I’m only 17 and still in high school, but here’s my take - I was
started in kindergarten at age 4, my birthday is in December, less
than two weeks from the cut off date in my town. However, my
parents decided to put me in early because I was already into
everything (besides which I think they were probably quite happy to
have me out of the house )…
After kindergarten, some recommended that I be put in the
"transitional" class between K and 1st grade. This was not a remedial
class in any way, about a third of the kindergraten class went into
it before 1st grade. They eventually decided not to, and its a
wonderful thing for me - I would certainly have had to skip a grade
otherwise. In first grade I was reading chapter books and writing
poems that made my teacher call home and find out if I’d been
plagiarizing. By sixth grade I was in algebra with 8th graders, and
by 8th grade I was teaching myself geometry and doing independent
things in every one of my classes. I ended up at a boarding school
because the public schools just couldn’t keep up. I’ve always been
younger than the people around me, but because I grew up with them
there has never been any social difference. I think that there are
many situations where a child would not only benefit from being
skipped, but actually suffer from being left behind - I was often
ready to shoot myself from boredom even being a year ahead, I don’t
even want to think about what would have happened otherwise. While
it is true that there might be some social differences, I would
contend that those children are likely to have similar or worse
social problems with kids of their own age but lesser intellectual
ability - I’ve never had any social problems with people as smart as
I was, it was always people who felt intimidated by ability. That
leaves a kid in the position of either becoming the object of torment
for being ahead or hiding their intelligence, neither of which seems
like a good option to me. Also, on a slightly more biased note, if
you give a kid the chance to really stretch themselves academically
in high school, it opens up tons of other possibilities - if I didn’t
feel that I already had an extremely strong academic foundation,
there’s no way I’d be OK with going to art school to pursue other
passions (which is indeed my plan). Just my 2 cents.
I too am a Mensan (and a member of Intertel), and have ADHD. I
started school a year early because I taught myself how to read at
the age of three. However, the gap between personal maturity and
intellectual capability is a problem that continues to be ignored by
many schools. There is no single successful approach when dealing
with gifted children, in my opinion. It would be great if some day
problems related to being gifted would be identified, recognized,
and properly addressed in the school system. Evidently gifted
children are sometimes encouraged to “be like everybody else,” and
sometimes even receive little assistance because “they are already
smart enough.” There are some programs for gifted kids, but … One
of my sons is exactly like me and I am glad that I was able to help
him out with modern options such as biofeedback and Feldenkreiz. You
are most welcome to write to me offlist for additional info on any
of these issues. Because I could never follow The Curriculum, I was
almost a high school dropout and never went to college. However, I
am autodidactic and have held several positions that required a
degree. I am so glad that I finally am escaping from hi tech and
have landed in the world of jewelry. Every day is a new journey into
my imagination, and my one-degree-off-from-the-rest-of-the-world
perspective is put to good use, ha ha! I go into “hyperfocus” and
craft my pieces until they are perfect and I am satisfied. A day
well spent and work well done. I leave another footprint in the
world, contributing art and beauty as well as happiness to other
people. I feel as though I am finally living life as a wish in a
wishing well. Thank you Amazon.com University!
And thank you - and bless you - Ganoksin for being there for me.
and properly addressed in the school system. Evidently gifted
children are sometimes encouraged to "be like everybody else," and
sometimes even receive little assistance because "they are already
smart enough." There are some programs for gifted kids, but ...
There is a strange contradiction in the US. Everyone is delighted
to see a musically gifted child, a skilled athlete, but find an
intellectually gifted child, and people react negatively, and call
gifted education “elitist.”
Thank you to Bekka for her comments, from the perspective of one
still in school, about the negative side of not being challenged.
Continuing with this thread, I append an article my husband sent to
me regarding the differences between introverts and extroverts. My
husband being the introvert, and me the extrovert, found spooky
parallels with the descriptions found in this article. While I
usually don’t read such lengthy ones on the Orchid List, I did find
this one very interesting. Apologies to Hanuman for the bandwith.
-k
Ins and Outs at Work
Personality type is key to clear communication.
Years ago, our entire research group went through a
psychometric profiling class that characterized, via a
sophisticated questionnaire, our preferred communication style
and behavior. We were slotted in one of four classes, depending
on our scores to determine how "blindsided" we were to other
communication styles. As a group of extremes, communication was
not our strong point-nor was it a priority. Therein lay the
problem, and management was wise enough to do something about
it, providing us with tools to facilitate greater sensitivity
to and recognition of different personality styles, aiming to
foster better communication within the group. Light bulbs
glowed, and a genuine bridging attempt followed. It wasn't
easy, but we did develop a clearer understanding of why people
act the way they do.
This technique has worked well for me over the years; when I
noticed that Naomi Karten, author of several books addressing
communication gaps in the workplace, was presenting "Introverts
and Extroverts in the Workplace" at SD Best Practices, I had to
sit in.
The goal? Classic Communication 101: understanding the ways
personality type influences how, when and what we communicate.
After eliciting the group's stereotypical comments about each
other, including "Introverts yell at their PCs, and extroverts
yell at each other" and "Extroverts need a soundboard, while
introverts need a whiteboard," Karten went on to detail the
biological and physiological basis of introversion and
extroversion.
Karten, a self-professed introvert, characterized her
classification as you might expect: inward rather than outward,
seeking inner stimulation, reaching understanding from quiet
reflection rather than interaction and discussion with others.
Introverts lose energy through interactions; extroverts gain
it. Introverts think before acting, refining and rehearsing
their ideas before speaking them. Extroverts act, then
think-often out loud to express themselves to the world.
Introverts are private, reserved and reflective, preferring to
communicate in writing rather than in spoken form, choosing
one-on-one or small group interaction. They'd rather stay home
than go to a party, need abundant time to recharge, finding it
disruptive for people to stop by at work, and enjoying solving
problems on their own. Extroverts-you guessed it-are just the
opposite.
The class then separated into several self-discovery break-out
sessions. The self-professed extroverts were grouped together,
while introverts were allowed to meet in any group size,
depending on their comfort levels. Each group listed its own
perceived strengths and weaknesses, the behaviors that
frustrated each other, and what each would like the other to
understand about them. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised
to note that the number of introverts was nearly three times
the number of extroverts, but I was. And the varying energy
levels were clearly audible-the extroverts were loud and
boisterous, while the introverts explored their concerns with
quiet intensity.
Analyzing "The Other"
What did each group think about the others' strengths? The
introverts conceded that the exuberant extros were great at
balancing and offering ideas. They seemed more connected and
thus more aware of what was going on, full of passion and
commanding attention. And the extroverts admitted that their
quieter counterparts were much deeper thinkers-more detailed,
more focused, more analytical. Their well-articulated comments
also had greater impact.
Then came the moment of truth: What frustrated the introverts?
The irritant of choice was a demand for instant feedback.
"Chill out!" one said, "I need some time to think about things.
And if you don't answer the extrovert and look confused, he'll
talk even faster and continue talking! How can anyone continue
talking when it appears that no one is interested in
listening?" Introverts made a plea for individual space and
patience in awaiting responses. They preferred to communicate
in writing, and liked to have advance knowledge of questions
and agendas.
The most common complaint from the extrovert camp was the
introvert's unsatisfying response to an urgent question: that
confounding blank stare. "You gotta give me
something-anything!" cried one frustrated extrovert, "even if
it's a nod, smile, yes, no, I don't know, or simply saying "Let
me think about it."" Extroverts need to know that the introvert
understands the urgency of a situation and isn't deliberately
withholding but is instead involved and
interested.
Nods of understanding spread through both camps. Then someone
asked if we were born with these traits. While Karten
acknowledged that biology does determine personality to a great
degree, she claimed, "You can become skilled at being the
other; it takes a lot of energy, like stretching your muscles.
And as you mature, you tend to move more toward the center."
It's all about bridging effectively with people of different
natures-and with time and patience, there's hope for those
urgent young extros-and shrinking young intros-in your office.
)…