My daughter came home from school today
And somehow, our conversation
Got onto the topic of ‘gifted kids’!
She made reference to…
‘The gifted kids went to play bridge’
Now…I am normally a pretty nice Mom
(ok, so others in my immediate family might disagree…)
I consider myself to be relatively tolerant
And mostly open minded…so…
When she referred to the ‘gifted kids’
I just about blew a gasket! !
I asked her who decided
That these kids were ‘gifted’
She replied ‘a test that we all took in grade three! ‘
I asked her who refers to the kids as ‘gifted’
She said…’the teachers’
Wonderful! ! !
Ok, so then…I felt I needed to explain
My point of view for disliking
The term ‘gifted’!
Each of us has certain qualities
And no two people are exactly alike
Just because a person has
A higher intelligence quotient
Than someone else…
Does not in my books…
Make them gifted! !
People can be ‘smart’ in many different ways
Perhaps someone has the ability
To look inside another’s soul
And feel compassion for their suffering
Does that make them any less gifted than
The person who can solve complex math problems? ?
Does the ‘autistic savant’
Have any more going for them than someone
Who can make a whole room laugh?
What of the genius, with a learning disability? ?
Websters Dictionary defines ‘intelligence’
As ‘the ability to learn and understand’
So…I don’t see anything about…gifted…in there…
Being smart is one thing…
But I myself prefer well rounded people…
I have as much respect for someone who can
Brighten someone’s day by telling a good joke
(…and can actually remember the whole joke!)
As I do, someone who excels at quantum physics! !
Being ‘gifted’, as far as I can see
Is mostly in the eye of the beholder
If teachers use the term ‘gifted’…
For only some students…
What exactly
Is the message that they are sending
To all the rest? ? ?
Not good enough? !
Dee Daffodil (HW) October 9,2007
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