Advancing Individual Potential:

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Advancing Individual Potential

• Sorting Myths from Realities
• What do I do after that?

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1. All children are gifted.

• Myth

• All are special, all are a gift -
• but not all are gifted.
• Federal government 5 are gifted, additional 3
  have special talents.
• In RI 22 or 35,200 are special education
  students 8 or 12,800 are GT students.

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• Giftedness is asynchronous development in which
  advanced cognitive abilities and heightened
  intensity combine to create inner experiences
  and awareness that are qualitatively different
  from the norm. This asynchrony increases with
  higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of
  the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable
  and requires modifications in parenting, teaching
  and counseling in order for them to develop
  optimally. (The Columbus Group, 1991)

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• To have the intelligence of an adult and the
  emotions of a child combined in a childish body
  is to encounter certain difficulties.
  (Hollingworth, 1942)
• In addition to being out of sync in their own
  development, gifted children are out of sync
  with family relations, both parents and siblings,
  socially with age-peers and older, and with
  schools and the larger community. (Kearney,
  1991)

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2. Giftedness can be created if proper and
plentiful stimulation and encouragement are
provided.

• Myth

• Gifted children are born, not made.
• However, No matter how gifted,
• children do not develop their gifts
• without a parent or supporter behind
• them encouraging, stimulating, and
• pushing (Winner, 1996).

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3. Gifted students often have lower self-esteem
than non-gifted students.

• Myth

• The majority of studies indicate higher levels of
  general and academic self-esteem among gifted
  students.
• Social emotional difficulties appear no more
• (or less) frequently among GT children.
• GT young people possess characteristics that,
  when supported, may enhance their resilience.

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Risk Factors Specific to Gifted Children

• Lack of challenge or low ceiling in the
  curriculum
• Internal asynchronies
• Insufficient learning time with children of
  similar interests, abilities drive
• Gifted children who do not find others who share
  their passions risk feeling excluded, becoming
  arrogant or becoming an underachiever.
• Children farthest from the norm, the highly
  gifted, face the most problems. (Winner, 1996)
• (It is OK to talk about giftedness with a child.
  It validates perceptions, encourages
  confidence.)

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4. Gifted children need to get along with
their peers.

• Reality

• Which peers? Social peers? Chronological
• peers? Intellectual peers?
• Need time to get along and work with each
• of these populations.
• Some gifted children need, and are happy
• with, a lot of time alone. Their minds and
• interests provide the company.

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5. Formal testing is not necessary to identify
giftedness.

• Reality

• However, it can be very helpful.
• Parents are usually the first observers of
• gifted behavior.
• Early identification of giftedness is as
• essential as with any other exceptionality.

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and

• School systems generally use tests for screening
  and identification purposes, and/or teacher and
  parent recommendations, but they usually dont
  screen until upper elementary grades.
• Most schools used group tests
• Many school psychologists and other test
  administrators in schools are not experienced
  testing gifted children.

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6. All gifted children are early readers.

• Myth

• Early readers are most often gifted not all
• gifted children learn to read early.
• Mathematically gifted children, those with
• attention deficit and learning disabilities,
• culturally diverse children and under-
• achievers are often visual-spatial learners as
• opposed to auditory-sequential learners .

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7. Gifted students score well on tests of
educational achievement.

• Myth

• Many think abstractly and with such
• complexity that they need help with concrete
• study and test taking skills.
• They may not be able to select one right
• answer because they can see how all the
• answers might be correct.
• They can be mappers or leapers

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8. Gifted children excel in all academic areas.

• Myth

• Gifted is generally gifted in language
• and mathematics, but gifts tend to be
• domain specific.
• Children can be gifted in one area, not
• another. They can also be twice excep-
• tional, gifted with learning disabilities

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9. Gifted children can be handled adequately in a
regular classroom.

• Reality

• It is possible to meet the needs of many gifted
  children through a variety of strategies
  curriculum compacting, ability grouping, small
  group and independent contracts, tiered
  assignments, variable pacing, open-ended
  questioning, subject grade acceleration.

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and

• Cross-grade and flexible cluster grouping provide
  curricular adjustment. Such grouping programs out
  perform heterogeneously mixed classes by two or
  three months on grade-equivalent scales. (Kulik,
  1992)
• Early entrance, grade skipping and AP courses
  generally are successful. Consider social
  psychological adjustment as well as cognitive
  capabilities to optimally match students needs.
  (Rogers, 1991)

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10. Most teachers are able to accommodate gifted
children in their classrooms.

• Myth

• Classrooms today contain students with a
• broad range of abilities and interests, yet
• most teachers in Rhode Island have not
• received the preservice training or
• professional development they need to
• effectively differentiate their classrooms.

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• As with all students who have special learning
  needs, teachers must be given the knowledge,
  skills and resource support in order to
  effectively accommodate the gifted in their
  classrooms.
• But, it is neither fair nor reasonable to provide
  equal educational programming and hold equal
  expectations for all students regardless of their
  abilities. (Stephens, 1998)
• As President John F. Kennedy said, All of us do
  not have equal talent, but all of us should have
  an equal opportunity to develop our talent.

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• Lately, an overwhelming number of educators have
  bought into the concept of "differentiation."
  This is a sound concept for general education,
  and even some gifted education advocates are
  saying that within-classroom differentiation is
  going to take care of our most able students.
  This belief is nonsense. I have lived through
  several iterations of the "we-can-take-care-of-gif
  ted-students-in-the-regular classroom," and it
  always ends up being a smoke screen behind which
  bright kids get a few extra assignments and more
  work based on traditional (didactic) models of
  learning. (Joseph Renzulli)

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The Nation-Wide Barriers

• Ignorance
• Misconceptions
• Negative Attitudes
• Elitist Label
• Budget Constraints

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Challenges Specific to Rhode Island

• No state definition
• No identification or services mandated
• No funds in state budget
• No position at the DOE
• No courses available
• No gifted service/specialists in most systems

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 What can you do?
Mind your Ps and Ws!

• The Ps - What we need to do
• 1. Pique interest of pertinent people
• 2. And Promote understanding of gifted
• 3. In order to Pass local rules and state
  legislation
• 4. To Provide the appropriate educational
  services

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The Ws

• What are we trying to accomplish?
• Who are our key supporters, allies,
  decision-makers?
• When does decision-making happen?
• Where does the action take place

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How R.I.A.G.E. Helps Your Children Reach Their
Potential

• Information
• Networking
• Advocacy

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• In addition, members receive
• An Assortment of Helpful Handouts
• Conference and Activity Discounts
• R.I.A.G.E. Voting Privileges

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This presentation was inspired by a similar one,
created by the following members of the
2003/2004 MAGE Board of Directors
Judy Platt President Mark Andersen Chairperson
Diana Reeves Recording Secretary Susan Dulong
Langley Vice-President
www.massgifted.org
And adapted by the following members of
RIAGECarolyn Rosenthal Jean PettengillJean
Sahakian Mary Coddwww.riage.org