3872417

'Gifted' Children.

August 21st, 2007 01:38 PM

I was reading an article in a magazine recently about academically gifted children, about how their happiness and quality of life varies compared to 'normal' children. Also how different countries cater to the needs of their gifted children and this fact surprised me; According to the magazine, Finland has no private schools, nor is any there any research on the gifted or any real facilities for them. There is almost no separation between them and 'normal' children. However, internationally Finnish children come top in Mathematics on average.

The US has 100's of establishments for gifted children, and opportunities for children to be separated and have specialized education. They came 27th internationally in the same poll.

So what do you think is the best method for furthering those gifted children? Or perhaps they should not receive any extra attention at all? Interested to hear your opinions.

3872465

August 21st, 2007 01:59 PM

What is 'gifted' apart from a label? A slightly higher IQ on a test that means very little; an affinity for a certain subject; a skill in completing standardised tests? Take these people, give them specialised schooling, the expectations of everyone around them to succeed, the inevitable labelling of them even in systems where specialised schooling is not around - a true comparison between the base potential of gifted people and other people isn't really possible within our current social environment. I've yet to see anything to prove that these people have a greater potential than anyone else. An affinity for a certain thing or a higher IQ score doesn't mean much; even success at school can hardly be put down to any innate factor. With the current lack of reliable evidence I don't believe that these people necessarily have any greater potential than anyone else.

That in mind the issue that I would choose to address is not furthering the station of a few gifted people, whose areas of expertise and ways of thinking have already made them well suited to our current standards of intelligence, but in addressing the stunning neglect of most other children.
If we all have the same potential then another way of looking at it would be that everyone is gifted, the problem: that many of those gifts go to waste in a poor education system. Don't get me wrong, some people are as thick as pigshit, but by and large they're that way because we've made them that way. Ultimately we should be helping everyone go as far as they can go; not just a few who are lucky enough to display some trick or talent at a young age and be labelled as gifted.

3872475

August 21st, 2007 02:01 PM

It's a double edged sword really, one side being that the children will "develop" their gifts faster than they would in a regular school, the other side is that they will be robbed of a normal childhood spent with normal children.

Not to mention issues that could arrive when the kid just wants to play in the woods, but is "persuaded" by his or her parents to stay at home almost all day and every day and practise math, partly due to the investment they made in the program and somewhat misguided attempts at deciding what is best for them.

And i agree with Nemmerle, there is alot of potential out there that is simply ignored, or destroyed by detrimental social situations and popular culture.

3872513

August 21st, 2007 02:17 PM

Some good points there. I think a stupid/slow person who is dragged through education-systems made for above-average students will profit quite a bit from that as long as his teachers consider him to be intelligent.

Telling a student that he is dumb is a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

3872656

August 21st, 2007 03:32 PM

My cousin is one of those gifted children. He was smarter than all his teachers in both middle and high school. In kindergarten he could identify various species of snakes. He went to a regular school (a crappy ghetto one honestly) and he still turned out kinda weird, but thats his mothers fault and partially because he has hemophilia. Anyway, I still believe that sending a "gifted" child to a regular school is better, not for academic reasons but for social reasons. My cousin was kept from having a social life so he is very introverted and as a result all he has is his intelligence, no friends, no girlfriend, nothing...
There is also a balance between EQ and IQ which should be maintained and if balanced correctly results in successful person. Someone with a low EQ may very well have the potential to succeed but not the personality or attitude to do so. EQ can be changed in various ways which may or may not help you.

you sound jealous

3872966

August 21st, 2007 05:14 PM

You sound like another kid who thinks they know what people are thinking because they've got a few tired emotional terms hidden up their sleeve somewhere.
Considering the life I've led that emotion really wouldn't make sense here, not that you really know anything about my life. But if they make you comfortable I'll leave you to your delusions of empathy or whatever else it was you were trying to do.

3873059

August 21st, 2007 05:45 PM

I was in a gifted and talented program all through grade school, but my favorite part is still 4th grade, my teacher thought I was retarded, so sent me to the local state college to get tested, which pretty much revealed that I was quite intelligent. I just don't like dealing with people who are wrong and refuse to reconsider and/or have control over my grade. This might have not been a problem if I was in a normal class, but I don't regret it.

I think my life so far can kinda be explained in one sentence: you can learn a lot of random-ass information if you don't bother with a social life.
This might apply to all "gifted" people who are set aside, I don't know.

3873068

August 21st, 2007 05:51 PM

Why call them, "gifted"? They are in no way, "special" or "gifted"... they're retarded!

3873229

August 21st, 2007 07:20 PM

If gifted children are anything like me they'll get burnout doing something thats too easy. I need variety and a challenge in my life. If i'm not getting enough of either I'll look for something new.

He must've hit a nerve.

3873356

August 21st, 2007 08:56 PM

Oh god, the nerve, it tickles so bad.