Week Three Blog

            Unit three discussed the individual differences among learners. Part A discussed exceptional learning needs, part B discussed servicing the gifted and talented, and part C discussed diversity. I chose to read and elaborate on part B. As a teacher in a private K-8 elementary school, I come across a lot of exceptional learners. I have been blessed with the opportunity to educate some extremely bright children. I have chosen this section because it is most relevant to my profession and at the time I was curious as to which articles Cauley and Pannozzo would choose for the subsection. I read many article and have taken many classes that highlight the importance of inclusion and special education in schools. I cannot recall one instance of undergrad education the highlighted the needs of gifted students. This made this particular reading very interesting to me.

            Article 17, How Can such a Smart Kid Not Get It?, discussed ‘twice-exceptional” students and gifted students with disabilities (G/LD). This article struck a chord with me as it pertains to a student whom I have taught for the past three years. To explain this I will reference a prior article that we have read in this course titled, Inspired Responses by Carol Steele. In this article Steele states, that educators go through four stages unaware, aware, capable, and inspired. When I first began my teaching career I was in the unaware stage. Each day was an adventure from which I gained much pedagogical knowledge. I labeled this student as a problem child. He had a bad attitude, a distain for school, and a demeanor that I resented. I was in the unaware stage when I first met this student. After reading Yssel, Prater, and Smith’s article How Can Such a Smart Kid Not Get It?, I realized how I jumped to conclusions about this students before taking the chance to get to know this student. As this student progressed throughout school and I matured as a teacher I gained a new respect for him. This student was labeled with a learning disability and had an accommodations checklist, but as we formed a connection I truly saw how bright this student was. The student I reference thrives in certain areas, especially social studies. He is a history buff and can answer any question about American history. I suggest you try to stump him, you will be impressedJ. Yssel et al. discuss how we often look at gifted students with disabilities and only treat them for their negative qualities, rather than their strengths. I wonder if we could have made a difference by picking up on this student’s strengths and cultivating them instead of medicating him for his disabilities. As a third year teacher, I reflect on my first year and realize how I was unaware. I would be naive to say I have progressed through Steele’s four stages but I feel I have at least matured through the first stage and into the aware stage. My hope is that I can progress further from here.

            Article 18, The Relationship of Perfectionism to Affective Variables in Gifted and Highly Able Children, studies the effects of perfectionism on gifted children. This article hypothesized that perfectionistic tendencies in children left them as a risk for depressive behaviors. This article analyzed two separate cases of perfectionism, self-oriented and socially-prescribed. Ultimately, it was found that children do experience more depressive behaviors underneath socially-prescribed perfectionism. This study also posited that anxiety would be higher in perfectionist; however, the study found no proof of this. One problem I foresaw with this article was that all of the test and findings were based off of self-evaluation. This is an issue because children may have filled out what they thought would be the right answer, or may have filled untruthfully.

             Article 19, Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: Straight Talk, discusses the need to develop gifted children in schools. It is important to identify these children and challenge them to achieve to the best of their ability. Author, Tracey L. Cross, states the importance of moving from an “entity model, meaning [giftedness is] something that one is born with, to a phenomenon that is incremental in its development” (Cited in Cross, 2009). Tis mean that as educators we are in charge of the gifted. We have a unique position to develop the minds of many that can go on to make a difference in the world. It is this gift that inspires me to go in to work each day, knowing I can make a difference and inspire a child to make the most of himself/herself.

References

Cauley K. M., Pannozzo G.M. Annual Editions: Educational Psychology 12/13. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Yssel, N., Prater, M., Smith D. (2010) How can such a smart kid not get it? Gifted Child Today, Winter, pp. 54-61.

Christopher, M.M., Shewmaker, J. (2010) The relationship of perfectionism to affective variables in gifted and highly able children. Gifted Child Today, Summer, pp. 20-30.

Cross, T.L. (2009) Social and emotional development of gifted children: straight talk. Gifted Child Today, Spring, pp. 40-41, 65.