Entry #3 Chap 9

Entry #3 Chapter 9
“How do public schools define children with gifts and talents?”
The term gifted usually refers to someone who has extraordinary intellectual gifts. “Giftedness” can have different meanings depending on culture. Giftedness was once thought to be strictly based on tests and IQ levels. Recently, the term giftedness has been expanded to include more than intelligence level. Some students may not show excellent performance but may show the potential for displaying their special talent or gift. Students who are gifted “exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields”(Kirk et.al., pg. 288).

Children who are gifted also deserve extra attention and resources. However, sometimes service and activities for students who are gifted are not provided by schools. When I was reading about giftedness I thought of a former fellow student. She had a disability and was in a wheelchair and was an extremely talented percussionist in our high school band. As I read further in the text I discovered that public schools recognize “twice exceptional” students. A twice exceptional student is a student who has a disability and gifts. This is common because I can think of a few cases where this exists.

“What are some characteristics of children with gifts and talents?”
Exceptional talents and gifts may be shaped by family and heredity. Traits such strong work ethic, persistence, and drive students may have engrained in them from home. Children who are gifted generally make friends readily, have adequate social skills, and are involved in school or extra-curricular activities. However, issues such as depression, perfectionism, suicide, and stress are common and controversial topics to those with gifts and talents. Perfectionism is a condition which is common in those with talents and gifts. “Perfectionism is the combination of thoughts and behaviors associated with high standards or high expectations for one’s own performance” (Kirk et.al., pg. 296).
Throughout high school I encountered students who were perfectionists. I was taking a college level history course my junior year when I witnessed a perfectionist’s response to failure. A girl in my class started crying hysterically because she received a 93 on a test, instead of her usual 100. (I would have been happy with a 93.) I found this to be a very extreme reaction to something that should not be a big deal, but to her it was a big deal. Sometimes students will say their “perfectionism” is triggered by their parents want for them to succeed. Suicide is unfortunately another occurrence amongst the gifted population. Which raised the question, are students with gifts and talents more stressed than other students? There does not seem to be a concrete explanation for the cause of the larger number of suicides in the gifted population. Creativity drives many types of gifts and talents.

I find creativity quotes insightful. Creativity is associated closely with the arts. Students who are creative can generate new ideas, think deeply into their ideas, explore their ideas, and listen to their internal voice more readily and naturally than people who may not be as creative. The characteristics of students with gifts and talents rage widely because so many “kinds” of students are considered gifted.