“Science reveals that all life on earth is one.” – Cosmos
Notice that the quote above doesn’t say, “Science reveals that all life on earth is the same.”
As a person who has dedicated the last seven years of my life’s work to educating gifted children and supporting gifted families, it can be easy to forget that there are still people out there who are unclear about the reality of giftedness, and that there are many people who deny it outright. They account for multiple intelligences but don’t acknowledge a qualitative diversity of intensities — a true divergence from the norm.
A couple of weeks ago some misguided articles on gifted children were brought to my attention. These articles (and the comments) were a jarring reminder that I live in a fortunate bubble of understanding and celebration of the gifted child.
Some of these people seemed to think that for a child to be gifted, they must’ve had some special aspect of their childhood stolen from them. That they were forced to stay up late to drill math facts. That they were perpetually on the verge of breaking under their parent’s pressure to achieve. Others thought the parents of gifted children were asserting that their child deserved something better than other children.
These things are simply not true.
And I would like to join with the choir of other gifted advocates and declare that giftedness is real.
My friends and I have so much work to do before our job is complete.
When I began writing this article I realized more evidence of my bubble. I’ve actually never come out and said on this blog exactly what I mean when I say that a child is gifted. Everyone who comes to my site usually has a great grasp on the concept by the time they arrive here. I’m lucky, in a way. (Thank you.)
So I’m going to spell it out now, in honor of those kids and their families that know on a very deep level that their child is different from the norm in critical ways.
In my work with significantly gifted children, I’ve come to understand giftedness as an inherent cognitive difference. This difference is characterized by asynchronous development. A child’s abilities may present themselves as out of synch with age-mates. They may be the chronological age of seven with the reading abilities of a high-schooler, and the social-emotional range of a pre-schooler. This difference is often coupled with inborn intensities and sensitivities that complicate life to such an extent that age-typical expectations become an absurd suggestion.
This difference is a small range of data points on the cognitive bell curve that deserve as much recognition and respect as the rest of the curve.
The world has many different types of beautiful minds, creating a symphonic reality that is critical to its own self-preservation.
We may all be one, but all life on earth isn’t the same.
If all life were the same there would be no curve and no symphony. And that would be… well… awful.
Both my sister and I were labeled “gifted” when little, we went to the first public elementary school for gifted kids in the nation. We got it from our father who was freakishly brilliant and a polymath (photographic memory, amazing artist and musician but also a neurologist, surgeon, horticulturalist etc), we grew up in the sixties with every external support imaginable, private schools and tutors, trips around the world, etc) and yet I’ve struggled with many of the hazards that we know now are attendant with giftedness, but nobody ever talks about them. Isolation, depression, OCD, anxiety disorders and many darker aspects, I could go on. What I’m saying here is why does the gifted community all pretend that gifted kids don’t have these risks? Everybody goes on and on about all the positives but almost never about the negatives, and yet that’s exactly what we as educators pretend to do–help parents & kids understand what it means to be gifted, and to arm them with knowledge so they can protect themselves. I wish my sister and I had been forewarned. Our educators really failed us.
Hi, I read your posting with great interest. Thank you for putting it all out there.
I am curious to know in what ways you felt your educators failed you, how teacher should treat “gifted” students and what advice you feel is vital to pass along to the parents of a gifted child?
Thanks very much,
John
Hmmmm, that’s a long story, John! I suggest you check out this previous blog post of mine:http://jadeannrivera.com/how-to-find-the-right-educational-environment-for-your-gifted-child/. I’d love to talk more with you about all of this, check out my family coaching page for more information about making an appointment.
I’m glad you brought this up. You are extremely rare in getting every kind of support. Most people assume the problems of giftedness come from inappropriate education and poor treatment and if they could have an education like yours those problems would not occur or be minimal. The fact that you still experienced them full force is very valuable information. Your suffering will not be in vain.
“If all life were the same there would be no curve and no symphony.” – I love that, and I love the symphony, even if it does get a little loud sometimes. 😉
Nicole, I hear ya! Get it? 😉
I think Jade “maybe” your looking at it different. I don’t think they mean literally one! They mean everything is one in nature! In other words, at the core we & everything that is was made from the same star dust so to speak. We & everything that is are different expression’s of the universe or the electromagnetic spectrum. You mentioned the symphony! “Imagine” a piano of the Universe. Each note represent’s each & everyone of us & everything that is. The piano would represent unity or one. Each note is the pitch or as you said curve. So as I said the same in Nature but not in Expression. This as well is nothing new! Ancient Egyptian’s & Buddhist as well as Native American Indians have known this hundred’s of years.
Hope that was helpful.
“giftedness is real” -yes. And your additions and extensions don’t take away from that.
Thanks, buddy.
Beautifully said, Jade.