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| Classic Myths Busted |
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| Myth #1: Gifted kids have it made and will succeed in life no matter what. They don't need any special help in school or anywhere else. FACT: Everyone needs encouragement-and help-to make the most of their abilities and succeed in life. Myth #2: Gifted kids should love school, get high grades, and greet each new school day with enthusiasm. FACT: Most schools are geared for average learners, not gifted learners, which makes it hard for gifted students to get excited about going. Some of the most talented students in the United States actually choose to drop out of school altogther. Myth #3: Gifted students come from white middle and upper class families. FACT: They come from all cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Myth #4: Gifted kids are good at everything they do. FACT: Some gifted students are good at many things; others are exceptionally able at only a few things. Some gifted students are also learning disabled, which menas that they might not be very good at schoolwork. Myth #5: Teachers love to have gifted students in their classes. FACT: Some do, some don't. Certain teachers feel uncomfortable with gifted students and get defensive when they suspect that their students know more than they do. Myth #6: If gifted students are grouped together, they will become snobbish and elitist. FACT: Some will, some won't. What's especially pernicious about this myth is that some adults use it to rationalize decisions about not allowing gifted students to work or study together or not poviding them with opportunities that meet their learning needs. Myth #7: All gifted kids have trouble adjusting to school and forming friendships. FACT: Some do, some don't-just like other kids. Myth #8: Gifted students don't know that they're "different" unless someone tells them. FACT: Most gifted kids don't need to identified or lableled before they know that they're not quite like their age peers. Myth #9: Gifted students must constantly be challenged and kept busy or they'll get lazy. FACT: They might get bored, but they won't necessarily get lazy. Myth #10: Gifted kids are equally mature in all areas -academic, physical, social, and emotional. FACT: That would be convenient, but it's not a reasonable expectation. On the other hand, it's not fair to assume that just because someone is advanced intellectually, he or she will lag behind in other developmental areas. Exerpted from The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook, by Judy Galbraich, M.A. and Jim Delisle, Ph.D. Copyright 1996 by Free Spirit Publishing: 1-800-735-7323. All rights reserved. |