Gifted-Ed Guru

Should I be offended that you seem to have reserved "she" for the bright child and "he" for the gifted child?

I grew up in a household with two older brothers and I was the youngest and the only girl. According to the definition provided in this article, my brothers were gifted, and everyone knew it including them. I knew I could do the work, but I never felt I could measure up to them and thus felt very stupid by comparison. But around my other classmates I was above average which wasn't good enough because I wasn't as smart as my brothers. I exhibited the characteristics of a bright child, which is horrible for your self-esteem if you grow up in a house of gifted siblings and have parents that don't understand why you aren't getting it as quickly as they do (i.e. the norm). I was branded lazy and even though I graduated high school with honors it wasn't valedictorian or salutatorian like my brothers so it wasn't good enough. Thank you for this article. It has really opened my eyes and let me know there is nothing wrong with me.

How would you identify and address the situation of a child who has the ability and "gifts" you discuss as being associated with gifted children, but for some reason may not outwardly demonstrate these traits on a consistent basis? Some of these reasons might be anxiety about not pleasing the teacher if the child deviates from what she thinks the teacher wants; fear that her original ideas and inquisitiveness may not be well-received by teachers, parents, or peers; or worry that despite her interest and devotion to a subject or project, her work and efforts may not be good enough.

I guess the first thing I would do is figure out what, exactly, can be done to mitigate those factors that cause the child to be less than him/herself. Talk to the teacher, reassure the child that her efforts are the kiey regardless of the chiild's perceived way it will look in the end. Work that stuff out while the child is young, if possible, but I also think there's a good chance that this could fade in time as the child becomes more confident. It might also be that when she finds that special, really great teacher, she will blossom.

Good luck.

Your article should be required reading for every elementary school teacher, regular teachers and teachers of gifted students. My son was not lucky enough to have a teacher who recognized his giftedness, and just thought he was "weird." I advocated for him over and over and over, but he kept getting 1 or 2 points below the required score for being gifted. When I finally got him into the "gifted" program, which was only one hour per week, the "gifted" teacher didn't understand him (or the other kids, either) and I had to pull him out. There was also a distinct prejudice toward me, a mom with a PhD, who thought I knew more and better than the less-educated teachers and resented me and my ideas.
I transferred him to a different school district in the same city. They have to accept the IEPs from transferred students, but give their own gifted evaluations. Again, the only way I got him into the "gifted" program was to get an evaluation by a psychologist, who said his eyes didn't track correctly, so he had a hard time taking timed tests.
So, I say that I "homeschooled" my kids, even though I sent the to public school. I took care of their need to learn more, ask more questions, go more deeply into a subject. You can't just wait for, as you write above, "that special, really great teacher" for your child to blossom.

Very well said! Unfortunately some parents and some of the gifted/magnet programs don't seem to get the 'difference'.
What is the point in 'PREPARING' to test for a gifted program - that had shocked me, not anymore - many parents resort to it.
Preparing a child for a subject in advance and claiming giftedness vs a child learning on his or her own/being curious/ asking questions on the subject.

When my child was screened and results conveyed in second grade (btw it is a she - no pun intended), as a parent I/people around her knew that she was gifted but we never asked the school that she be tested. Getting into the gifted program one notices that every school has their own way of screening/selecting,which makes up for the bright-gifted combination.

Then again there is the context of intellectual giftedness vs emotional giftedness. Would like to hear your take on this.

I am very concerned about using pat descriptions such as "The bright child knows the answer, the gifted child asks the questions" and "A bright child works hard to achieve; the gifted learner knows without working hard." The second is especially damaging since it implies that gifted kids don't need instruction or to put forth effort.

Gifted kids who are quiet and compliant would not be identified using your description. The qualities you focus on are more descriptive of various personality types than indicators of giftedness. I'm not sure why you think replacing one set of stereotypes with another is going to improve gifted identification in schools. If we are serious about identifying gifted kids, we should stop relying on teacher nominations and screen everyone.

For a more nuanced description of the characteristics of gifted students, see http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10114.aspx

In response to your critique of my article, I only offer this: I make my best attempt to distill in (relatively) few words what others might take a whole website/doctoral thesis to explain. I consider my words carefully, I try to paint a fair picture of what I know to be accurate/true, and I accept that others (like yourself) may see flaws in what I offer or how it is offered. Fair enough.

As the writer of this blog, I am given the option by Psychology Today of deleting this comment. Instead, I encourage others to take a look at your suggested website. I have previewed it. I know the work of Davidson to be top notch.

Thanks for your comment.

The challenge is in the way testing is set up in the schools. According to the schools, a difference of just a few IQ points on a standardized test means a child is considered a "bright child" and not a "gifted learner". I've seen children who were extremely bright and "gifted" by your definition, yet they failed to be included in the gifted program because he/she scored a 128 instead of a 130 on the IQ test. As clinicians, we need to remind ourselves (and our schools) that a small difference in test points can be accounted for by a child being sick, stressed, or impulsive.

"As clinicians, we need to remind ourselves (and our schools) that a small difference in test points can be accounted for by a child being sick, stressed, or impulsive."

No arguments here. This is why an appeals process should be an important part of the whole ID mechanism.