Social Issue: Deviant Behavior - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION People have always been fascinated with the special abilities of others. This is even magnified when children exhibit these unique skills or potentials. To be in awe of something one does not have either drives one to amplify this admiration or be immensely envious of those who have it, and manifest this jealousy through outright rejection or disapproval. Giftedness seems to be an enigma that merits much research and study. This puts gifted children in a fishbowl, with their every move watched by society. For those who greatly marvel at the extraordinary skills of these children, they closely monitor them and press these youngsters to further hone these skills, to be exhibited like a circus act for everyone’s amazement. For others, it may be the opposite, as they reject these exceptional skills and ignore them, hopefully to extinction for a myriad of reasons. This special attention bestowed on giftedness directly affects the gifted children involved. They realize that they are “different” and are aware that other people see that. This puts them in a difficult situation because as children, they may not be emotionally equipped to manage the pressure of high expectations set for them or the rejection of peers who are not able to understand their differences. Since they are not considered as “normal”, parents and teachers may be at a loss as to how to deal with them and appropriately support them in their development. Parents, in particular, are greatly responsible in the way their gifted children think and behave. In their hands, they have the power to make or break these young ones, and turn them into either social deviants or productive members of society. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This paper attempts to explore giftedness in children. It will discuss how children view their giftedness and relate it to how others handle it. Most especially, it will investigate the role of parents and schools in its development. Ultimately, it will give recommendations on how to best support gifted children in view of how they can function as productive and contributing members of society. The following questions are meant to be answered in this research paper: What is giftedness? How do children manage their giftedness? How should society, particularly parents and schools, support the needs of gifted children? DISCUSSION The definition of giftedness has undergone evolution over the years. In the past, the label belonged to children who possessed exceptional skills that everyone could see such as reading and writing skills, or ability to solve difficult mathematical problems. This usually meant children who scored well on standardized tests. Since it was realized eventually that standardized tests do not accommodate children’s different learning styles, new definitions of intelligence have stretched the definition of giftedness and talent. Now, there are many ways of assessing how children perform, interact with their learning and problem-solve, beyond just reading and writing, to find out who is gifted (Murray, 1994). The definition of giftedness in the Marland report was stated as follows: "Gifted and talented are those ... with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in ... (a) general intellectual ability, (b) specific academic aptitude, (c) creative or productive thinking, (d) leadership ability, (e) visual and performing arts, and (f) psychomotor ability." (Cooper, 1995). This definition now included skills which are not easily manifest, and to successfully and credibly label someone as “gifted” many processes are necessary than mere parental observation. In assessing giftedness, a suspected gifted child undergoes a battery of individual tests administered by a team of professionals as well as an extensive series of interviews, observations, case histories and subjective evaluation about his abstract thought processes, intensity, complexity, sensitivity and awareness. These are all considered for a comprehensive assessment. (Silverman, 1998). How do gifted children behave in reaction to such fuss made by society on them? Such children are often very sensitive to their emotions and those of others (Schetky, 1981). Being cognitively advanced, they are more aware of the world around them, of relationships between people, places, time and spaces. Their mature vocabularies and ideas frequently uneven development make them vulnerable to social isolation if they lack interaction with children of similar abilities (Walker, Hafenstein & Crow-Enslow, 1999). In its long history of interest in how giftedness affects the psychological well-being of children, two conflicting views prevailed. The first view believed that gifted children are generally better-adjusted than their non-gifted peers. It was hypothesized that in being cognitively advanced, they are in a better position to understand their own behaviors and others’, hence, they can cope better with stress, conflicts and developmental dysynchrony with their peers. The second view sees gifted children as more vulnerable to adjustment problems than their non-gifted peers because they are more sensitive to interpersonal conflicts and experience greater degrees of alienation and stress than do their peers as a result of their cognitive capacities. Empirical research yields inconsistent findings on these two views. It indicates that the gifted are a diverse group when it comes to social competence. Research suggests that the psychological well-being of a gifted child is related to the type of giftedness, the educational fit, and the childs personal characteristics such as self-perceptions, temperament and life circumstances (Niehart, 1999). Gifted children may employ various strategies to cope with feeling different. Swiatek (1995) examined five coping strategies: denial of giftedness, fear of failure, extracurricular involvement; denying concern about possible social rejection, and minimizing the visibility of giftedness in academically talented children. These coping mechanisms help ease them into various social circles. Parents of gifted children likewise need to manage their own perceptions and behaviors in relation to their children’s exceptionalities. A strong tendency to develop feelings of inadequacy in parenting or mentoring skills is shared by most. Jim Delisle, an educator, discussed in his article entitled “Profoundly Gifted Guilt” how most parents are at a loss in helping their gifted children. They feel they are not “smart enough”. This gives them the motivation to learn more about giftedness and ways to support their children. Most parents have difficulty in making the right decisions in their children’s education, fearing they might “ruin” their children if they make the wrong choice. They neglect to see that most decisions are reversible. For instance, they may agree to have their child skip a grade, but if it does not work out well, gears can be switched and they can take another direction without damaging the child. Proud as they are of their children, they feel restrained in talking about their precocious skills dreading the negative responses they might get from others. Typically, they expect parents of non-gifted children to belittle their stories as exaggerations, or see them as parents who push their poor children beyond their limits. Worse, they would hear comments such as “I’d rather have a child who is normal than a child who is gifted”, insinuating that having a gifted child is more of a burden than a blessing. It is no surprise then, that parents of gifted children find support in each other because they share the same sentiments and can relate to each other’s concerns and issues. Since parents are the children’s lifelong teachers, they are the most influential in their development. Parents must remember that the most accurate predictor of a students achievement in schools is not income or social status, but the extent to which that students family is able to: 1) create a home environment that encourages learning; 2) express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their childrens achievement and future careers; and 3) become involved in their childrens education at school and in the community (Bennet & Hertzog, 2004). Healthy partnerships between schools and families are always ideal. This is most particularly true for children who need a specialized program to cater to their special needs. Communication between school personnel and the family is key to developing partnerships and having ongoing discussions about goals for the childs education. This is important despite the resourcefulness of many families in providing activities for their children outside of school. (Bennet & Hertzog, 2004). Exactly what do school programs designed for the gifted offer and how different is it from regular schools? Cooper (1995) summarizes the distinctions as follows: Gifted curriculum ties highly specialized knowledge to real-world problems unlike in regular curriculum where knowledge is mostly theoretical. Bright and talented students conduct bona fide research--not report writing--and hone their process skills of interviewing, conducting a survey, and analyzing data statistically. The student actually produces knowledge instead of simply consuming it. For example, a special project on finding alternative solutions to environmental problems are researched by 10-year olds by meeting with specialists in the field and voicing out their recommendations to the proper authorities. The sophisticated vocabulary and concepts exchanged far exceeded what was found in the fifth-grade curriculum. The teacher must be at once a manager, helping the student find the specialized resources he or she needs; a guide who asks the tough questions that help the student discover knowledge instead of being presented it in the traditional didactic manner; and a broker who cares enough about a creative producers work to help that student find highly specialized audiences who share his or her level of interest and knowledge of the topic. Creativity is genuinely and consistently exercised. Students are encouraged to generate as many novel ideas as they can about the issue they are studying. Having access to such quality programs will greatly benefit gifted children in their hunger for more challenging learning experiences. However, without adequate support from their parents, family members and society in general, school efforts to foster the optimum development of exceptional talents will be rendered useless. RECOMMENDATIONS Depending on one’s perspective, giftedness may be viewed as either a boon or a bane in one’s family life. No matter how it is regarded, parents of gifted children have to live out their responsibility in raising them to be the best persons they can possibly be. Precocious children who exhibit extraordinary skills that can even surpass adults’ standards may be vulnerable to a lot of pressures. It should always be remembered that they are children first and gifted second. They have the same rights as all children – to play, to make friends with other children and even to make mistakes. They thrive on approval of others, and need to be praised not only for bringing home excellent grades but also for showing kindness to others. Parents should set reasonable goals for them and be consistent in supporting their interests. They should not expect perfection and understand that the development of gifted children is very uneven in many cases. While learning or development in one area may be very advanced, development in other areas will probably be pretty typical or maybe even slow. Parents must accept that teachers and school administrators are their partners in their children’s education. They must work together for the best interest of the students under their care. Although many school systems are not well equipped to deal with gifted students, since most school systems are designed to deal with the average child and work hard to meet the needs of the developmentally disabled, they are learning. They need all the support and cooperation they can get from parents. Together, they must create a conducive learning environment for the gifted. Ultimately, their goal should be to support the children by giving them opportunities that will allow them to make the most of their potential and grow up to be reasonably happy, productive and contributing members of society. References Bennet, T., & Hertzog, N.B. (2004) In Whose Eyes? Parents Perspectives on the Learning Needs of Their Gifted Children.Roeper Review. Volume: 26. Issue: 2. Cooper, C.R. (1995) Integrating Gifted Education into the Total School Curriculum. School Administrator. Volume: 52. Issue: 4 Delisle, J., (2001) Profoundly Gifted Guilt. Gifted Association Communicator Spring Vol. 32, No. 1 Haensly, P.A. (2001) A Collage of Parents Stories. Gifted Child Today .June 22, 2001 Murray, W. (1994) New ways to think about giftedness - interview with National Association for Gifted Children Pres. Carolyn Callahan. Instructor, Sept, 1994 Neihart, M. (1999) The Impact of Giftedness on Psychological Well-Being: What Does the Empirical Literature Say?. Roeper Review. Volume: 22. Issue: 1. Robinson, N.M. (1994) Parents and Professionals as Partners: A Psychologist’s View. Journal of California Association for the Gifted, Volume 25. Issue 5 November 1994 Schetky, D.H. (1981) The emotional and social development of the gifted child. Gifted Child Today 4 (3): 2-4 Silverman, L.K. (1998) Through the Lens of Giftedness. Roeper Review. Volume: 20. Issue: 3. Subotnik, R.F. (2003) A Developmental View of Giftedness: From Being to Doing. Roeper Review. Volume: 26. Issue: 1 Swiatek, M.A. (1995) An empirical investigation of the social coping strategies used by gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 39(3), 154-161. Walker, B., Hafenstein, N. & Crow-Enslow, L., (1999) Meeting the Needs of Gifted Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom., Young Children, January 1999 p.32-36 Read More