gifted..????

Have you ever wondered about one of your students being gifted? Did you know what to do about it?

I have a student that might be. We don't have a gifted program at our school. We're a small, private school that is lacking in funding. I think our curriculum is advanced enough for most kids that they are automatically challenged, but our principal is studying differentiated learning for gifted students, some of his research has me wondering.

I have a student who is immature socially, but very bright. She is also very distracted, and is OFTEN more focused on engaging other kids than paying attention to me or doing his work. But she's smart, and probably only needs a couple repetitions with a new concept to gain understanding. And she has a lot of prior knowledge about many things. She's an excellent reader and can read anything you give her.

But she struggles with independence, and cannot do challenge work that I give her because she is so distracted. She is also immature, and can be manipulative. I think she has a low self-concept and is so intent on making friends that she will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. But she doesn't have the maturity to realize what that is. And all this time she is not doing her work, and I'm thinking it's because she is bored, and I am not giving her what she needs. Sigh. Do you ever feel just stumped?

And by the way, I don't like the term "gifted". I think all kids are gifted. It's a matter of how to find and nurture that gift. But I don't think society or the powers that be agree with me, because there sure is a lot of research out there written from a different perspective than mine.

Thanks for reading.

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