10 Ways to Develop Talents in Gifted Children
In my previous blog, Are Gifted Children Born or Made? (April 22) I questioned the influence we have over the development of the abilities of our children. I do feel certain that parents can have an influence over the potential development of talents and interests. Here are ten ways to encourage this.
- Expose children to a wide variety of experiences in addition to traditional academic subjects such as math, reading, writing, history, and science. Expose them also to art, theater, music, nature, sports, and technology of all types.
- Expose children to different types of people—people from different socio-economic backgrounds, different ethnicities, and different belief systems.
- Encourage young people to develop hobbies, join clubs, participate in competitions, attend extra-curricular activities, and take lessons.
- Support the interests of your child even if they aren’t the same as yours. Ask leading questions to help you understand what has drawn her to a particular topic. Speak and listen to your child with consideration and respect.
- Set a personal example by either having a wide variety of interests or one that has become special, developing into a passion.
- Interact with your child by participating in the things that excite him.
- Celebrate the interests of different family members and friends—everyone doesn’t have to be alike. Value one another’s differences.
- Teach your child how to find information and resources in a variety of ways—books, Internet, other people, etc. There will be times when your child's expertise on a topic will be greater than yours, and you will not be able to provide answers or solutions.
- Expose your child to many different experiences, yet allow time for her creative mind to develop and to pursue what she discovers. Don’t overload. This is a fine line to walk.
- Let your child lead the way. He will let you know when something piques his interest. Don’t be over-involved. Expose, but don’t push.
You will want to become more acquainted with developing the talents of gifted children by reading Early Gifts: Recognizing and Nurturing Children's Talents.
Are Gifted Children Born or Made?
How much influence do we have over the development of the abilities of our children? To what extent can we attribute giftedness to natural-born ability, exposure, encouragement, socio-economic status, or ethnicity? What would have happened to the first violinist if she had never been exposed to an instrument? What would have happened to the professional golfer if he had never been exposed to the game? Would that talent manifest itself in some other form or would it be lost forever?
Because a young person shows a strong ability, does that mean she will always retain that ability? When a young person seems quite average, does that mean that no real strength will ever surface? We say that we want to give students the chance to realize their full potential. What does that mean?
It seems to me that there are more questions than answers.
When my youngest son was three, my mother sent us the piano I had played while growing up. Todd immediately took an interest in it and asked me to teach him how to play. I told him he was too young and to wait a few years. “No, Mommy, no. I promise I’ll practice. I want you to teach me how to play.” He begged and he begged and finally I began teaching him. Once he started, there was no stopping him. He couldn’t seem to walk past the piano without sitting down to play. If he didn’t play a piece perfectly, he would try and try again. As he struggled with this, he would sit at the piano bench, close his eyes, and draw his hand down over his face over and over again, convinced that this would stop the tears from coming—that he wouldn’t make a mistake the next time. I worried about him. He seemed to be such a perfectionist. Todd got his first real piano teacher at age five and just kept practicing. He used to be afraid to go on vacation because there might not be a piano available. Through the years, I never asked him to practice. I never needed to because he loved the piano so much. When it was time for college, he chose to be a piano major. I often wondered how his life would have been different had my mother never shipped that piano to us.
When my oldest son was in third grade we got our first Apple IIe computer. He was not the least bit interested in reading any books about computers or attending any computer classes. Somehow or another, though, he figured out how to break into the listings of programs to see the language the programmer had entered. And somehow he figured out what parts of the listing caused which functions in the program. Then he memorized what he learned and put the parts together in new ways to create his own programs. Sometimes he would sit at the computer doing this for an entire day. I questioned my ability as a parent. Should I have limited the time he was allowed to sit in front of the computer screen? Now, as an adult, he builds and maintains computer systems for companies. I often wonder how his life would have been different if we hadn’t purchased that first Apple IIe.
Whether we are talking about prodigies or gifted students, many of the same questions arise. Are these students born or made? What correlation is there between the performance of the student and his parents’ socio/economic status? What role does exposure play? Are very bright students gifted by accident or are they just mentally more efficient? Can the management of mental resources be developed? Scientists aren’t sure.
In
Child Prodigies, by Joanna Schaffhausen, the author reports that being born with a high IQ or amazing piano ability is no guarantee of later success, and parents who push too hard are likely to set their child up for a fall. Some very bright students have a difficult time when other children manage to "catch up" by high school.
On the other hand, parents of seemingly "ordinary" children should not despair; many of the world's most significant contributions have been made by people who struggled as youngsters. Mozart was a child prodigy; Beethoven was not. The world still marvels at them both.
Children Gifted in Math
Sunday, April 17, 2005 - by CFertig - 521 Views -
1 Comments - Category:
Math
Mary recently made the following comment in response to one of my postings:
My son, Michael, is a sixth grader and is really smart in math. Last summer he went to a summer program for kids interested in mathematics at the local university and loved getting to do the advanced math that he was exposed to there. But, there isn't a gifted program at his school.
While he's making good grades in his math class, he finds it too easy and boring. What do you think I should do? He's got such a talent for this, and I hate to see him so bored with something he loved so much last summer.
Mary, you are asking a very big question. Of course I can’t give specific advice for your son since I don’t know him, but I can give you some general information. Also, let’s ask our fellow bloggers. If anyone reading this posting has additional advice or comments, please post a response.
Assessment
First of all, it would be helpful to get a professional assessment of your son’s math abilities. Hopefully, you have already had a conversation with Michael’s math teacher. Talking to the teacher is always the first place to start. How does the teacher see Michael in relationship to other students in the classroom?
Second, if there is a gifted/talented resource teacher at the school or in the district I would talk with that person next to see what is available. You said that Michael's school doesn't have a gifted program, but there still may be a resource person who can help.
Standardized tests that have been given by your district will also help to shed some light on his abilities. You will find some good information on this by reading the ERIC Digest article,
Discovering Mathematical Talent.
Working with the School
Once you understand Michael’s mathematical abilities more clearly, you will want to educate yourself with current research on addressing the needs of high-ability, gifted, and highly motivated students in general and more specifically in math.
A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students is a recently released report that can be downloaded over the Internet. The report advances the merits of acceleration—not just grade-skipping, but the many ways available that schools can accommodate the needs of students who are more advanced. This includes advancing them within the regular classroom.
Once you have an understanding of some of the background research available, you will be better prepared to advocate for Michael at school. Another book that will help you with this is
Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted and Advanced Learners in Math. This book is for both parents and teachers. The authors provide concrete suggestions for identifying mathematically talented students, tools for instructional planning, and specific programming approaches. It also provides concrete strategies for effectively advocating for gifted children with math talent.
One word of caution: In the U.S. we are often criticized for having a math curriculum that is "a mile wide and an inch deep." Rather that just accelerating students in math, it is highly recommended that students be given the opportunity to explore topics in depth. The article,
High-Ability and Highly Motivated Students provides suggestions for students to think deeply in mathematics by investigating complex problems.
After-School Activities
Does Michael’s school have before and after school clubs? Are there any math clubs or competitions in which he might participate? If there are no such activities at his school, can you find these elsewhere in your community? You mentioned that last summer he attended a class at a local university. Are there similar classes that are held during the school year?
A number of well-respected universities offer multimedia, computer-based, distance-learning courses in math. You might explore one of these. Students who are most successful with these programs are those who are able to stay motivated while working independently. Information on the courses can be found at
Stanford University,
Johns Hopkins University, and
Northwestern University.
I wish you the best with all of this. Please let us know what works for you. Being an advocate for your student can be a lot of work, but with a positive and understanding attitude, you will be successful.
Welcome to Our Gifted Child Weblog
I am very excited about having the opportunity to be part of the weblogging community. Together we will share information, ideas, and comments.
The Label of Gifted Child--Is There a Better Way?
Recently, I was with a group of gifted education specialists and our discussion revolved around the meaning of the label “gifted.” One person commented that we (being specialists) all knew what the term meant. I questioned that. So, we went around the group and asked just what “gifted” meant to each person. Very quickly it became obvious that we all had very different views of it. This went way beyond the
common definitions of gifted children and ventured in to its subtleties.
Some people feel that all students have gifts. Some people feel that being gifted requires a high I.Q. or an exceptional analytical ability. To others it is a student who earns straight A’s or it might be a person who has social problems because he is so smart. There are many definitions of the word and many different interpretations of those definitions. Along with those interpretations go both
positive and negative feelings of gifted children.
My question is: Should we use the term “gifted” at all? Is it a useful term? Rather than label students as gifted, would we not be better off using more specific descriptors? As an adult, wouldn’t I understand more about a child knowing that she has great insight into her reading or has the ability to solve complex math problems in creative ways or that he is a great public speaker? Wouldn’t it be more meaningful to know a student is highly organized and goal oriented or is very sensitive to the feelings of others or is a wizard at science? If we need to use some general term, would we be better off using “smart” or “high-ability” or “s