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Articles from
February 2007
Why do so few highly gifted children grow up to be renowned and creative producers?
Psychological Factors in the Development of Adulthood Giftedness From Childhood Talent addresses this issue. Personality factors and motivation appear to be the most important elements of creative achievement and creative producers. Although there is consistency among researchers regarding the attributes of eminent individuals, less information is available about how these characteristics are acquired or the circumstances that generate them.
Characteristics of creative producers include
- tolerance or preference for solitude in childhood, which facilitated study and practice within the talent area and also supported the development of a rich internal fantasy life.
- lack of concern with social conventions and conventional paths to achievement. This lack of concern with conventions may vary according to different socioeconomic-ethnic reasons and may encourage risk taking.
- extraordinary ability to cope with tensions caused by trying to solve major problems and produce novel works. Eminent individuals actually thrive on this tension.
- ability to live and work on the edges of acceptance by critics.
- high energy, with individuals often described as "workaholics."
It’s very interesting that these characteristics can be born not only out of childhoods that are privileged, but out of poverty, isolation, parental death, serious illness, or dysfunctional families. When tragedy occurs in childhood, some individuals are destroyed and others turn that tragedy into positive energy that creates a very creative adult producer. If only we could understand what sends these individuals off in different directions.
Gifted Education in Rural Communities
Gifted education in metropolitan communities can be difficult, but it has the potential for much greater challenge in rural areas where the options may be more limited and funding even more restricted. Nevertheless, some small, isolated communities are able to move past those hurdles and provide excellent opportunities for gifted students.
When consulting with school districts in rural Colorado, I was always very impressed with the caring communities of teachers, their willingness to recognized real strengths and potential in individual students, and their efforts to see that the needs of these students were met.
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Smaller classes make children’s needs more apparent.
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Administrators are more accessible, making it easier to get approval to implement new accommodations.
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Teachers have fewer students to oversee.
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Because fewer students are competing for available spots on teams and leadership positions in clubs, gifted students may be able to participate in more activities.
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School personnel, students, and families often socialize outside of school, making the community more close-knit. Because of this, teachers are able to observe their students’ achievements in out-of-school activities and accept gifted students’ individual differences more readily.
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The community often opens itself up as a resource, enhancing open-ended learning opportunities.
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Students are often grouped with the same individuals throughout their school years, permitting classmates and teachers to develop strong relationships.
Although many of these advantages can also be viewed as disadvantages, specific strategies can be used to overcome negative aspects. Technological advancements make many of these strategies even more viable. Many of the hurdles that rural communities face have the same solutions that should be heeded by metropolitan areas. They include:
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various types of acceleration and grouping,
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specialized gifted education training for educators,
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development of relationships with like-ability peers and mentors through interactive technologies,
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creatively accessing additional educational resources, and
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helping students and parents to see education and career possibilities beyond their local environment.
Parents can have a strong influence on the quality of education for their own children and for the school as a whole. Much can be accomplished when parents offer positive feedback and assistance to educators and work with other parents.
Gifted Kids Need to Take Risks
Maureen Neihart is a licensed clinical child psychologist with more than 25 years experience counseling high-ability children and their families. Whenever I hear her speak or read her articles, I am so impressed with her wisdom and her ability to articulate that wisdom. Her article
"Systemic Risk Taking” is but one example. In it, she not only talks about the theories of risk taking (not to be confused with thrill-seeking), but she provides examples from her own clinical practice and teaching experiences.
“People who do not take risks may avoid suffering, disappointment, fear and sorrow, but they may not learn, change, love, grow or live. Genuinely secure people are risk takers.” Gifted children sometimes avoid situations where they may not do well. In their own minds, it is important for them to always achieve the highest grades, but by early adolescence this may cause them to dramatically limit their opportunities. As parents and teachers, it is important for us to help gifted students appreciate the value of taking risks.
Neihart sees six steps to systematic risk taking.
1. Understanding the benefits—Benefits of risk taking include increasing one's confidence about taking on a challenge, increasing a sense of control in one’s life, developing skills for managing anxieties and overcoming fears, and providing practice in important decision making.
2. Initial self-assessment of risk-taking categories— There are intellectual risks, social risks, emotional risks, physical risks, and spiritual risks. Some risks may be easy for a person and others very difficult.
3. Identifying personal needs—The author provides ideas to help students understand and prioritize their risk levels in different categories.
4. Determining a risk to take—After students identify their personal needs, she has them choose a risk they will take and think about what might make that risk more palatable.
5. Taking the risk
6. Processing the risk experience—This is the most important step of systemic risk taking and can be accomplished in many ways. Most of the change in people comes not as a result of taking the risk, but as a result of processing the risk. The processing that follows risk-taking activities provides for the expression of feelings, helps to clarify strengths and weaknesses and identify needs.
Many strategies are presented by Neihart for parents and teachers to support students with their risk-taking behaviors. My guess is that after reading this article, many adults will also look at their own risk taking. This is very important because one of the most effective steps to encourage risk taking is to model risk-taking behavior.
Incredible New Math, Science Web Site for the Gifted
Are you a precollege student who is passionate about math and science? The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University, along with eight partner organizations, recently launched a Web site that will feed your passion. The Web site,
Cogito.org, means “I think.” Although most of the content at the site is available to the public, members have access to interactive features not available to everyone.
On Cogito.org, you can read news and features on topics ranging from global warming and biostatistics, to cold fusion and bioethics. You can explore the intersection of science and the arts, from computer animation, to science fiction. You can find great resources including book reviews, "Best of the Web" guides, and listings and reviews of summer and distance-education programs, internships, and academic competitions.
If you are a member, you can also participate in online interviews with experts in various fields and in discussion forums with other members. Membership also grants you access to the Cogito.org virtual library where you can find a wide variety of research materials and a librarian dedicated to helping you. Membership is currently offered by invitation only from Cogito Partners and Affiliates.
Cogito.org also publishes student-written work. Ideas must be submitted before sending actual drafts. Acceptable student submissions include full-length book and movie reviews, feature stories and articles, and essays. Also needed are Best of Web guides.
If you are a math and science buff, spend some time perusing the Cogito.org Web site. Just browsing the site will help you to become familiar with all that is available, but if you want to focus on a specific area, you can search using filters.