Creatively Gifted Children

       Stories abound of the child who never seemed to find his or her place in the school system – until in high school the child attended a school for performing and/or visual artists.  Then, the child flourished, released from the confines of the academic box that held him.  In fact, Goertzel and Goertzel found (1960) that “60% of eminent creative people had serious school problems.”  Their round pegs simply did not fit into the square holes of traditional education.  Edison and Tesla’s energy, Virginia Woolf and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s talking, Robert Frost’s daydreaming and Frank Lloyd Wright’s inattentiveness landed them in trouble with their teachers (Cheney, 1981, Cramond & Kim, 2007).  Yet, it is those very characteristics that served them well in becoming the eminent individuals they became in their fields.

Schools for the Performing Arts are filled with students whose parents wondered if they would ever “be normal”

The question is, then, how do we best serve these creatively gifted children?  Do we ask already stressed teachers to expand their repertoire to include more arts-based learning options?  Do we assess a child’s artistic talent at a young age and put the child on an arts track, similar to many Eastern European and Asian schools?  Do we accept the differences in the creative soul and provide a welcoming and supportive environment in the traditional classroom?  Do we provide increased assessment options in the gifted classroom that would allow the artistic child to present knowledge on his or her own terms instead of through test-taking, rote memorization, and regurgitation of the teacher’s lessons?

If we could only identify these children at an earlier age and allow them to spread their creative wings, embracing their gifts and teaching them in ways that acknowledged and celebrated their artistic bent.  More often, teachers tell the child who has an amazing talent for drawing that her pictures are pretty, but it ends there.  The musical child who drums or hums in class is consistently reprimanded instead of being allowed to utilize that talent and interest.

        Ideally, I would like to see school system personnel opening their minds to the possibility of offering opportunities for the creative child to shine.  Through teacher training, teachers could learn to encourage their talents.  A few simple suggestions:

1. Art contests for yearbook covers, newspaper cartoons, bulletin boards, etc.

2. Debates on controversial issues in class

3. Journal of “Great Questions” kept by students or teacher to validate the creative thoughts and questions – not just the “right” answers

4. More game-playing and role-playing with literature, history, etc.

5. What if? time each day to encourage those with creative minds to think of possibilities relating to subject matter being studied

6. Morning greetings led by students – acceptance of silly, creative types of greetings

7. Ask dancers to teach class a dance that could be performed as an interpretation of a story

8. Ask artists to draw a “theme of the week” picture to be hung in the room and to which the teacher would refer several times during the week

9. Allow two minutes of “silly discussion” when talking about assignments

10.Occasionally ask students for their ideas for changing classroom systems

11.Offer writing opportunities for students who enjoy creative writing and story-telling.  Ask them, perhaps, to write a story each week to replace the morning story read by the teacher (lower grades).

        Given the prevalence of research and writing on the topic of creativity, I believe that it is significant in the scheme of things gifted. It would be beneficial to the debate if educators could decide what they mean, though, when they speak of creativity.  Are they referring to the generic, schoolhouse or living life type of creativity wherein a person consistently discovers new ways of doing or being, or performs ordinary tasks in unordinary ways?  Or are they referring to the artistically creative individuals who have a prodigious talent in visual or performing arts?  

My thought is that educators are referring to the former and not to the latter, although it is these individuals who have immense talent to create works of art who feel frustrated in the traditional school setting.  They doodle and tap their pencils, stare out the window and hum.  They wiggle in their seats and draw in the margins of their papers, react melodramatically and pretend.  They wear “different” clothes and hairstyles.  These are at-risk students who just have a need to create.  Because they don’t fit into the traditional program, though, teachers often perceive their actions as disruptive, rude, and antagonistic.  “I told you not to draw on that paper, Johnny!”  “Jane, if you can’t pay attention, you may go to the principal’s office.”  “PLEASE stop tapping (or rapping or bamming or humming . . .)!”  

Perhaps teachers could use some training on how to constructively embrace their talents rather than stifle them.  Do you have any suggestions as to how we can better serve these children?

The Joy of Reading

     Never underestimate the power of the joy of reading in reaching gifted children, regardless of your observations of their abilities or attention span in class.    

     For two years, I served as Project Manager for a research study on twice-exceptional children (children who are gifted but who also have something that is holding them back from fulfilling their true potential, such as ADD/ADHD, Asperger’s, OCD, Bi-Polar, Behavioral or Social diagnoses, etc.) Part of my responsibility was to visit third and fourth grade classrooms to observe the students in the study.  I found this fascinating, particularly when it came to be time for free reading. 

     When the students were given time to read on their own, wonderful things occurred.  A student who didn’t seem to be able to focus on anything suddenly became engrossed in a biography of Albert Einstein, sitting quietly at his desk.  A student who felt like a failure most of the time suddenly smiled and laughed as she read, sprawled on the carpet in the front of the room.  A little boy whose numerous questions often went unanswered by a harried teacher became absorbed in a book on aeronautics, sitting on the windowsill.  A little girl who appeared anxious most of the time relaxed and left the world behind as she became engrossed in a novel, curled in a bean bag chair. And a little boy who was often homeless and had difficulty getting his work done in a noisy classroom read a historical novel quietly aloud to himself sitting under the teacher’s desk in his own little cave.

    The examples are too numerous to list here, but the effect that free reading had on these children was astounding - across the board.  Regardless of their twice-exceptionality, when they were given time to read books of their choosing, topics in which they were truly interested, they became engrossed. In gifted education, we often tell teachers and parents to follow the children’s passions to reach them and to help them to learn.  The truth in this philosophy becomes clear during these reading times.

    One of my favorite stories is of the little boy who loved science.  In fact, he was far ahead of the class in that area, since he read everything he could on a variety of scientific topics.  As a result, he was bored and frustrated during science in his gifted elementary classroom.  The class didn’t delve deeply enough into the subject for him.  The teacher didn’t have the time (or the inclination) to answer his many questions.  He began acting out in class, being disruptive to the other children and annoying the teacher.  Parents were called in for a conference and it was suggested that the little boy be put on medication to calm him.  The parents refused, since they knew their son and knew that in his case he simply needed more of a challenge in science.  An agreement was made between parents and teacher that a contract would be drawn up and the little boy and his teacher would both sign it.  If he agreed to not disrupt the class and complete the assignments for the class, the teacher would agree to let him bring in books from the library and from home to read while the rest of the class completed their work.  During the remainder of the school year, the little boy was a model student.  He completed his assigned work and went to his “office” in the corner of the room where he read dozens of books in a variety of scientific areas.  When he finished each book, he wrote a review of the book, including questions he had about each one.  He and the teacher would review his writing, and they would choose a question or two to research further.  

    This story describes a situation in which some creativity and flexibility on the part of an excellent teacher, caring parents, and a bright child created a learning experience commensurate with a child’s abilities and interests, while allowing him to remain in a classroom with his age peers - something that was important to the parents and the child.  Reading about his interests changed him from a behavioral “problem child” into a curious, lifetime learner.

    Never underestimate the power of the joy of reading for these gifted children. 

Budding Scientist

      
     A client told the story of her precocious three-year-old who was fascinated with how things worked.  She had to be careful about leaving appliances or electronics within his reach because he would want to take them apart.  One day she had left him in his playroom to play while she did a load of laundry.  This seemed pretty safe.  All he had in the room were his own toys.  Busily doing her laundry, she paid no attention to what he was doing in his playroom.  After about an hour, surprised that she did not hear him playing, she went to see what he was doing.  As she walked into the room, she stopped short and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  This three-year-old had devised a system of pulleys using Tinker Toys, his shoelaces, yarn that he had gotten from her crafts bin, a folding chair, his Big Wheel bike, and a host of other random objects.  Crisscrossing the room were pulleys and he was testing different weights with them, seeing which objects could be transported, how the yarn stretched but the shoelaces didn’t.  It was at that moment that she thought, “This little boy might be gifted.”