This is a long, self indulgent and wordy post inspired by SENG's National Parenting Gifted Children Week July 17 - 23, 2011. Please feel free to give it a miss if it bores you or you don't believe in "gifted".
When I first started this blog it was a space to vent the frustrations we experienced with schooling and parenting my gifted son. I figured not many people wanted to read about this and instead turned to the New South Wales Association for Gifted Children (NSWAGTC)and other organisations for support. My blog languished and I eventually started posting recipes and quilty stuff here.This stuff makes me happy and gives me a place to focus on me and my creativity.
Back to the kids though, it quickly became apparent that the NSWAGTC are hugely under resourced and that Gifted Education in NSW is in a state of flux. There are policies and guidelines and then there's the reality. Schools just don't have the resources and teachers don't get the training to deal with the 30 kids in their class and the myriad labels and conditions. I took matters into my own hands...
We went on a long overseas holiday, leaving school behind was one of the best things I could have done for the kids. On our return in a new school year, new teacher and different set of expectations things were much better. We went on camps and workshops with other gifted kids and their families. Suddenly being different was normal :-)
I started a local support group, providing emotional and practical "lived through it, not a professional" support online and by phone. We meet monthly with other families and try to arrange activities that the children would enjoy together. It is hugely rewarding and cathartic at the same time. I still remember the relief I felt when I spoke to someone for the first time and they told me that my kid was normal - for a gifted kid.
I got heavily involved in their schools, joined the P&C committees, fundraised, baked cakes and sold raffle tickets, I teach Ethics Classes. I advocated for resources and opportunities for all children, not just the top 10%. Being involved in the process for Merit Selection of teaching staff was a real eye opener and made me appreciate the constraints and challenges faced by our principals. I have so much respect for them and the teachers that work in our public school system. I hoped they understood that I want to work together as a team for the best outcome for my children and their classmates. It helps when the teacher is open to this.
Three years down the track my son is about to complete primary school, having been selected for a gifted program these past two years and now a selective high school were he will continue to mix with like minded teenagers and have subjects available at a level that suits his learning style.
Things are looking rosy, it hasn't always been a smooth ride and I definitely don't like what's happening in selective schools as more and more coached and tutored children enter the system. But that's another can of worms! We also have the bumpy teenage years ahead with my gifted daughter.
By making myself available to others embarking on the "gifted merry go round" I hope I can give others the same insight and pass on the resources and tactics that worked for us. Every child is different though, so what works for one may not work for the other. I know this is true even for my two.
If after reading this and you suspect your child is a little different to their age peers and want to know more and especially if you are worried about where things are headed, I urge you to consider through the following from the NSWGATC website.
AND TALK TO SOMEONE about it! You will feel much better, I promise xx
Characteristics of Gifted Children
General intellectual ability
•is an avid reader
•has avid interest in science or literature
•provides very alert, rapid answers to questions
•has a wide range of interests
•is secure emotionally
•is venturesome, wanting to do new things
•tends to dominate peers or situations
•is an entrepreneur - readily makes money on various projects or activities
•needs little outside control - applies self discipline
•is resourceful - solving problems by ingenious methods
•is creative in new ideas, seeing associations, pursuing innovations
•displays a great curiosity about objects, situations or events
•has the capacity to look into things and be puzzled
•is involved with many exploratory type activities
•reveals originality in oral and written expression
•is perceptually open to his or her environment
•displays a willingness to accept complexity
•has the capacity to use knowledge and information other than to memorise
•shows superior judgement in evaluating things
•is a good guesser
•makes good grades in most subjects
•learns rapidly, easily and efficiently
•uses a lot of commonsense
•retains and uses information which has been heard or read
•uses a large number of words easily and accurately
•asks many questions of a provocative nature
•has a power of abstraction, conceptualisation and synthesis
•has an interest in cause-effect relations
•has a liking for structure, order and consistency
•has a power of concentration, an intense attention that excludes all else
•is persistent
•has a high energy level
•is independent
•is friendly and outgoing
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Specific academic aptitude
•shows similar characteristics to general intellectual ability but concentrated around one or a few fields
•has a long attention span in areas of interest
•learns rapidly, easily and with less repetition in one or a few specific areas (probably not all subject areas)
•likes or loves one or a few areas of knowledge
•likes to study some subjects more than others
•spends time voluntarily beyond ordinary assignments on projects of interest to him or her
•is able to extend learning from these key areas to various situations somewhat unrelated in orientation
•is able to show broad perspective on one or more subject areas
•is able to judge own and others' relative abilities in key areas of interest
•seeks assistance of others beyond his or age peers in extending knowledge in areas of interest
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Creative thinking and production
•is fluent in producing and elaborating on ideas
•makes unusual associations between remote ideas
•is flexible in thinking patterns
•senses when problems exist
•acts spontaneously, intuitively
•tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty
•senses inconsistencies and discontinuities
•readily guesses and makes hypotheses
•juggles or redefines elements of a problem or task
•can show intense concentration on a task
•retains own ideas in a discussion or collaboration
•provides multiple solutions or responses to problems
•is uninhibited in expression, sometimes radical
•is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination
•always trying to adapt or improve things
•has a keen sense of humour, seeing humour in situations others don't
•doesn't mind being different
•doesn't accept authoritarian pronouncements without own judgement
•asks provocative questions, challenges parents, teachers, written and other authorities
•is bored with memorisation and recitation
•displays energy, sometimes disruptively
•produces unexpected, sometimes "silly" responses
•is considered, and perhaps resented, by some peers as "crazy"
•can show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects that capture their interest and imagination
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Leadership
•can stimulate and arouse others
•organises others
•recognises skills and abilities possessed by others
•interacts with others easily showing social skills
•recognises and can articulate the goals of a group
•can articulate ideas clearly
•can listen to others empathetically
•understands how people feel and how groups function
•can give directions clearly and effectively
•exercises authority reliably and responsibly
•can adopt non-leadership roles within a group
•can establish the mood of a group
•supports others in a group when appropriate
•can coordinate the work of several individuals
•is often asked for ideas and suggestions
•is looked to by others when something must be decided
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Psychomotor ability
•is rhythmic
•is athletic
•likes to play physically
•has a suitable body build
•is coordinated, balanced and confident in physical activities
•is inventive in constructing or modifying games
•is energetic
•is able to understand the intellectual aspects of psychomotor activities
•demonstrates endurance, stamina and persistence in physical activities
•demonstrates prowess in physical activities common amongst age peers
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Visual and performing arts
Music
•has good sense of rhythm
•is well-coordinated
•discriminates musical and other sounds well
•understands musical relationships
•enjoys musical activities and demonstrates musical feeling
•shows tonal memory
•responds readily to rhythm, melody and harmony
•uses music to express feeling or experience
•makes up original tunes
•enjoys dance and dramatic activities with musical elements
Dramatics
•demonstrates interest and enjoyment in dramatic activities
•readily shifts into role of another character, animal or object
•uses voice to reflect changes in mood
•demonstrates understanding of conflict when acting out a dramatic event
•communicates feelings by means of facial expressions, gestures and bodily movements
•enjoys evoking emotional responses from listeners
•demonstrates ability to dramatise feelings and experiences
•brings a dramatic situation to a climax with a well-timed ending when telling a story
Art
•draws a variety of objects
•puts depth into drawing, showing planning and good proportion
•treats art seriously and enjoys it
•shows originality in modes of undertaking art
•is willing to try out new materials and experiences
•pursues art in spare time
•uses art to express feelings and experiences
•is interested in other people's art, both appreciating it and criticising it
•likes to model three dimensionally with clay, soap carving, plasticine etc
