Gifted

This is my grandson, Brandyn, Rob's first born.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

So many toddlers today were born with gifts and talents already developed. I began to see them a few years ago when I was a guidance counselor. These children did not fit into the norm - even outside the boxes - of a classroom environment. When we screened and tested for learning disabilities, more often than not, they showed up in the gifted range, but then not served because of their seemingly poor progress and/or behavior. 

Their giftedness was subtle and there were only a few like this.  One first grader was totally knowledgeable of medieval times. His mother and father insisted that he had never been even remotely exposed to anything that had to do with medieval times. The boy was able to draw castles, festivals, farms, and people with ability way beyond his biological age of development. 

Today, there are many children like this. I don't believe there just seems to be more because of youtube. They are among the children we all know and love.

My children and grandson in the picture seemed to be born with a sense of rhythm. They followed the beat of the music with their feet and clapping even before they could walk. Patty-cake was party-time! None of them fit into the norms of the classroom.  

 All of my children and grandchildren have a giftedness about them. None of them  graduated with honors. In fact, getting them through school was a miracle. But, all of them are giftedly talented in some way or other. The school system called these children "shadow children". They fell through the cracks of public education. These are the children for whom, as a counselor,  I spent a majority of my time and energy.

BUT, these children today, just toddlers now - or maybe they are even six, seven or eight- are definitely destined to be a challenge to the norms of public education. Something has to change when students in a classroom are as sophisticated as the teachers and definitely have little time for sequential minutia nor have the social skills to be polite about it

I am supportive of  alternatives to the present system. We knew forty years ago and more that a new and functional education was needed. Home schooling is one of the answers - an environment where parents can work together with their children to pursue these talents and passions they are born with - taking time to teach the social skills they forgot to be born with - accessing teaching methods that address the tedium of  learning reading and math skills. 

For myself, burdened with a miserably high IQ in a time where that was but an interesting bit of news,   I could have spent my whole life just dancing to the music. I would have been totally happy for this whole 67 years! 

What is my giftedness? What's yours?