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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A fellow parent is always complaining to me that her child is “gifted” and hence bored at school. We have had literally dozens of conversations about this. So far, I have been polite. Her conversations imply that my child and other children in the grade are too dumb to be in the same class as her kid. She should either take action and have her child skip a grade or enter a talented and gifted program or just shut up. Da Vinci and Einstein and even Bill Gates are/were geniuses but I seriously doubt the giftedness of this child is going to make a difference to the world.[/quote]

Truly gifted children are not bored - they are in their heads.  I took my DD for evaluation for ADHD - she never was attentive in class, didn’t understand the directions on assignments, etc.  she always “looked” (to the teachers) like she was paying attention.  She wasn’t. She was checking out the birds outside or thinking about swimming.  She wasn’t bored!  She wasn’t interested, which is different.  Anyway, she is truly gifted and has already skipped a grade.  To me, this is about stubbornness- we all have to pay attention to and do crap we don’t want to.  Heck I don’t want to cook dinner tonight or fold the laundry, but it’s not a function of my giftedness - it’s because I don’t like those things and have to do them anyway.  Similarly, my kid needs to pay attention and do the work in class - nothing to do with her giftedness and more to do with her manners.  Apparently the mom you refer to also has bad manners[/quote]

The mom has bad manners and I’m glad your child isn’t bored but it’s simply not true that “gifted people” are never bored! Yes, may escape into daydreaming but plenty get bored sometimes. (And no, I’m not replying because my kid is gifted and bored.) [/quote]

It’s 100% true that gifted children don’t get bored. Anyone who says they have a gifted child who is “bored” doesn’t have a gifted child. The child might be advanced academically but they aren’t bored. Gifted children can always find something to entertain themselves and don’t need the direction of a teacher.

I have had more than one teacher explain this to me, including those who work with gifted children.

Unfortunately, we mix advanced and gifted children in programs. They actually have different needs. But the typical child in, say, AAP isn’t “gifted.”[/quote]

Baloney!

A gifted child left to their own devices may be able to avoid boredom, but kids at school are not left to their own devices.  They are required to be attentive and do the task assigned regardless of whether they already know the material or even if it’s just busy work.  If you had to spend 6-7 hours/day, every work day for 9 months in training you felt was pointless, completing assignments whose only purported purpose was to teach you what you already knew, I suspect that regardless of your individual brilliance you would eventually feel bored.

The above examples themselves are contradictory.  Apparently, if a child is bored it means they’re not gifted, because a gifted child would escape into their own head for distraction, but at the same time, if they do they’re being rude and need to focus their attention on the boring lesson.

Finally, whether or not a child is gifted is not deterministic of the contributions they will eventually make to society.  Someone may be greatly talented and choose not to fully exploit their talents.  Similarly, someone may be less talented but more motivated to stretch their talents and ultimately accomplish phenomenal works.  This is why rather than quibbling about why any given child may not be truly “gifted” we should give every child the opportunities, challenges, encouragement, and support to find and develop whatever talents they may have as far as they wish to pursue them.  Knowledge is not a limited resource and it will ultimately benefit society to help children reach whatever heights they will.  Ultimately, even if our “most gifted” end up “just” settling for a “normal” role like mechanic, baker, teacher, paralegal, secretary, nurse, SAHM, farmer, etc., think of how much they can contribute by being excellent in their chosen endeavor.  [/quote]

You don’t make much sense.  Gifted children still have to learn - they just absorb information at a higher rate and in more detail than other kids. My gifted children were not bored - one read books under her desk and the other stares out the window.  This is not disruptive behavior, but it’s rude when you have to ask the teacher directions (again) because you weren’t paying attention.  I’m not the one you responded to but the PP with a gifted child who skipped a grade.  I might also mention the summer birthday, so she’s 2 years younger than the other kids - moving her ahead won’t solve the rude behavior problem. I’m not one of those parents who thinks my kids need to be held to a different standard of behavior because they were born smart.  They need to learn manners like everyone else.  If they zone in and out of lectures that’s fine as long as they don’t expect the teacher to give them personal instructions.  If they take in an enrichment project instead of the classroom curriculum, that’s for the teacher to decide.  This last one is why I send my kids to private school - more flexible with them.

Your last paragraph is actually true.  I went to gifted school and most of my peers did nothing exciting - park ranger, government work, political activist, piano teacher, SAHM, and biologist.  Those are the ones I’m still in touch with.  And me? I’m a cog in a large corporation’s wheel reporting to someone whose IQ is probably 40points lower than mine - it’s life - and I’m actually ok with it.  Not all of us are driven to be the next CEO.  I actually feel sorry for them making all the sacrifices that make life worthwhile.[/quote]

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