How to Talk About Giftedness Part 2 of 5 - Myths of Giftedness: Equality vs. Fairness

Recap of the January 2016 Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted Guest Lecture 

How to Talk About Giftedness - PART 2

Myths of Giftedness:  Equality vs. Fairness

In order to effectively talk about giftedness we need to understand myths vs. truth. 

So, let’s bust some myths about giftedness!

Myths, their background and impact

Myths are the result of:

—  The unclear understanding of giftedness affecting the development of the whole child.

—  A culture that does not understand or know how to deal with the traits and behavior of gifted individuals

A belief in these myths:

—  Perpetuates incorrect stereotypes and prevents empathy

—  Results in emotionally harmful reactions from society

“Good intentions do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding” – Albert Camus

The grandest myth is that All children are gifted. 

—  MYTH:  Giftedness is equated with the potential for eminence, achievement and success. 

—  TRUTH:  All children have gifts they can develop.  However, gifted individuals have brains, psyches and nervous systems that are hard-wired in such a way that their traits are only found in a small percentage of the population.

Want to become educated about how to debunk the 10 most common myths of giftedness?  Click here to take this link to our website.

Discussing Intelligence Creates Discomfort

Why is it uncomfortable to discuss intelligence?  Because -

—  Equality is at the heart of the American value system

¡  Our feelings about human value clashes with our ability to accept that some people are born with higher levels of potential than others

—  If we correct the misperception that giftedness is required for eminence, achievement and success, then there is NO CLASH .

—  All children are equal, but they are not all the same

—  Gifted children are special needs children

Fair isn’t everyone having the same, fair is everyone having what they need.

Now that we understand the importance of each of us debunking the myths of giftedness, and the difference between fair and equal, stay tuned for part 3 of this series, How to Talk About Giftedness:  What do giftedness and men’s height have in common?

How to Talk About Giftedness Part 1 of 5 - The Gifted Label and Changing Mindsets

Recap of the January 2016 Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted Guest Lecture

How to Talk About Giftedness -  PART 1 (of a 5 part series)

The Gifted Label and Changing Mindsets

Bringing Giftedness Out into the Daylight!  A.K.A. Talking to others about giftedness, the Elephant in the Room!

It’s difficult to discuss giftedness with others.  Will I, as a parent of a gifted child, be perceived as elitist?  Will their eyes roll and they not believe me when I say my kid has struggles too?  If I don’t talk about it, how will I find others who understand what I deal with every day?  How will I find what is needed to help my child grow? 

As parents of gifted kids, what can we do?

We can learn to comfortably talk about giftedness in order to help create change.  We can start right where we are by refusing to agonizing over a better word.  As we fight the battle of semantics we are losing the war.  We can help desensitize people to the word “gifted” by educating them on its FULL meaning.  We can stop concentrating solely on what gifted is and give equal due to what it is NOT.  We all know it is NOT a guarantee of success.  It is NOT a life on the yellow brick road.

We can form alliances and look for common ground because it builds empathy and support.  We can go beyond “preaching to the choir.”  We can recognize and use common vocabulary, such as “work ethic,” “emotional development,” “learning to deal with frustration and competition,” etc.

The Gifted Label 

The gifted label does have its benefits.  It is helpful when requesting services.  It is helpful in the legislative venue, whether it’s a local, state or national level.  If we can’t name this condition then we are stuck!  So, we must change the understanding of the label.  Labels have changed throughout history and we can do our part to change the understanding of the gifted label.   

(For an example from history on how some labels have changed from the 1960’s to now, see the personal boyhood incident of Dr. Ben Carson in the book Gifted Hands, p. 38-39)

When talking about the gifted label, don’t get bogged down in the detailed definitions like percentile rankings, IQ scores, etc.  In this war these are less important than describing characteristics.  Use your own passion and affiliations to:

·         Share with professionals  (pediatricians, family therapists, etc.)

·         Comment on social media

·         Be public: Respond to blogs, write articles, have conversations, conduct meetings, teach, present, etc.

The Problem and Its Roots

The problem exists because there is a reluctance in our society to discuss giftedness, and because of this the needs of gifted children are not addressed.

The Roots of this problem are due to the fact that -

1.       Society limits giftedness to education

2.       Myths about giftedness are entrenched

3.       The concept of intelligence creates discomfort

Giftedness is broadly misunderstood and is often discussed only in the context of eminence, achievement and success.  This fosters the perception of elitism and perpetuates the myth that only the gifted can be successful in life.  Also, across all disciplines giftedness is misunderstood to be a topic only about education.  However, giftedness affects the development of the whole gifted child – intellectually, socially, emotionally, etc.

Solving these problems requires changing deep rooted mindsets …

Commit to being part of the solution.  Commit to speaking up.  Commit to educate without being aggressive.

Now that we’ve laid some groundwork regarding our mindsets, part two of this series will provide tips on how to bust some common myths about giftedness.  STAY TUNED!

AZ Gifted Kids Can't Afford to Wait!

Dear Family and Friends of Gifted Children,

Below is a simple way we can make a difference toward bringing back state support of gifted education.

Please act on the suggestion below from AAGT.

Thank you,

Stephanie Newitt

President, Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted

From AAGT ...

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, is holding a listening tour around the state.  There are not that many scheduled, but this is the time she is collecting feedback on what is important to people regarding education in the state.

On the Arizona Department of Education website (link below) are instructions to email her now while she is asking for feedback. The website makes it very easy to send an email directly to the Superintendent.

• Email Superintendent Diane Douglas at this website:  http://www.azed.gov/weheardyou/

• Click here for a sample letter containing AAGT talking points that you can copy, paste and personalize.

You can shorten the letter to touch on what is most important to you.  Before you copy and paste, be sure to personalize the letter signature.  If you want to write your own letter with your personal story, do that!  

Important points to include in your letter:

• Be sure to ask her what she (her office) plans to do.
• Be sure to put something about "support gifted education" in the subject line of the email.

This is pretty easy and should take you just a few minutes!  It is vital that many people are asking this question, so please get your friends and family to send emails or attend any of the tour dates listed on the website!

Thank you!

Donna Campbell

President, AAGT

Summer Gifted Testing in Gilbert

Did your child miss the Spring gifted testing deadlines? Are you new to our area and wondering how to find out if your child qualifies for our gifted program?

GPS offers gifted testing during the summer to accommodate your needs. The tests will be July 21st for first and second graders and July 22nd for third through sixth. For more information on how to schedule, what forms are needed and where the test is offered, visit GPS ALP/Gifted Testing page.

Summer Activity Options

Are you still looking for some summer activities for the kids?

The Gilbert Gifted Education Parent Council (GEPC) has gathered some summer program information.  These include summer camps and also online activities.

• Click here to view the list of summer programs.

Please note that these programs are not endorsed by Gilbert Public Schools, or any of its employees, except for programs accessed directly from Gilbertschools.net.  Neither are the programs endorsed by Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted or the GEPC, however the list of programs generated by the GEPC may be of interest to other parents in the area.

Please rely on your own discretion when enrolling your child in extra-curricular activities.

If you have an activity that you would like to see added to the list, you may email GEPC leadership at:  giftededucationparentcouncil@gmail.com

Summer Offering: ALP Bridge Math Class

ALP Bridge Math is a summer course offered to students going into fourth grade who are identified as gifted in math. Since the students will be doing fifth grade math in fourth grade, this course offers the basics of fourth grade math during the summer. It is fast paced and covers a wide range of topics.

Summer school registration is now open.  Registration ends June 1, 2016.

• Click here for GPS elementary summer school registration information.

Final legislative update: Gifted Education Funding in Arizona

To Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted,

A huge thank you for the time you spent writing your own emails and making phone calls and visits to the state capital! And thank you for the time and effort you spent getting other folks to do the same!

From all accounts, what we did in a relative short period of time (and we started out late in the process) was pretty AMAZING! We actually had a bill and then an amendment and support from some of the biggest players in the Legislature!!!! And look at the number of people whom we educated about gifted education!

It is disappointing that neither the House or Senate felt the time was right to offer the amendment to fund gifted education in this budget, but it is understandable since in the final days of the budget process Legislators are looking for consensus.

We sure have learned a lot this year and although this stings, that sting will go away and we will push on. In fact, there is already good news in the legislature toward moving forward on this issue which will help us lots with momentum for next year.

The summer will be taken up with creating our Community Action Network, making sure we have at least one person in each Legislative District to rally the troops, and provide a network to communicate legislative updates and calls to action.

We will also visit with members of the Legislature to continue to educate them on the learning differences of gifted students and the need to respond to those differences with funding.

So our work is not done, there is a lot more fun to come!

AAGT appreciates your commitment to the gifted children of our state and we look forward to continuing our work together!

Sincerely,

Donna Campbell

President, AAGT