We all hope that our child or pupil will be blessed with many
talents. However, talents can also cause negative effects in
the classroom, especially if a gifted child is forced to
comply with conditions customized for regular children.
For example, if a child understands quickly, he might get
bored if the teacher has to repeat explanations. If he has a
great thirst for knowledge, he might get bored if the teacher
does not deliver sufficient new information to keep him
satisfied.
Some children are careful not to make mistakes, but then they
will probably be slower than other students. If the child is
sensitive, he might be easily hurt by a careless comment from
teacher or peer.
A child who is full of energy cannot sit still. He needs to
be kept occupied -- and this can be challenging for any
teacher who has to deal with a large class.
If the child has been reading books and is already
knowledgeable about many topics, he might already know about
the subject being taught. If he is really bright, he might
even know more than the teacher. A child who has an inquiring
mind will need a teacher who knows all the answers. If the
child is full of questions, he can easily disrupt a class and
be difficult to handle during the lesson.
A child with a sharp wit can destroy a class or a teacher and
if he has a keen sense of humor, he might make jokes during
class which can turn a lesson into a comedy show.
Tangential thinkers can `see' alternative options which might
not occur to the teacher or which the teacher cannot deal
with because he has to continue along the conventional line.
This can be frustrating for the child and for the teacher.
It is not good to be tense and nervous, but if a child seems
to be too relaxed, he might give the impression of being laid-
back and unmotivated.
A polite child will probably feel it wrong to be assertive in
class and so, might recede into the background and be
ignored.
The deep thinker needs time to think things through and so,
might get left behind by the lesson and miss parts of it
because he cannot simultaneously listen to the lesson and
think things through.
A conceptual thinker needs to see the whole picture and so,
he might ask apparently irrelevant questions which might
irritate the teacher. Also, he might not understand even
simple units of information because, for him, they are
isolated and he cannot relate to them without seeing the big
picture.
A child with a vivid imagination can easily become excited.
This can make him seem to be unruly in class. An emotional
child will tend to become emotionally involved in whatever is
being taught, and might become caught up with the material.
A child with a highly developed imagination might tend to
dream and invent stories.
Of course, it is good to be kind-hearted, but in the class
setting, a kind child can be manipulated by his peers to
`help' others during the lesson.
An intuitive child can easily jump to the wrong conclusion or
give a snap answer which is completely incorrect. Within the
class setting, it is difficult for a teacher to spend time to
track down the source of the mistake.
Some adults attend courses to learn meditation, but a child
who is naturally meditative can give the impression of being
lost in thought and dreaming out during class.
There are children who are scrupulously honest, but in class,
they can seem to be goody-goody. In tests, they might give
honest, but incorrect answers when others might cheat and
seem to do better.
Some practically minded children cannot deal with pure theory
but need to relate to concrete ideas.
Of course, any parent would be happy to have a child who
understands quickly, has a thirst for knoweldge, cares not to
make mistakes, is sensitive, full of energy, knowledgeable,
has an inquiring mind, is full of questions, has a sharp wit
and keen sense of humor, is a tangential thinker, relaxed and
polite, is a deep, conceptual thinker, has a vivid and highly
developed imagination, is kind-hearted, emotional, intuitive,
meditative, honest and practical.
Such a child might be a delight to have at home but at
school, he might get bored if the teacher has to repeat
explanations. He might get bored if the teacher does not
deliver sufficient new information to keep him satisfied; be
slower than other students; be easily hurt by a careless
comment from the teacher or a peer; be unable to sit still;
need to be kept occupied -- and this can be challenging for
any teacher who has to deal with a large class.
He might already know about the subject being taught, or
might even know more than the teacher; need a teacher who
knows all the answers; disrupt a class and be difficult to
handle during the lesson; destroy a class or a teacher; make
jokes during class which can turn a lesson into a comedy
show; see alternative options which might not occur to the
teacher or which he cannot deal with because he has to
continue along the conventional line, which can be
frustrating for the child and for the teacher.
He may seem to be too relaxed; he might give the impression
of being laid-back and unmotivated; he may recede into the
background and be ignored; get left behind by the lesson and
miss parts of the lesson because he cannot simultaneously
listen to the lesson and think things through; ask apparently
irrelevent questions which might irritate the teacher and he
might not understand even simple units of information
because, for him, they are isolated and he cannot relate to
them without seeing the big picture.
He may easily become excited; seem unruly in class; become
emotionally involved in whatever is being taught, and so
might become caught up with the material; be manipulated by
his peers to help others during the lesson; jump to the wrong
conclusion or give a snap answer which is completely
incorrect; become lost in thought and dream out during class;
be goody- goody; in tests, he might give honest but incorrect
answers when others might cheat and seem to do better; be
unable to deal with pure theory but need to relate to
concrete ideas and may day-dream and invent stories.
So, if you child DOES have any of these problems, it might be
because he is a gifted child who has been blessed with one or
more of those talents.
