Giftedness in Students
Handling children with special talents
Mozart, Neumann, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Stevie Wonder, Blaise Pascal, Judit Polgár, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Lydian Nadhaswaram, Kautilya Pandit, Nihal Raj, Advait Kolarkar, Truptraj Pandya, Tilak Mehta, Pari Sinha, Priyanshi Somani… You all must be wondering why I am suddenly mentioning these people. Well, I would like to know from you what is common among all of them.
“If you guessed that they are gifted, then you are correct”. They all are blessed and gifted people. As an academician and facilitator, I have come across a few gifted students who have not only left a mark on my heart but also made a mark in their lives in a special way. Without naming them, I would certainly confess that initially when I had them in my class it took time for their parents as well as myself to recognise their gifted traits. But what worked was the patience that we maintained and the motivation that helped them to achieve their potential goals. They are still working towards the ultimate but the positive.
Human beings possess multiple traits and each one of us handles different skills in different ways. Though I would say that every person born in this world is blessed in some or the other way but gifted people are blessed with a few more exceptional abilities in one or more specific realms as they often have a high level of cognitive ability along with the potential to outshine in their domain of expertise.
The most challenging part however is the identification of the gifted students as well as providing them with a space that will enhance their qualities rather than making them feel left out which could result in boredom, frustration as well as socio-emotional difficulties.
Nurturing gifted students is a task in itself as no single component can identify giftedness, and other factors, such as a child’s environment, family background, and cultural experiences, may also play a role. Giftedness in children can be identified through a combination of factors, including:
· Early and rapid development is the first sign that can be seen in gifted children. Parents, teachers, friends, and well-wishers may observe that these children develop few skills such as language, fine motor control, and social skills more quickly than others of the same age. They may also pick up two or more languages easily.
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· Intellectual ability with a creative bend of mind: These children exhibit a strong ability to grasp things quickly and can retain knowledge and may also have an above-average IQ. They may also show a high degree of ingenuity, vision, and originality in their work style.
· Exceptional memory with developed reasoning and problem-solving skills: These children may have a very good memory with the ability to understand complex concepts.
· Advanced curiosity and self-motivated learning: Such students many a time are self-motivated and extremely curious to explore new ideas and concepts on their own.
If you believe your child may be gifted, it’s a good idea to have them evaluated by a professional, such as a psychologist or educational specialist, who can assess their abilities and provide guidance and support.
Nurturing gifted children requires a supportive and challenging environment that caters to their unique needs and abilities. We should always encourage them to explore their interests, both in school as well as at home. They need to be challenged to grow and develop their abilities. Thus, both parents, as well as teachers, will have to create opportunities that boost the skills of such students as they are independent thinkers also. Though they are self-motivated, they still need to be encouraged to think for themselves and to take accountability for the world around them.
The biggest challenge faced by such kids is their socio-emotional development. Many a time due to their advanced abilities their peers as well as other adults is unable to understand them. So, we need to ensure to provide them with a good social environment and teach others also to be empathetic towards them. They should be allowed to connect with society by providing them with a supportive and understanding environment.
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