The Self-Education of Gifted Adults The Self-Education of Gifted Adults Author: Lisa Rivero Citation: First published in the SENGVine, Gifted Adult edition, January 2012 “Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are and then make our real decision for which we are responsible. What are you, really? In short, do you know if you are living up to your potential? Does the very question provoke a rush of anxiety? Now that our son is in college, I watch my friends, like my husband and myself, work to figure out who they are apart from being parents, at least apart from being parents who parent on a daily basis. Grown-up Potential: Beyond Overexcitabilities One of the reasons we are so fascinated by biographies of people like Steve Jobs is that we are searching for clues to potential. We often talk about children’s potential, especially that of particularly bright, talented, or gifted children, as if such potential is either fulfilled or wasted by the time we grow up. Intellectual OE. Growing Pains Books
Creativity across the life-span: A systems view Csikszentmihalyi, M. Talent Development III, pp. 9-18 Gifted Psychology Press 1995 This article by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi looks at three major issues related to creativity over a lifespan. They are: what can be learned about creativity; a model of optimal aging; and how to work with creative children. The author based this work on six years of interviews with scores of older adults who are still actively creative. I am going to talk about a set of studies on creativity which focuses on adults and which will result in a book scheduled to appear next year (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Most of you are interested in creativity in children, and of course that makes sense, because that's where the long process of creative development begins. In this paper, I want to bring up three major issues, which are among the topics of our study. The third issue is to use what we have learned about creativity in later life as a model for how to deal with creative children.
Gender and Genius Kerr, B. Center for Gifted Education The College of William & Mary This article by Barbara Kerr discusses what has shaped modern gender identity in the Western world. She also examines its implication on gifted young people. Our ideas about what is gifted behavior for a boy or for a girl are imbued with society's notions of appropriate gender identity. Sigmund Freud's (1933) theory of gender identity development is still one of the most influential theories, despite its lack of empirical support. Freud also gave us the idea that girls and women are incomplete men. Despite the hostility with which the psychoanalytic establishment greeted disagreement, Karen Horney (1939) disputed this model of gender identity development. I would not go into such detail here about a theory which has received little support and which has been thoroughly disproven if it had not had such profound influence on the ways in which we teach and guide gifted boys and girls. For girls, the pattern is different.
Understanding Giftedness Who are the Gifted? You may be wondering whether or not your child is gifted, or whether you yourself are gifted. It is especially confusing since there are many definitions of giftedness, and many characteristics associated with giftedness. Categories of definitions generally include IQ definitions (usually 125 or 130 cutoff), percentage of population definitions (ranging from the top 1% to the top 15%), talent definitions (music, science, leadership, etc and creativity definitions (based on creative products or creativity tests). Here's one simple way to think about the definition: "If a child is gifted, one or more of the following phrases will most likely describe their gifts and talents: the gifts and talents are comparatively rare, appear considerably earlier, and/or are significantly more advanced." The following description of giftedness speaks of asynchronous development: The good news about the passage of this law is that Vermont officially recognizes that gifted children exist.
The intellectual and psychosocial nature of extreme giftedness Powell, P. & Haden, T. Roeper Review Volume 6, No. 3, pp. 131--133 February 1984 This article by Philip Powell and Tony Haden compares the differences of average, moderately and extremely gifted individuals. The authors explore the psychological difficulties of the highly gifted, especially in terms of self-esteem and self-conception. The article discusses the difficulties the extremely gifted have in obtaining consistent, accurate and valid feedback in regard to their self-concept. The information provided has implications for educators, parents, and psychologists. The highly gifted create structure, generate ideas, and efficiently process information in ways that are qualitatively superior to moderately gifted and average ability individuals. The highly gifted are rare in the population. General intelligence Desire to know Originality Common sense Torrance (1965) has argued that the gifted are independent thinkers. Another important difference is in the desire to know complex ideas.
Thinking like a genius: overview Thinking and recall series Problem solving: creative solutions "Even if you're not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future." The following strategies encourage you to think productively, rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. "These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history." Nine approaches to creative problem solving: Rethink! Exercise #2 illustrates how famous thinkers used these approaches. Exercise #1: illustrates applications of the nine approaches. Text of exercise:Nine approaches to creative problem solving: Rethink! Thinking and recall series
Unlocking the Mysteries of The Artistic Mind Consider the flightless fluffs of brown otherwise known as herring gull chicks. Since they're entirely dependent on their mothers for food, they're born with a powerful instinct. Whenever they see a bird beak, they frantically peck at it, begging for their favorite food: a regurgitated meal. But this reflex can be manipulated. Expose the chicks to a fake beak—say, a wooden stick with a red dot that looks like the one on the end of an adult herring gull's beak—and they peck vigorously at that, too. The Truth in the Lie In 1906, Pablo Picasso was determined to reinvent the portrait and push the boundaries of realism, and one of his early subjects was Gertrude Stein. What Picasso saw there that affected him so deeply has been debated—the ancient Iberian art, the weathered faces of Spanish peasants—but his style changed forever. Despite the artistic license, the painting is still recognizable as Stein. Reverse-Engineering the Mind
Being Gifted It’s painful. It’s a blessing and a curse It’s what you are. The Pain Understand that the psychological / existential turmoil you’re suffering through is an aspect of being gifted. Your mind causes the cognitive dissonance. It goes to battle with itself, due to complex and contradicting thoughts and emotions. You don’t fit into the slots provided to you by society. You suffer because you see through the BS, but don’t know what you can do about it. You’re lost out there in the world. Why me? We are a byproduct of society’s dramatic evolution, and the chaos unleashed by it. We are adaptive, imaginative, and creative. We are the cure. It’s Not the Ideal Plan, but We’ve Been Left with no Alternatives Societal evolution created a ton of problems, but also countless areas of opportunity. We were sprinkled around the globe, and left with little to no support for development. However, we are out there. There is No “Path” for Us We have to seek out and find one another. We Were Dealt a Shitty Hand Related
Exquisite Minds: Gifted and Creative Children | Exquisite Minds: Gifted and Creative Children « Support for Educators and Parents of Gifted and Creative Children "The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that cr The Too Many Aptitudes Problem The Too Many Aptitudes Problem (Condensed from Danger: High Voltage) Hank Pfeffer[Out of date contact information omitted.] Talent is a force, not a tool. Ability or performance is the result of complex interaction between various parts of the mind/body system. We all know, understand, and operate on more levels than just the conscious. Most people know far more than they realize about knacks and talents. Strong talents do not equal high performance. About two dozen different and independent aptitudes are pretty well known, with another couple dozen possibles and probables (see attached list). Everyone seems to have each aptitude to some degree--high, mid-range or low. Talents can be consciously directed into constructive channels. Though most of the research has focused on their functional aspects, talents impact on people in ways both obvious and subtle. Aptitudes have an important impact on motivation. Some of the feelings associated with strong talents are negative. A. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
The “me” behind the mask: Intellectually gifted students and the search for identity The “Me” Behind the Mask: Intellectually Gifted Students and the Search for Identity The process of identity development in intellectually gifted children and adolescents is complicated by their innate and acquired differences from age-peers. To be valued within a peer culture which values conformity, gifted young people may mask their giftedness and develop alternative identities which are perceived as more socially acceptable. The weaving of this protective mask requires the gifted child to conceal her love of learning, her interests which differ from those of age-peers, and her advanced moral development. If this assumed identity does indeed bring her the social acceptance she seeks, the gifted child may become afraid to take off her mask. “I have come to the conclusion that the degree of my difference from most people exceeds the average of most people’s difference from one another; or, to put it more briefly, that my reactions to many things don’t conform to popular patterns.”
NRC/GT—Spring '98 Newsletter-Underachieving Gifted Students: A Mother's Perspective Pamela Hunter-Braden Boise State University Boise, ID I teach preschool. I have done so for long enough to watch a number of my students reach high school. Several have been identified as gifted, which came as no surprise since ability and potential often show themselves clearly at early ages. I also parent. All studies comparing the characteristics of the achiever with those of the underachiever indicate that negative self-concepts are the central trait distinguishing underachievers from those who are achieving commensurate with their ability. Coil (1992) believes that "while signs of underachievement often begin by third or fourth grade, middle school or junior high usually marks the highest point of consistent underachievement" (p. 2). . . . come to realize that underachievers want school to be different. The first problem to overcome is the cycle of blame which begins when a child fails. References Clark, B. (1997). Coil, C. (1992). Heacox, D. (1991). Karnes, M. McCall, R.
Parenting Guide Gifted Children Ireland