First response to Session 3: It would be absolutely terrible to miss depression of any sort in a gifted student, and lose them to suicide. A caring, knowledgeable, hope-filled teacher can make a huge difference in a gifted student's life.
That should have been first answer to Session 3 (above)
For me as an educator is important to keep learning about gifted children because understanding their feelings, thoughts and behaviors will allow me to reach them and serve them better.It’s Important to be aware of their intellectual needs beyond the grade-level curriculum to keep them motivated with progressive challenging activities and avoid helplessness or underachievement.It’s important to be sensitive to their feelings and behaviors in order to asses them in a professional manner and avoid harmful criticisms in the classroom; we have an obligation to guide them on handling their positive and negative feelings and behaviors, to generate positive outcomes.It’s important to help them in their social-emotional development by understanding and helping them to understand her/his own feelings of isolation; we as an educators need to be aware of their “tendency of interpersonal alienation that leads to depression and suicide; we must provide them with strategies that help them alleviate depression and move them to a positive action”; we must give them the tools to coop with difficulty and peer pressure, to be assertive builders of relationships (By the way, I found the Friendship Strategies on page 182 being very helpful).I think the questions on pages 176-177 summarize the importance of learning about our GT students. Those questions should be our constant wonders as educators:“At what point, though, should a child disregard compliance and conformity? Is being traditional more important than achievement, creativity, discovery or establishing a sense of personal autonomy and independent self-worth? How much does a gifted child need to engage in an ordinary social life?”
As an educator of over 20 years with the Gifted, I feel it is an ongoing process to learn about the minds of the Gifted. Each child is an individual and the Gifted are no different. pg. 236 mentions "nothing is unthinkable." How true! As the world changes, so does the role a gifted student plays in society and how they are viewed.Risk factors go up as technology increases, stress levels mount. Being a Successful Parent pg. 237 is something I wish all parents could read. It has paricular significance in a family with siblings because the sense of belonging within the family has such importance. I agree that parents must be in communication with their feelings, and discuss their roles in their relationships with themselves as well as other peers.
I am responding to Melanie in saying that I feel it is important for gifted learners to have konwledgeable teachers who can encourage and support the child. In a setting where a teacher does not understand the inner workings of a gifted mind, can only lead to disaster.
Response to Melanie: I agree with you. We need to make sure we are there for all of our kids, especially for our gifted ones. We as educators need to help them go through difficult social-emotional situations. We need to be that friend they can go to and talk about their feelings, fears and wonders, we need to be that person they can trust will listen to them and will guide them. We cannot forget that gifted children have a tendency to fall into depression or suicidal thoughts, even when they might not be showing any warning symptoms.
Response to Barbie:I like that you mentioned the changes that have taken place in working with gifted children along the years, as changes in our society occur. Teachers and parents need to be aware of the changing role of our gifted in the society and the increasing levels of stress. I also like that you mentioned how Technology has become a big factor in our gifted children’s lives; even though it brings constantly changing opportunities for them, it also brings constantly changing risks that we need to address and keep up with.
response to AlvaradoO: I want to be a student in your class.response to Barbie: I wish I had today's technology when I was growing up, except for social pages, and dangerous chat rooms, etc. Playing with the colors and possibilities would have been fun. But the rest might have been a nightmare.
It is important that we keep learning about gifted children so we don't forget how we should treat them differently. Our approach to a standard student may not work well with a gifted student, and may even be harmful. Page 154 shows how we can be harmful to a gifted child by expecting them to do all of their work, and expecting them to behave as the rest of the children do. Since we see so many more regular children than gifted children it would be easy to lose track of these differences if we didn't have continuous trainings.
@barbieb I agree. Parents need to be the ones to help the child find their place in relationships and peer groups. Some of these children would be lost without that guidance.
As an educator, having all this information about how gifted children and their development as well practical suggestions to better guide them can really make a difference in the life of a student. Before I read the book, I was able to notice the differences between GT kids and the rest of the class and I was able to differenciate the academic portion; but now I have a broader understanding of their development and I can also look for other areas to help them grow. I can use practical suggestions as offered on pg. 205 to make sure students take advantage of the time they spend in the classroom.
Response to Dave A: Gifted children are indeed very different and they need special considerations, we need to be able to challenge their streghnts and offer support in areas where needed.
There are so many different growing stages a child goes through in their lives. Knowing an insight to how gifted children grow really has it's advantages with teachers and parents. Being able to challenge (teachers) and also meet needs (parents) are both important.
Every child in our class is a unique individual. We work hard to meet the needs of all of our students, the ESL, the At-Risk, the ones struggling in math but sometimes overlook the Gifted student because they "don't need us as much". It is so important to be reminded of the needs and wants of gifted students so that we can focus on meeting them. These kids are our future and we need to invest the same time and effort into them as we do all of our other students.
@Daryl- I agree that it's important to contintue to study the different stages of a child's growth. This will help us know where they are coming from and where they are going and enable us to challenge them accordingly.
I feel it is so important to continue to read about and study the gifted way. As an educator, we influence and help model and mold children each day. We need to be accepting, understanding and aware of the needs of the Gifted child and how we can help them to adjust to a world where they are not the majority, but are indeed so special. If parents can role model acceptance, as Ch. 11 suggests, I think this will rub off on the gifted child. There are so many encompassing issues that a GT students will face along the way and it is up to the teacher/parent to help the child in the best way possible. "Peer pressure on parents is nearly as great as it is for their children."243
@ Melanie - I also agree that it would be tragic not recognizing depression in a gifted child.
PV: It is crucial to continue learning about giftedness, how gifted children feel, act and what motivates them. We have to bear in mind their asynchronous development such that they may display advanced intelligence in certain areas, they may lack the maturity to process the things going on around them. On p. 176, it was noted how "our society puts high value on social skills". However, "at what point should a child disregard compliance and conformity? How much does a gifted child need to engage in an ordinary social life?". I like the "solution" offered on p. 177 that children need to at least learn "business friendly skills" --- behaviors that will allow them to do business with other people in a friendly manner, but this does not require them to be best friends or adopt the other person's beliefs, values or behaviors.
PV: I agree with barbieb about how the changes in our society have affected the way we educate our children. I love the fact that technology has brought forth signficant learning opportunities however, it does carry associated risks that we also have to be mindful about.