Top Ten most frequently encountered Myths about Giftedness

Judith Hewton

1. "All children are gifted."

   This statement is as meaningless as saying 'all children have difficulties' without distinguishing among degrees of difficulty, or levels of ability. It can be viewed as an excuse for failure to differentiate for gifted children in an educational setting. Those who don't know anything about giftedness may mistakenly say this when they mean all children are to be valued. We have to firmly refute the myth and help people improve their knowledge base.

2. "All parents think their children are gifted."

   This is not the experience of workers in state and territory gifted associations. Many parents new to the concept are disturbed at the prospect of having a gifted child although some suspect it is really the case, particularly when there are obvious signs of giftedness. Most parents say that their concern is not for the label so much as for negotiating a challenging, satisfying education for the child. Hopefully all parents treasure their children and are proud of their achievements but that doesn't negate the fact that some 10% are gifted and need acceleration, ability grouping and extension to achieve their potential.

3. "We don't have any gifted students in this school. We have lots of behaviour problems... This is a low socioeconomic area... We have lots of learning disabilities, poor English, etc."

   Giftedness is not the province of any race, gender or class. Let's look a little harder at all students, perhaps take time to view them differently, to identify the full range of gifts and talents. Let's aim to improve school systems so that all involved are actively searching for gifts and talents and KNOW WHAT TO DO with those they encounter.

4. "We don't identify and pull out gifted and talented students for special attention here. That's elitist."

   Fine, but be consistent. Don't identify the potential A grade footballers and train them or the students with performing arts talents. To be 'fair' start all runners at different handicapped points so that THEY ALL FINISH TOGETHER. To be fair we should therefore not develop any gifts into high performance in any field. If these statements seem absurd, consider doing SOMEthing for gifted children in classrooms in the interests of fairness and justice.

5. "We've arranged extension for her before school or at lunchtime."

   If you're gifted, you're gifted all day, every day. Gifted students deserve to have their needs met within the classrooms. They need good teachers and mentors. What's arranged out-of-hours may be wonderful but could also be viewed as a punishment by the child. Gifted children also need physical activity at break time, not a sedentary activity.

6. "If the regular work is completed, if the handwriting is neater, if the behaviour improves, he may then work on his extension project."

   Education according to need is a right in any affluent society. Provision for the gifted is a necessity not a reward. Staying locked into easy work can result in perfectionism. Underachievers will not want to focus on low level tasks that do not engage and challenge them.

7. "When these so-called gifted kids level out, you'll realise it was a mistake to accelerate them. Their social and emotional immaturity will be their downfall."

   What will level them out? Let's look at what the research confirms on these points;

   • Acceleration is useful for some students. Karen Rogers says gifted children need some form of acceleration and also ability grouping.
   • Miraca Gross says social and emotional maturity generally keeps pace with intellectual development.
   • Regular curriculum content is aimed at the middle of the class and is inadequate for gifted students. Deslaurier's study in Canada indicated that nearly half of the 5th graders pretested knew 60% of the work before the school year commenced. 13% knew more than 3/4 of the work!
   • A Nation Deceived summarises 50 years of research showing that moving bright students ahead often makes them happy. Schools routinely avoid academic acceleration, the easiest and most effective way to help highly capable students. The popular perception that acceleration results in students who are socially stunted is not supported by any serious studies of the gifted.

8. "Please remove all advanced material from this child's reach at home. Put the books out of his reach. His head is getting too far ahead of his body."

   This child was six years at the time, and very advanced in many areas. Just how do you slow them down? Why would you? Wouldn't that be some kind of abuse?

9. "Your child is gifted... I can't help... Gifted isn't a priority... We teach to the average here. Why don't you take her to a different school?"

   For many good teachers, this would be admitting they can't do their job because effective teachers cater for all ability levels. Gifted education does not require resources so much as a positive attitude for identifying the gifted and differentiating curriculum for them. Teachers may need help to access information and support for gifted students. Identification of giftedness without commensurate action is indefensible.

10. "There's no time available for gifted education. The curriculum is so crowded with other imperatives."

    School curricula are already substantial and let's not add to the load - let's talk about doing some things a little differently - better even. Pedagogy is often more important than curriculum content. Gifted students want teachers who challenge them in positive ways and appreciate their talents. Let's have school staff and parents collaborating for the child's benefit. Let's have all parties valuing and respecting the opinions and knowledge of the child that each brings to the discussion.