Transcript Parenting Your Gifted Child

PARENTING YOUR
GIFTED CHILD
IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS
AND STRATEGIES
GUIDELINES FOR
PARENTS
Parents are a child’s first and most influential
teachers. No matter what the abilities of a
child might be, the goals of parenting are
essentially the same. Whatever distinct
demands result from a child’s gifted ability can
readily be met by parents if they are
FAMILIAR with the CHARACTERISTICS of
gifted individuals, INFORMED about their
unique NEEDS, and PERSIST in assuring that
appropriate provisions are in place so that the
child’s special needs are met!
NOTE THE DIFFERENCE
From: Janice Szabos,
Challenge Magazine
A BRIGHT CHILD:
Knows the answers
A GIFTED
LEARNER:
Asks the questions
Is interested
Is highly curious
Is attentive
Is mentally and
physically involved
Has wild, silly ideas
Has good ideas
Works hard Plays around, yet
tests well
DIFFERENCES (cont’d)
A BRIGHT CHILD:
A GIFTED LEARNER:
Answers the questions
Discusses in detail,
elaborates
Beyond the group
Top group
Listens with interest
Learns with ease
Shows strong feelings
and opinions
Already knows
6-8 repetitions for 1-2 repetitions for
mastery
mastery
DIFFERENCES (cont’d)
A BRIGHT CHILD:
Enjoys peers
A GIFTED
LEARNER:
Constructs
abstractions
Prefers adults
Grasps the meaning
Draws inferences
Understands ideas
Completes Initiates projects
assignments
Is
Is intense
receptive
DIFFERENCES (cont’d)
A BRIGHT CHILD:
Good memorizer
A GIFTED
LEARNER:
Good guesser
Enjoys sequential
presentation
Is alert
Thrives on
complexity
Is keenly observant
Is pleased with own Is highly selflearning critical
DIFFERENCES (cont’d)
A BRIGHT CHILD:
Copies accurately
Enjoys school
Absorbs information
Technician
A GIFTED
LEARNER:
Creates a new
design
Enjoys learning
Manipulates
information
Inventor
TIPS FOR CHALLENGING
YOUR CHILD
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Be a strong facilitator for “finding
out”
Provide many complex and challenging
experiences
Nurture a love of books
Read widely, critically, and creatively
Encourage language and vocabulary
development
(cont’d)
• Promote critical thinking (ask why, what if…)
• Teach the thought processes that underlie
learning, inventing, and problem solving
• Use resources that are not designed for a
specific age group
• Use many resources including encyclopedias,
phone books, maps, atlases, internet, CD-ROM
• Go places and do things
• Listen to and answer questions
• Discuss various topics and ideas
(cont’d)
• Teach research and study skills
• Seek professionals knowledgeable in
the field of giftedness
HOW TO FOSTER
CREATIVITY
• Value play and invention
• Use imagery when playing or working with your
child
• Listen to and talk about unusual ideas
• Establish outlets for creativity
• Allow time for independent work
• Brainstorm ideas
• Elaborate on an idea
• Appreciate uniqueness
HOW TO MOTIVATE
YOUR CHILD
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Encourage self-exploration
Encourage self-reliance
Teach organizational skills
Praise your child
Display your child’s work
HOW TO WORK WITH
THE SCHOOL
• Stay involved and informed
• Work with teachers; prepare and
propose alternative solutions if
necessary
• Be persistent in requesting changes and
challenges that meet the child’s needs
• Supplement and enrich the school’s
curriculum
(cont’d)
• Keep a portfolio of things your child has
done (writing samples, video or audio
tape of a performance, drawings, your
own anecdotal notes…) This is an
excellent tool
• Be an advocate for gifted students and
gifted programs
• Join or form a parent support group
(www.pgtag.org)
SUPPORTING
ORGANIZATIONS
• The Association for the Gifted
www.cectag.org
• Eric Clearinghouse for Gifted Education
• http://ericec.org
• National Association for Gifted Children
www.nagc.org/
• John Hopkins Univ. Center for Talented Youth
www.jhu.edu/~gifted/
• National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
(NRC/GT)
www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt.html
• PGTAG www.pgtag.org