common courtesy for others. Being bright is no excuse for bad manners.
S-Set a good example of being a worthy person.
T-Treat your child’s teachers with the utmost respect and admiration. Teachers and Parents should have common goals and may employ different methods to achieve them.
U-Utilize better ways of showing your child when phrasing a question or making a suggestion if needed. For example, never say, "That’s a dumb idea; I have a better one!" Say instead, "Would this be a good idea?"
V-Value you child's talents and creativity. "Multiple Intelligences" by Howard Gardner help children to realize the many different ways they can be smart.
W-Work on respecting your child and his or her knowledge. Be open minded and ready to listen.
X-Extend your knowledge base by brushing up on giftedness by reading books, attending seminars, and exposing yourself to new areas of expertise.
Y-Yearn to keep a level head and a sense of humor. Though your child is smart, there is always someone smarter. Remember, everyone is a genius at something.
Z-Zip through life with the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your best, although the joys of excellence are tempered by frustrations with school, lack of understanding by many and the fact that your bright child(ren) will keep you busier than you could ever imagine!
Above all, have fun with your children! Laugh often and look for the silver lining in every situation. It is a great thing when you can laugh at yourself. This lets your children know that you are not always perfect. Perfection is a topic for another blog! As is the apple not falling too far from the tree!
Happy Parenting!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The ABCs of Parenting Bright Children
Lately, I’ve been doing some early spring cleaning…cleaning out and reorganizing units…eliminating some of the paper that seems to go along with teaching gifted children. It is amazing what you can accumulate in 13 years of teaching—and I am not one to keep everything; I refuse to be a pack rat! Whenever I do this, I find some tidbits of forgotten wisdom or some wonderful activity that I forgot I had and haven’t had a chance to use. This time was no exception: I came across a packet from a class that I attended back in 2000. It was called Invention Studio and it was put on by KIDS Work Studios. KIDS stands for Kids’ Ideas Developed Successfully. They don’t exist today (at least their site doesn't). I checked. The domain name is now for sale, if you are interested.
Back in 2000, a group of people were trying to get a creative invention fair going for kids in the area. The idea was that it would be a competition for 4th-6th graders who would come up with an invention and then present it in a Science Fair type of setting. Kids had to go through the entire process of inventing something—from coming up with a problem, to finding a solution, to creating a prototype. I incorporated the process into a unit on Inventors and it was a big hit. My kids participated for 4 years before Hurricane Katrina shut down Edgewater Mall—where the fair was normally held—for many months. I don't think the fair ever came back after Katrina.
Anyway, while looking through the info, I came across a list called The ABC’s of Parenting Bright Children. I remember thinking that this was a great resource to give to my parents when they asked what they could do to encourage their gifted child to reach his or her potential. A lot of the items are common sense and I am happy to say that I was already telling parents some of them. But I thought that it would be good to hear this list again. We, as parents and teachers, need to internalize these suggestions and use them whenever we can. As you can imagine, there are 26 items on the list, so I will break it up into a couple of blogs. Here goes part 1!
A-Give them your love. Remember, they are still children. They need assurance, encouragement, controls, and discipline.
B-Help them become familiar with their surroundings, neighborhood, and community.
C-Encourage them to assume responsibility for their own actions—put away what they get out, pick up what they spill, give and take messages correctly.
D-Read to your children and encourage them to read to you. Early verbal expression, music, art, poetry, and reading are valuable beyond measure.
E-We retain more strongly what we learn in our youth. Therefore, answer all questions as accurately and as honestly as you can, to the depth required.
F-Encourage your children to have healthy bodies. Let them learn to play ball, swim, ride a bike, and develop good physical motor ability skills.
G-Children need one or two good friends. Playmates with similar interests or capabilities are advocated, but not to the exclusion of others.
H-Parents must take the initiative in taking children to museums, art galleries, educational institutions, historical places, etc. Open their world to encompass as many and varied experiences as possible.
I-Become familiar with your Public Library. Help your child locate great books in the areas in which he or she expresses interest. Open their minds to the Internet with guidance and purpose.
J-Avoid pushing a child to perform at a level he or she is not ready to achieve. There is a difference between pushing and intellectual stimulation.
K-If you can, give your child the advantage of private lessons in some skill in which he or she expresses an interest, or excels.
L-Avoid overstructuring your child’s life. Children need time to be alone, to rely on their own ingenuity, to choose what they want to do, and contemplate or daydream as the mood strikes. They cannot be expected to perform at top capacity at all times.
We, as parents and teachers, need some downtime, too. So go have some fun with your children and with your friends. You will be a better person, and a better parent, for it!
Back in 2000, a group of people were trying to get a creative invention fair going for kids in the area. The idea was that it would be a competition for 4th-6th graders who would come up with an invention and then present it in a Science Fair type of setting. Kids had to go through the entire process of inventing something—from coming up with a problem, to finding a solution, to creating a prototype. I incorporated the process into a unit on Inventors and it was a big hit. My kids participated for 4 years before Hurricane Katrina shut down Edgewater Mall—where the fair was normally held—for many months. I don't think the fair ever came back after Katrina.
Anyway, while looking through the info, I came across a list called The ABC’s of Parenting Bright Children. I remember thinking that this was a great resource to give to my parents when they asked what they could do to encourage their gifted child to reach his or her potential. A lot of the items are common sense and I am happy to say that I was already telling parents some of them. But I thought that it would be good to hear this list again. We, as parents and teachers, need to internalize these suggestions and use them whenever we can. As you can imagine, there are 26 items on the list, so I will break it up into a couple of blogs. Here goes part 1!
A-Give them your love. Remember, they are still children. They need assurance, encouragement, controls, and discipline.
B-Help them become familiar with their surroundings, neighborhood, and community.
C-Encourage them to assume responsibility for their own actions—put away what they get out, pick up what they spill, give and take messages correctly.
D-Read to your children and encourage them to read to you. Early verbal expression, music, art, poetry, and reading are valuable beyond measure.
E-We retain more strongly what we learn in our youth. Therefore, answer all questions as accurately and as honestly as you can, to the depth required.
F-Encourage your children to have healthy bodies. Let them learn to play ball, swim, ride a bike, and develop good physical motor ability skills.
G-Children need one or two good friends. Playmates with similar interests or capabilities are advocated, but not to the exclusion of others.
H-Parents must take the initiative in taking children to museums, art galleries, educational institutions, historical places, etc. Open their world to encompass as many and varied experiences as possible.
I-Become familiar with your Public Library. Help your child locate great books in the areas in which he or she expresses interest. Open their minds to the Internet with guidance and purpose.
J-Avoid pushing a child to perform at a level he or she is not ready to achieve. There is a difference between pushing and intellectual stimulation.
K-If you can, give your child the advantage of private lessons in some skill in which he or she expresses an interest, or excels.
L-Avoid overstructuring your child’s life. Children need time to be alone, to rely on their own ingenuity, to choose what they want to do, and contemplate or daydream as the mood strikes. They cannot be expected to perform at top capacity at all times.
We, as parents and teachers, need some downtime, too. So go have some fun with your children and with your friends. You will be a better person, and a better parent, for it!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Robots, Ideal Food for the Gifted Mind
I recently had the tremendous pleasure to judge at an elementary school tech fair. A few decades back--no comments on this, please--when I was in elementary school we only had science fairs. Ah, I remember fondly the work and the research I put into my "Air" and "Eye" projects. Mine were really more research projects compared to what the kids do now. Today there are fairs of various types and a tech fair allows children to develop a project in various areas of computer and Interent technology, from graphic arts to presentations and robotics. And naturally the gifted children really stand out, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think.
The category I was asked to judge was robotics. I suppose this is because of my programming background and the fact that I'm the President of a software company. The hardware used in the projects were all kits, but it was surprising the varying complexity of the kits and the accompanying programming software (see my notes below). What we were asked to grade the projects were rubrics such as whether the project worked as intended, how well the student understood the underlying programing concepts, and how well the student had picked up on problem solving capabilities with their project (i.e. did they learn only how to make their robot achieve the designated task, or did they generalize the problem solving capabilities of their kit and learn how it could be applied to other tasks).
I guess because of my love of programming and the fact that I love to see kids really "getting it" when it comes to creating a program, I tended to hone in on trying to see if the children had learned how to generalize their problem solving skills. I asked questions like, "what would happen if you changed this?" and suggesting a change to their program; or, "if you wanted your robot to do this instead, how would you change your program?" I found these questions super-effective in determining whether the child really understood the problem solving capabilities in developing software. So parents out there whose children are building robot projects, perhaps you could encourage them to learn true problem solving questions by challenging them with these questions.
We judged about 8 projects, and as I said before the gifted children tended to really stand out. Not only did they score high on the rubrics, and not only did they demonstrate true and solid problem solving understanding, but they were filled with enthusiasm (and in one case, almost overwhelmingly so). Two projects stood out here. One project was built with a Lego Mindstorm kit and the student had devised a very elaborate task that was even accompanied with a backstory (now, that's a gifted child). His project worked as designed and he scored well on the rubrics, but he really stood out by being so into his project; indeed, it was hard to get a word in edge-wise to ask him questions! The other project was much simpler, but unlike the other projects which relied on a graphical flow-chart method of programming, this project relied on writing lines of code in BASIC; not only did the child have to demonstrate problem solving skills, but he had to learn a true programming syntax. His command of programming for problem solving was solid, and while he wasn't bouncing off the walls, his passion and interest in understanding how to write code was obvious.
I hadn't realized there were so many different types of robot kits now. If your gifted child is interested in a robotics project, I'd recommend you take a look at the following kits:
LEGO Mindstorms
- a staple, allows for creative construction of robotic devices, supports a variety of feedback sensors, and the programming is a nice, powerful, visual environment that is easy for both children and non-programming skilled parents to learn and work with.
Robotic Arm Edge
- a robotic arm kit that can mimic the very practical tasks of industrial robotic arms; the kit is not nearly as an open construction platform as LEGO, but will help the child focus on tasks and programming problem solving. This kit also has a nice and powerful visual programming tool that teaches programming techniques, including objects and properties, plus it has the nifty feature of being able to control the arm in real time.
Mobile Robot Base Kit
- this kit is for children that can rely on lots of help from Mom or Dad. It is a mobile device with two wheels that requires pretty low level programming. It has some modular sensor capabilities and will be best served with someone with skills working with electronics. This kit will really require the student to hone their programming skills, so I recommend it only for children who have already demonstrated an ability to learn procedural programming.
One last note for this blog; all of the projects I judged were by boys. I would love to see girls taking more interest, not necessarily in robotics but in programming.
The category I was asked to judge was robotics. I suppose this is because of my programming background and the fact that I'm the President of a software company. The hardware used in the projects were all kits, but it was surprising the varying complexity of the kits and the accompanying programming software (see my notes below). What we were asked to grade the projects were rubrics such as whether the project worked as intended, how well the student understood the underlying programing concepts, and how well the student had picked up on problem solving capabilities with their project (i.e. did they learn only how to make their robot achieve the designated task, or did they generalize the problem solving capabilities of their kit and learn how it could be applied to other tasks).
I guess because of my love of programming and the fact that I love to see kids really "getting it" when it comes to creating a program, I tended to hone in on trying to see if the children had learned how to generalize their problem solving skills. I asked questions like, "what would happen if you changed this?" and suggesting a change to their program; or, "if you wanted your robot to do this instead, how would you change your program?" I found these questions super-effective in determining whether the child really understood the problem solving capabilities in developing software. So parents out there whose children are building robot projects, perhaps you could encourage them to learn true problem solving questions by challenging them with these questions.
We judged about 8 projects, and as I said before the gifted children tended to really stand out. Not only did they score high on the rubrics, and not only did they demonstrate true and solid problem solving understanding, but they were filled with enthusiasm (and in one case, almost overwhelmingly so). Two projects stood out here. One project was built with a Lego Mindstorm kit and the student had devised a very elaborate task that was even accompanied with a backstory (now, that's a gifted child). His project worked as designed and he scored well on the rubrics, but he really stood out by being so into his project; indeed, it was hard to get a word in edge-wise to ask him questions! The other project was much simpler, but unlike the other projects which relied on a graphical flow-chart method of programming, this project relied on writing lines of code in BASIC; not only did the child have to demonstrate problem solving skills, but he had to learn a true programming syntax. His command of programming for problem solving was solid, and while he wasn't bouncing off the walls, his passion and interest in understanding how to write code was obvious.
I hadn't realized there were so many different types of robot kits now. If your gifted child is interested in a robotics project, I'd recommend you take a look at the following kits:
LEGO Mindstorms
- a staple, allows for creative construction of robotic devices, supports a variety of feedback sensors, and the programming is a nice, powerful, visual environment that is easy for both children and non-programming skilled parents to learn and work with.Robotic Arm Edge
- a robotic arm kit that can mimic the very practical tasks of industrial robotic arms; the kit is not nearly as an open construction platform as LEGO, but will help the child focus on tasks and programming problem solving. This kit also has a nice and powerful visual programming tool that teaches programming techniques, including objects and properties, plus it has the nifty feature of being able to control the arm in real time.Mobile Robot Base Kit
- this kit is for children that can rely on lots of help from Mom or Dad. It is a mobile device with two wheels that requires pretty low level programming. It has some modular sensor capabilities and will be best served with someone with skills working with electronics. This kit will really require the student to hone their programming skills, so I recommend it only for children who have already demonstrated an ability to learn procedural programming.One last note for this blog; all of the projects I judged were by boys. I would love to see girls taking more interest, not necessarily in robotics but in programming.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Highly Recommended Game for Gifted Children!
If your gifted child likes to build or is fascinated with the way things work, we HIGHLY recommend the game "Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions". We bought this Windows-based game for our family computer years ago, and it has provided tons of fun ever since.
The Incredible Machine (often abbreviated as TIM) is a problem solving game in the form of Rube Goldberg-style contraptions to do a certain task and that are almost complete, but not quite: the player has to pick out and place items on the contraption that make it work. For a very simple example, you have a contraption that starts with a ball at the top of an incline, and your task is to get the ball into a bucket at the bottom of the incline: you have to pick an item from a toolbag that will push the ball down the incline, such as a fan that blows the ball into motion.
The often whimsical collection of items you can use in your contraptions includes balls, inclines, balloons, candles, mice, conveyor belts, cats, pulleys, ropes, an anti-gravity pad, and much more. The really neat thing is that the items behave according to real world physical principles: if you push a ball over an edge, it falls and accelerates properly. Bouncing items deflect at proper angles. You can also make adjustments to environmental properties--such as gravity and air pressure--to change your contraption's behavior, as if your puzzle was on the moon or in space.
The Incredible Machine allows single player and dual players racing against each other to solve a task. It comes with several hundred ready-to-solve puzzles, and players can build their own contraptions just for fun. Players can even experiment with the game's background music. This is a very well thought out game.
Obviously TIM fosters problem solving skills and makes it easy (and fun) to demonstrate basic physical sciences. If your gifted child is a budding physicist or engineer, they will enjoy this game immensely, as will the adults.
The Incredible Machine (often abbreviated as TIM) is a problem solving game in the form of Rube Goldberg-style contraptions to do a certain task and that are almost complete, but not quite: the player has to pick out and place items on the contraption that make it work. For a very simple example, you have a contraption that starts with a ball at the top of an incline, and your task is to get the ball into a bucket at the bottom of the incline: you have to pick an item from a toolbag that will push the ball down the incline, such as a fan that blows the ball into motion.
The often whimsical collection of items you can use in your contraptions includes balls, inclines, balloons, candles, mice, conveyor belts, cats, pulleys, ropes, an anti-gravity pad, and much more. The really neat thing is that the items behave according to real world physical principles: if you push a ball over an edge, it falls and accelerates properly. Bouncing items deflect at proper angles. You can also make adjustments to environmental properties--such as gravity and air pressure--to change your contraption's behavior, as if your puzzle was on the moon or in space.
The Incredible Machine allows single player and dual players racing against each other to solve a task. It comes with several hundred ready-to-solve puzzles, and players can build their own contraptions just for fun. Players can even experiment with the game's background music. This is a very well thought out game.
Obviously TIM fosters problem solving skills and makes it easy (and fun) to demonstrate basic physical sciences. If your gifted child is a budding physicist or engineer, they will enjoy this game immensely, as will the adults.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Gifted Children and Learning
Wow, how easily time can get away from you; it seems like just last week that we wrote our last blog, but that was actually back in October. Suddenly our weekends got busy, we even had a wedding in the family (Chuck's brother Dan), and voila! we're in the holidays!
Well, the fifth and final blog in our series of telling gifted children from bright children considers how gifted children learn. Unlike some of the other qualities of gifted children we've blogged about, a cliché about gifted children is fairly true here: gifted children seem to just "get it" more easily than other children. A bright child will master a task in 6 to 8 repetitions, but a gifted child will master the same repetition in 1 to 3 repetitions.
Think of learning multiplication tables. Bright children study their tables, review them with their parents and peers, and cite repetitions with their teacher; a table might be mastered in a few weeks through memorization driven by that repetition. The gifted child might only need to be exposed to a table, from which they recognize and infer patterns, and only after a minimal number of repetitions, they haven’t just memorized the table, they “know” it.
Repetition, in fact, tends to frustrate a gifted child, or instill boredom at the least. We saw this frequently with our own children. After all, few of us would want to read the same paragraph of text over and over, even once we’ve memorized it. These frustrations and boredom may come out as behavioral problems or with the child being regularly distracted and disconnected with their coursework.
We said a moment ago that gifted children don’t just memorize concepts, they “know” them. This is an important distinction, as it allows the gifted child to extrapolate concepts beyond what’s been exposed to them. Using the multiplication tables example again, once a gifted child has mastered up to the 3’s, they may not even require exposure to the 4’s and later. They have learned not only the table but also the underlying concepts of multiplication and they can infer tables that haven’t been exposed to them yet. They can manipulate and apply their newly acquired knowledge much more easily and cohesively than other children.
This ability to infer and extrapolate results in gifted children being able to produce material of an innovative and original nature. This isn’t true only of analytical topics such as multiplication tables; creatively gifted children will produce creative material of an original nature. Other children (and adults) who don’t understand might perceive that material as “weird” or “out there”, and it’s no doubt that gifted children—particularly creatively gifted—can march to the beat of a different drummer.
We hope that this series has been useful to you, and we hope that it helps a gifted child that you know. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences with your gifted child; you can post a comment here or you can email us at giftedgalaxy@gmail.com. We’d love suggestions for topics, but we’d most like to hear about your gifted child!
Well, the fifth and final blog in our series of telling gifted children from bright children considers how gifted children learn. Unlike some of the other qualities of gifted children we've blogged about, a cliché about gifted children is fairly true here: gifted children seem to just "get it" more easily than other children. A bright child will master a task in 6 to 8 repetitions, but a gifted child will master the same repetition in 1 to 3 repetitions.
Think of learning multiplication tables. Bright children study their tables, review them with their parents and peers, and cite repetitions with their teacher; a table might be mastered in a few weeks through memorization driven by that repetition. The gifted child might only need to be exposed to a table, from which they recognize and infer patterns, and only after a minimal number of repetitions, they haven’t just memorized the table, they “know” it.
Repetition, in fact, tends to frustrate a gifted child, or instill boredom at the least. We saw this frequently with our own children. After all, few of us would want to read the same paragraph of text over and over, even once we’ve memorized it. These frustrations and boredom may come out as behavioral problems or with the child being regularly distracted and disconnected with their coursework.
We said a moment ago that gifted children don’t just memorize concepts, they “know” them. This is an important distinction, as it allows the gifted child to extrapolate concepts beyond what’s been exposed to them. Using the multiplication tables example again, once a gifted child has mastered up to the 3’s, they may not even require exposure to the 4’s and later. They have learned not only the table but also the underlying concepts of multiplication and they can infer tables that haven’t been exposed to them yet. They can manipulate and apply their newly acquired knowledge much more easily and cohesively than other children.
This ability to infer and extrapolate results in gifted children being able to produce material of an innovative and original nature. This isn’t true only of analytical topics such as multiplication tables; creatively gifted children will produce creative material of an original nature. Other children (and adults) who don’t understand might perceive that material as “weird” or “out there”, and it’s no doubt that gifted children—particularly creatively gifted—can march to the beat of a different drummer.
We hope that this series has been useful to you, and we hope that it helps a gifted child that you know. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences with your gifted child; you can post a comment here or you can email us at giftedgalaxy@gmail.com. We’d love suggestions for topics, but we’d most like to hear about your gifted child!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Gifted Children and Curiosity
All children are naturally curious and inquisitive; this is one of the many things that brings joy to parenting. Plenty of parents might in fact mistake this natural curiosity children will exhibit with being intellectually gifted. But there are notable differences between the natural curiosity of all children and the curiosity of bright children, and then again with the curiosity of gifted children.
Bright children will exhibit curiosity about almost any topic, asking questions, exploring, and wanting to know more; they will take it beyond just an immediate interest in a topic. Bright children want to know a lot more about a topic than may be initially and superficially presented, and they will display the initiative to learn more than other children. Gifted children take it several steps further, not only wanting to know about the topic, but to truly understand the topic from the inside out. Gifted children might often exhibit an infactuation or obsession with a topic that goes on for long periods of time, and often results in such an understanding of the topic that they can predict outcomes related to the topic or can extrapolate their knowledge of that topic to other topics. Their focus on learning the topic can be so intense that they have a hard time focusing on other topics until they've adequately satisfied their curiosity in the first topic (one of the reasons that gifted children don't automatically get good grades).
While bright children might research a topic to explore their curiosity, gifted children will initiate projects and experiments to test their preductions and assumptions about the topic. The topics of their interests don't have to be academic: our daughter often obsesses over issues with her friends, and took learning to drive extremely seriously (fortunately for us, way more seriously than most teens do). When gifted children come across a topic that interests them, they will latch on and it's often difficult (to say the least) to divert their attention. Our son is a part-time intern for a software company and we were recently told by his supervisor that he is incredibly detailed oriented. This attention to detail (when learning any topic) goes way back to his interest in topics from bats (the flying rodent kind) to reading (series of books) and more.
In summary, gifted children have a curiosity that goes way beyond that of other children, and (often) obsessively beyond that of bright children. If your child displays such an infatuation with a topic, and their outcome is an amazingly thorough understanding of the topic, it might be an indicator that they are gifted.
Bright children will exhibit curiosity about almost any topic, asking questions, exploring, and wanting to know more; they will take it beyond just an immediate interest in a topic. Bright children want to know a lot more about a topic than may be initially and superficially presented, and they will display the initiative to learn more than other children. Gifted children take it several steps further, not only wanting to know about the topic, but to truly understand the topic from the inside out. Gifted children might often exhibit an infactuation or obsession with a topic that goes on for long periods of time, and often results in such an understanding of the topic that they can predict outcomes related to the topic or can extrapolate their knowledge of that topic to other topics. Their focus on learning the topic can be so intense that they have a hard time focusing on other topics until they've adequately satisfied their curiosity in the first topic (one of the reasons that gifted children don't automatically get good grades).
While bright children might research a topic to explore their curiosity, gifted children will initiate projects and experiments to test their preductions and assumptions about the topic. The topics of their interests don't have to be academic: our daughter often obsesses over issues with her friends, and took learning to drive extremely seriously (fortunately for us, way more seriously than most teens do). When gifted children come across a topic that interests them, they will latch on and it's often difficult (to say the least) to divert their attention. Our son is a part-time intern for a software company and we were recently told by his supervisor that he is incredibly detailed oriented. This attention to detail (when learning any topic) goes way back to his interest in topics from bats (the flying rodent kind) to reading (series of books) and more.
In summary, gifted children have a curiosity that goes way beyond that of other children, and (often) obsessively beyond that of bright children. If your child displays such an infatuation with a topic, and their outcome is an amazingly thorough understanding of the topic, it might be an indicator that they are gifted.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Gifted Children and Imagination
Perhaps the most fun for the parent of a gifted child comes from a gifted child's seemingly limitless imagination and wellspring of ideas. There are different types of intelligences, and therefore different types of gifted intelligences, but we like to categorize them in 2 ways: analytically gifted and creatively gifted. We've said before that our son tends to the former while our daughter tends to the latter. So it might be logical to assume that it's our daughter who would be the more imaginative of the two, but for us that wasn't necessarily the case.
As early as preschool, long before being identified as gifted, our son would come home with the craziest (imagination on the wild side) and most detailed of stories. We still get a chuckle out of one of his stories where he claimed he and a friend pushed their teacher down the hill during recess. "And she rolled, and rolled..." The story went on and on, with incredible detail, enough so that--while we were pretty certain he hadn't actually pushed his teacher down the hill--we asked her about it at the next PTA meeting. His level of detail was quite convincing! And yes, it was all the product of his imagination.
That imagination hasn't abated, either. He's now a 20 year-old college junior who is taking World Literature. One night out to dinner recently he recounted for us the story of Gilgamesh. In amazing detail. On the way to the restaurant, all during dinner, and on the way home. He may still be talking about it, I'm not sure. While it wasn't the product of his imagination, it captured his attention enough that he had practically memorized the story. Somewhat related: gifted children will also converse with anyone willing to listen!
Gifted children can think in much more complex ways than other children. Their thinking can produce the most complex and detailed of ideas, as in our son's pre-school stories, and they can comprehend at incredibly high levels, as in his understanding of the story of Gilgamesh. This may be the easiest way to distinguish between a child who is bright and a child who is gifted: bright children will indeed memorize and recall content with ease, but gifted children will not only memorize and recall, but also extrapolate, infer, and create their own content.
Not to be outdone, our daughter too is a fountain of imagination and ideas, though more practical and grounded than that of our son (which would be really, really surprising if you knew our daughter). Her imagination comes out in her creative writing (she's been working on a book for a couple of years now) and in the particularness of her wardrobe (fortunately she's well beyond the dreadful goth years of junior high).
Gifted children often think much more abstractly than other children, as is the case with our daughter. In the late 90's (when she was around 8 or 9) there was a spate of disaster movies coming out (volcanoes, tornadoes, and storms; I'm sure you remember them). Having only seen the trailers on TV, she would turn to us and ask, "that can't happen here, can it?" She had taken the abstract concept of a volcano bubbling up out of the ground, or a tornado ravaging Kansas, and applied it to our own backyard.
Ah, the imagination of gifted children!
As early as preschool, long before being identified as gifted, our son would come home with the craziest (imagination on the wild side) and most detailed of stories. We still get a chuckle out of one of his stories where he claimed he and a friend pushed their teacher down the hill during recess. "And she rolled, and rolled..." The story went on and on, with incredible detail, enough so that--while we were pretty certain he hadn't actually pushed his teacher down the hill--we asked her about it at the next PTA meeting. His level of detail was quite convincing! And yes, it was all the product of his imagination.
That imagination hasn't abated, either. He's now a 20 year-old college junior who is taking World Literature. One night out to dinner recently he recounted for us the story of Gilgamesh. In amazing detail. On the way to the restaurant, all during dinner, and on the way home. He may still be talking about it, I'm not sure. While it wasn't the product of his imagination, it captured his attention enough that he had practically memorized the story. Somewhat related: gifted children will also converse with anyone willing to listen!
Gifted children can think in much more complex ways than other children. Their thinking can produce the most complex and detailed of ideas, as in our son's pre-school stories, and they can comprehend at incredibly high levels, as in his understanding of the story of Gilgamesh. This may be the easiest way to distinguish between a child who is bright and a child who is gifted: bright children will indeed memorize and recall content with ease, but gifted children will not only memorize and recall, but also extrapolate, infer, and create their own content.
Not to be outdone, our daughter too is a fountain of imagination and ideas, though more practical and grounded than that of our son (which would be really, really surprising if you knew our daughter). Her imagination comes out in her creative writing (she's been working on a book for a couple of years now) and in the particularness of her wardrobe (fortunately she's well beyond the dreadful goth years of junior high).
Gifted children often think much more abstractly than other children, as is the case with our daughter. In the late 90's (when she was around 8 or 9) there was a spate of disaster movies coming out (volcanoes, tornadoes, and storms; I'm sure you remember them). Having only seen the trailers on TV, she would turn to us and ask, "that can't happen here, can it?" She had taken the abstract concept of a volcano bubbling up out of the ground, or a tornado ravaging Kansas, and applied it to our own backyard.
Ah, the imagination of gifted children!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Gifted Children and Social Behavior
There's no doubt, gifted children march to the beat of a different drum, especially when it comes to social behavior. You'll remember from our previous blogs that gifted children aren't motivated by the same things that motivate other children. This might often be most readily apparent with their social behavior, including who they select as friends.
Gifted children will pick friends who not only possess the same interests as they do, but also who are their intellectual peers. Basically, gifted children tend to seek out other gifted children to hang out with (so it could be said that one way to determine if your child is gifted is whether they befriend other gifted children).
Because their selection of peers might tend more toward intellectual capacity, gifted children might not recognize normal social barriers and see no problem befriending adults and discussing with them topics that might pose challenging even between two adult peers. One of our favorite stories of our own son is that, at about 10, he had no problem discussing the biology of human reproductivity at dinner out one night with another couple, including details of how "squirms" (he meant the plural of sperm) were able to swim on their way to fertilization. The gifted child is comfortable with discussing the facts with anyone willing to listen!
Just as there are differences in types of intelligences (and perhaps directly related to these differences), social behavior can differ among gifted children. Our son was (and still is) highly selective with his friends, and their play tended more toward intellectual pursuits than otherwise (exploring rather than playing, building and constructing rather than exercising). Our daughter, on the other hand, was (and still is) much less selective but much more creative and representing much more complex relationships. If you haven't guessed, our son tends to be more analytically gifted while our daughter tends toward creatively gifted.
There may be some truth to the stereotype of the antisocial super-intelligent child (or adult, for that matter), but it's less a matter of antisocial behavior and more a matter of fewer and fewer intellectual peers for them to interact with. They are, after all, in the thinning end of the IQ bell curve. This is another reason why we believe so strongly in gifted education: it gives the gifted child more opportunity to identify intellectual peers.
Gifted children will pick friends who not only possess the same interests as they do, but also who are their intellectual peers. Basically, gifted children tend to seek out other gifted children to hang out with (so it could be said that one way to determine if your child is gifted is whether they befriend other gifted children).
Because their selection of peers might tend more toward intellectual capacity, gifted children might not recognize normal social barriers and see no problem befriending adults and discussing with them topics that might pose challenging even between two adult peers. One of our favorite stories of our own son is that, at about 10, he had no problem discussing the biology of human reproductivity at dinner out one night with another couple, including details of how "squirms" (he meant the plural of sperm) were able to swim on their way to fertilization. The gifted child is comfortable with discussing the facts with anyone willing to listen!
Just as there are differences in types of intelligences (and perhaps directly related to these differences), social behavior can differ among gifted children. Our son was (and still is) highly selective with his friends, and their play tended more toward intellectual pursuits than otherwise (exploring rather than playing, building and constructing rather than exercising). Our daughter, on the other hand, was (and still is) much less selective but much more creative and representing much more complex relationships. If you haven't guessed, our son tends to be more analytically gifted while our daughter tends toward creatively gifted.
There may be some truth to the stereotype of the antisocial super-intelligent child (or adult, for that matter), but it's less a matter of antisocial behavior and more a matter of fewer and fewer intellectual peers for them to interact with. They are, after all, in the thinning end of the IQ bell curve. This is another reason why we believe so strongly in gifted education: it gives the gifted child more opportunity to identify intellectual peers.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Gifted Children and Academic Performance
For the next few blogs we're going to share some experiences with our own children on each of the 5 ways that gifted children differ from bright children that we covered in our previous blog, Your Child Is Bright, But Is He Gifted? In this blog, we'll talk about academic performance.
Gifted children make all A's, right? Not necessarily. We were very fortunate that both of our children naturally (i.e. without much pushing from Mom and Dad) took grades seriously, but this isn't always the case with gifted children. Often, the gifted child doesn't particularly care about grades. That was the case for us parents when we (ourselves) were in school. Our children, on the other hand, perhaps took grades too seriously; if they didn't get A's, they were upset and ashamed, i.e. they took it too hard. Being too self-critical when it comes to grades is a common trait among gifted children.
It is true that gifted children might not have to work hard to get good grades. In fact, they might only listen in class, never study, make brief notes at best, and consistently make As and Bs. They just get it easily. Once they hit a topic that challenges them, they might not be accustomed to having to focus, so this can eventually pose a problem. This is one of the reasons we think that gifted education is so vitally important. For example, our son had always been able to "skate" through class, but once he got to college and took Physics and Calculus, he found he couldn't do that; he actually had to study. Our daughter, now in college, is having to grapple with Philosophy, which she probably thought was going to be an easy A. We'll report back on how they're both doing toward the end of the semester.
Parents will notice that children, like adults, organize themselves into groups--for social and many other reasons. In the classroom it will be interesting to the parents of gifted children to observe the groups their children participate in. You might think that gifted children will form their own clique, and while this might be true, often gifted children are totaly outside the academically bright cliques, or "groups of their own". Our own children both followed this pattern, though somewhat differently: our son was much more individualistic, highly selective of his peers, while our daughter was much less selective but tended to assemble or partipate in groups that were - how shall we say? - "creatively unique". Note that gifted children aren't just the kids that excel in math and science, but also the ones who are exceptionally creative (think Picaso vs. Einstein); our daughter is more of the creatively gifted type. We'll talk about types of intelligences in future blogs.
Finally, gifted children, because they are motivated in much different ways than other children, often don't pander to their teachers. It's been said that bright children are teacher pleasers, gifted children are not. Gifted children often pursue their own intellectual interests, even if they are at odds with the teacher's goals (this can obviously lead to poor grades, or the incorrect label of "unmotivated"). Gifted children will ask their own questions, perhaps before they bother to answer the questions their teachers asked. We can hardly say that our son bothered himself with pleasing any teacher, but he was more than willing to report to us when a teacher said something incorrect. Our daughter, on the other hand, tended to be at odds with teachers a little more frequently than our son; her creative approach was often misunderstood by her teachers.
The most important thing to remember about gifted children: academic performance--A's and B's--are not directly related to their capabilities.
Gifted children make all A's, right? Not necessarily. We were very fortunate that both of our children naturally (i.e. without much pushing from Mom and Dad) took grades seriously, but this isn't always the case with gifted children. Often, the gifted child doesn't particularly care about grades. That was the case for us parents when we (ourselves) were in school. Our children, on the other hand, perhaps took grades too seriously; if they didn't get A's, they were upset and ashamed, i.e. they took it too hard. Being too self-critical when it comes to grades is a common trait among gifted children.
It is true that gifted children might not have to work hard to get good grades. In fact, they might only listen in class, never study, make brief notes at best, and consistently make As and Bs. They just get it easily. Once they hit a topic that challenges them, they might not be accustomed to having to focus, so this can eventually pose a problem. This is one of the reasons we think that gifted education is so vitally important. For example, our son had always been able to "skate" through class, but once he got to college and took Physics and Calculus, he found he couldn't do that; he actually had to study. Our daughter, now in college, is having to grapple with Philosophy, which she probably thought was going to be an easy A. We'll report back on how they're both doing toward the end of the semester.
Parents will notice that children, like adults, organize themselves into groups--for social and many other reasons. In the classroom it will be interesting to the parents of gifted children to observe the groups their children participate in. You might think that gifted children will form their own clique, and while this might be true, often gifted children are totaly outside the academically bright cliques, or "groups of their own". Our own children both followed this pattern, though somewhat differently: our son was much more individualistic, highly selective of his peers, while our daughter was much less selective but tended to assemble or partipate in groups that were - how shall we say? - "creatively unique". Note that gifted children aren't just the kids that excel in math and science, but also the ones who are exceptionally creative (think Picaso vs. Einstein); our daughter is more of the creatively gifted type. We'll talk about types of intelligences in future blogs.
Finally, gifted children, because they are motivated in much different ways than other children, often don't pander to their teachers. It's been said that bright children are teacher pleasers, gifted children are not. Gifted children often pursue their own intellectual interests, even if they are at odds with the teacher's goals (this can obviously lead to poor grades, or the incorrect label of "unmotivated"). Gifted children will ask their own questions, perhaps before they bother to answer the questions their teachers asked. We can hardly say that our son bothered himself with pleasing any teacher, but he was more than willing to report to us when a teacher said something incorrect. Our daughter, on the other hand, tended to be at odds with teachers a little more frequently than our son; her creative approach was often misunderstood by her teachers.
The most important thing to remember about gifted children: academic performance--A's and B's--are not directly related to their capabilities.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Your Child Is Bright, But Is He Gifted? How to Tell...
There are significant differences between bright children who are achieving great things in school and truly gifted children. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act defines gifted and talented students as “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.” [Title IX, Part A, Definition 22. (2002)] Many states follow the federal definition. The definitive measure of course is the child’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Depending on the state you live in, “gifted” may be defined as having an IQ of 121 (100 is considered an average IQ) or higher or the combination of a number of factors including mental ability, academic performance, and creativity.
All parents think that their child is special, but short of having your child tested, how might you tell that he is truly gifted? Having an idea of whether your child is gifted gives you, the parent, a head start on giving him the guidance that he needs and deserves; the educational needs of gifted children are as important as any other special learning need, indeed we believe that gifted children have a right to appropriate educational guidance.
The following five areas should give you an idea of whether your child is bright or more—gifted. In this article we assume your child is old enough to have had some formal classroom work, but it is possible to detect whether a younger child—even an infant—is displaying qualities of a gifted intelligence; this latter topic we’ll save for a future article.
1. Academic Performance – Bright children naturally perform well in school. They get A’s, willingly complete their assignments, are pleased with learning, and work hard to achieve. Bright children will learn with ease, are attentive, and remember answers. On the other hand, gifted children may not be motivated by grades, will initiate their own assignments, are frequently very self-critical, and simply know without having to work hard. Gifted children may seem inattentive but are actually selectively engaged, excelling at that which interests them most. Gifted children don’t just remember answers, they pose their own questions. Bright children perform at the top of their class or group, but gifted children are beyond the group or are in their own group. Bright children are typically teacher pleasers, whereas gifted children can be the bane of a teacher’s existence.
2. Social Behavior – Not only can gifted children be beyond, or in their own, academic group, they may create their own social groups. Bright children seek peers of their own age and interests; gifted children seek peers of their own intellect and therefore often prefer the conversation of adults. Bright children understand complex and abstract humor, and enjoy school and other opportunities to learn. Gifted children, however, create complex abstract humor (or enjoy off-the-wall humor) and tend to prefer self-directed learning over formal schooling.
3. Imagination and Ideas – Bright children generate advanced ideas and comprehend at high levels. Gifted children generate highly complex, often abstract, ideas, and their ideas are often in great abundance; they also comprehend ideas at a much more complex and abstract level than other children. Bright children tend to memorize and recall well, while gifted children guess, infer, and produce their own unique ideas well; gifted children are natural brainstormers, fountains of original ideas. Gifted children will create complex stories and will often converse freely with practically anyone willing to listen.
4. Curiosity – Bright children exhibit interest and respond with opinions, gifted children are thoroughly curious and exhibit opinions from multiple perspectives. While bright children explore problems in detail, gifted children ponder the problems in great depth. Bright children are receptive to exploring problems and are alert and observant; gifted children are intense in their exploration of problems and are not merely observant, they anticipate (predict) and relate their observations.
5. Learning – Bright children master tasks in 6 to 8 repetitions while gifted children master the same tasks in 1 to 3 repetitions. Bright children easily grasp the meanings of topics, produce accurate and complete work, and seem to easily absorb information. On the other hand, gifted children infer and connect concepts, not just meanings; they produce work of an original nature; and they don’t just absorb information, they manipulate it. Gifted children often balk at having to do repetitive practice of skills; they just don’t see the value of practice when they have already mastered the task.
Does your child exhibit behaviors and qualities that are more like bright children or gifted children? If the latter, the first thing you should do is meet with his teacher and ask as many questions as you can, though keep in mind that your child’s teacher is likely not an expert in gifted education. Recognizing that your gifted child needs special attention is a critical first step in their education.
Sources: “High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker” by Bertie Kingore, Ph.D.; “Note the Difference” by Janice Szabos, Challenge Magazine.
All parents think that their child is special, but short of having your child tested, how might you tell that he is truly gifted? Having an idea of whether your child is gifted gives you, the parent, a head start on giving him the guidance that he needs and deserves; the educational needs of gifted children are as important as any other special learning need, indeed we believe that gifted children have a right to appropriate educational guidance.
The following five areas should give you an idea of whether your child is bright or more—gifted. In this article we assume your child is old enough to have had some formal classroom work, but it is possible to detect whether a younger child—even an infant—is displaying qualities of a gifted intelligence; this latter topic we’ll save for a future article.
1. Academic Performance – Bright children naturally perform well in school. They get A’s, willingly complete their assignments, are pleased with learning, and work hard to achieve. Bright children will learn with ease, are attentive, and remember answers. On the other hand, gifted children may not be motivated by grades, will initiate their own assignments, are frequently very self-critical, and simply know without having to work hard. Gifted children may seem inattentive but are actually selectively engaged, excelling at that which interests them most. Gifted children don’t just remember answers, they pose their own questions. Bright children perform at the top of their class or group, but gifted children are beyond the group or are in their own group. Bright children are typically teacher pleasers, whereas gifted children can be the bane of a teacher’s existence.
2. Social Behavior – Not only can gifted children be beyond, or in their own, academic group, they may create their own social groups. Bright children seek peers of their own age and interests; gifted children seek peers of their own intellect and therefore often prefer the conversation of adults. Bright children understand complex and abstract humor, and enjoy school and other opportunities to learn. Gifted children, however, create complex abstract humor (or enjoy off-the-wall humor) and tend to prefer self-directed learning over formal schooling.
3. Imagination and Ideas – Bright children generate advanced ideas and comprehend at high levels. Gifted children generate highly complex, often abstract, ideas, and their ideas are often in great abundance; they also comprehend ideas at a much more complex and abstract level than other children. Bright children tend to memorize and recall well, while gifted children guess, infer, and produce their own unique ideas well; gifted children are natural brainstormers, fountains of original ideas. Gifted children will create complex stories and will often converse freely with practically anyone willing to listen.
4. Curiosity – Bright children exhibit interest and respond with opinions, gifted children are thoroughly curious and exhibit opinions from multiple perspectives. While bright children explore problems in detail, gifted children ponder the problems in great depth. Bright children are receptive to exploring problems and are alert and observant; gifted children are intense in their exploration of problems and are not merely observant, they anticipate (predict) and relate their observations.
5. Learning – Bright children master tasks in 6 to 8 repetitions while gifted children master the same tasks in 1 to 3 repetitions. Bright children easily grasp the meanings of topics, produce accurate and complete work, and seem to easily absorb information. On the other hand, gifted children infer and connect concepts, not just meanings; they produce work of an original nature; and they don’t just absorb information, they manipulate it. Gifted children often balk at having to do repetitive practice of skills; they just don’t see the value of practice when they have already mastered the task.
Does your child exhibit behaviors and qualities that are more like bright children or gifted children? If the latter, the first thing you should do is meet with his teacher and ask as many questions as you can, though keep in mind that your child’s teacher is likely not an expert in gifted education. Recognizing that your gifted child needs special attention is a critical first step in their education.
Sources: “High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker” by Bertie Kingore, Ph.D.; “Note the Difference” by Janice Szabos, Challenge Magazine.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Welcome to GiftedGalaxy!
My name is Chuck, and my wife's name is Lori; welcome to our site! Probably the first thing you should know about us is that we're parents; we have two wonderful gifted children. Recently we completed a successful navigation of primary and secondary school and our youngest started college this past week. That means we have two in college: our son Darrah is a junior majoring in Computer Science, and Catie is majoring in English with the long term ambition of earning a law degree.
The second thing that you might want to know about us is that Lori's a teacher. She's taught for 14 years now, and for 9 of those years she's been teaching gifted students. She has a Master's degree in Gifted Education, and for her, teaching--especially gifted children--is a mission. While she teaches gifted children at the elementary level, her certification also allows her to teach at the secondary level.
Rearing a gifted child can be an unexpected challenge. Most people don't really get this, but if you have a gifted child in your house, then you know what we're talking about. Unlike what most people think (that gifted children automatically make good grades and win scholarships), gifted children pose a unique set of challenges, from maintaining a high level of motivation and intellectual challenge, to answering questions that are, well, hard to answer. On top of this, there are different kinds of intelligences and different ways of being gifted. As a parent, you want to support your gifted child, challenge them, and encourage them, so you ask teachers for advice, you devour books on the topic, and you scour the Internet.
We found that the absolute best advice usually came from other parents who had been through it before and who were willing to share what they had learned and the resources they had discovered (the really good resources on gifted children are actually not so easy to find). So with that in mind, we decided to create this blog and share not only what we've learned in bringing up our own gifted children for the past 20 years, but also to share what Lori, as a professional educator of gifted children, knows, learns, and experiences every day with her nearly 100 students each year.
We hope you enjoy our blog and we hope that it helps you to challenge and encourage your gifted child!
The second thing that you might want to know about us is that Lori's a teacher. She's taught for 14 years now, and for 9 of those years she's been teaching gifted students. She has a Master's degree in Gifted Education, and for her, teaching--especially gifted children--is a mission. While she teaches gifted children at the elementary level, her certification also allows her to teach at the secondary level.
Rearing a gifted child can be an unexpected challenge. Most people don't really get this, but if you have a gifted child in your house, then you know what we're talking about. Unlike what most people think (that gifted children automatically make good grades and win scholarships), gifted children pose a unique set of challenges, from maintaining a high level of motivation and intellectual challenge, to answering questions that are, well, hard to answer. On top of this, there are different kinds of intelligences and different ways of being gifted. As a parent, you want to support your gifted child, challenge them, and encourage them, so you ask teachers for advice, you devour books on the topic, and you scour the Internet.
We found that the absolute best advice usually came from other parents who had been through it before and who were willing to share what they had learned and the resources they had discovered (the really good resources on gifted children are actually not so easy to find). So with that in mind, we decided to create this blog and share not only what we've learned in bringing up our own gifted children for the past 20 years, but also to share what Lori, as a professional educator of gifted children, knows, learns, and experiences every day with her nearly 100 students each year.
We hope you enjoy our blog and we hope that it helps you to challenge and encourage your gifted child!
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