GT Course

Lesson Three MYTHS OF GIFTEDNESS

“Early Ripe, Early Rot”
“They’ll Make it on Their Own “

MYTHS ABOUT GIFTED CHILDREN

Some common myths about gifted children:
They have everything going their way.
They can succeed without help.
Their special abilities are always recognized and praised by their families.
They are valued primarily for their brain power.
They are more stable and mature emotionally than their age peers.
They have gotten “something for nothing”.
They naturally want to be social isolates.

Myths common among parents and educators:
They are not always aware of being different unless someone tells them they are.
Their giftedness needs to be emphasized above all else.
They need constant challenge by others if they are to achieve.
They should assume extra responsibility for others.
They will reveal their giftedness – in time.
They need to be disciplined more than other children.
They should enjoy serving as “examples” for other children.

DO YOU BELIEVE ANY OF THESE MYTHS?

Gifted students always know that they never give their best. But too often they receive praise for less-than-their-best effort and they know it’s a sham. They know they are capable of better work. But they are leery about being “found out” so often that becomes a self-defeating strategy for not trying harder.

MOTIVATION

One corner of our district’s identification triad for gifted students for the program is MOTIVATION.

A student may be gifted with superior intellect, or talented in the arts, but unless the student is motivated to learn and grow, no amount of instruction will move the student forward.

There are some things to remember:
The child is a child first and goes through all the developmental, emotional and social stages of all children. Sometimes they go through faster with all that implies. But not always.

Many gifted children feel things more deeply and are affected by social issues they hear about in the news. Some carry this weight around with them.

In gifted students there may be significant reasons for the lack of motivation in addition to those mentioned in the myths above:

Others may have unreasonable expectations of her.
Lack of performance may be a coping strategy to get teachers off his back.
It’s passive resistance against her parents.
It avoids risk-taking since he can always say he didn’t really want to try and thus can save his ego.
It helps gain acceptance from her less gifted peers.
It can be an expression of depression, perhaps of feeling misunderstood.
It can be away to get others to help her and give her the attention she wants.

The guidance factor in Gifted Education is extremely important. It cannot be ignored.

What types of motivational strategies do you use in your work with students? Have you found particular strategies work well with those students in the gifted category?

What have you experienced with motivation in the students with whom you work? It’s great to be able to pave the way – to remove the “roadblocks” for students so that they can go with their passions. Do you have a success story to share?

Do you have a less than success story to share?

Write a short essay based on your experience motivating the reluctant learner ( one you knew was capable of better work). Were you successful? Why? What strategies did you use – either consciously or unconsciously?

If not, why not? What were the roadblocks? What could you have done differently?