Let’s explore keys to long-term student success. The first is students ability to excel in many areas.
All AboutSocial & Emotional Needs
When we pay attention to academics, but not to our students' social emotional needs, we're missing half of the picture.
A Shopping List for Kids (and Adults) With Intensities
Here’s a list of interesting items to help intense students in a classroom setting. Fidgety tools, special sets, and even ear plugs!
Tennessee Keynote: So Much More Than Smart Kids
Here’s the last 20 minutes of my keynote from Tennessee’s 2015 state gifted conference. Live audio synced up with my slides.
Calvin: I Thought You Were Smart
A great strip from Calvin and Hobbes for opening up a discussion about hard work, being “smart,” and mindsets in the classroom.
Success Isn’t A Straight Line
Students I speak to have a powerful fear of making a life-altering mistake in their teens. Whether it’s a low grade, an easy class, or the wrong extracurricular, students think that an early error will derail their entire lives. They see life as a straight line.
Don’t Say “Great job!”
Not only is vague praise less useful than a specific compliment, but, combined with easy tasks, it can even be damaging to students’ belief in their abilities.
Self Control Is A Limited Resource
The wise teacher knows how hard to push her class and when to ease up, because self control is a limited resource for everyone.
Dino Obsession: Intellectual Overexcitability In Action
If you’re wondering what an “intellectual overexcitability” might look like, here’s me in kindergarten…
The Real Causes of Procrastination
Joanne Foster led an interesting session about the true causes of students’ procrastination. It’s more complex than simple laziness.
Calvin, High-Energy, and Sports
This comic highlights an additionally unfortunate issue high-energy kids suffer from: they’re physically active, yet may not be particularly interested in sports.
Understanding High Energy Gifted Kids
To understand how giftedness and physical energy are connected, stop picturing a fidgety kid interrupting the class. Instead imagine him deeply engrossed in his favorite activity.
Why Gifted Kids May Not Be Great Tutors
It’s so easy to assume gifted kids will be the academic leaders in a classroom. Beacons of light for the other kids to follow. Dina Brulles and Susan Winebrenner explain the problem…
Gifted Children and Anxiety
The obvious benefit of gifted students’ increased sensitivity is that they learn faster, since they pick up on so much more. But this sensitivity also has a dark side: turning our kids into anxious worriers.
Good At Too Many Things?
Multipotentiality is a fancy way of saying “good at many things.” It’s a defining trait of gifted kids, and you’ve probably seen it in action: a student writes beautifully, has mastered a musical instrument, excels in math, and still gets picked near the top in PE. Yet, this trait is one of the Eight Great Gripes of gifted kids.
Like Everyone Else?
Fitting in only gets you so far.
Review: Mindsets In The Classroom
Ricci’s book builds on Dweck’s research and attacks the problem of the fixed mindset on all fronts, addressing the attitudes of students, but also of school staff and parents. But make sure you read Dweck’s work first.
Brains Only Get Stronger When It’s Difficult!
As a 6th grade teacher, I would see students give up just as things became difficult. Because of their natural intelligence, they could succeed without putting in the work that their peers were learning to do. So I introduced a motto.
Calvin: The Unexpected Gifted Kid
As a kid, I read Calvin and Hobbes religiously, checking out collections from the library and cutting out favorites from the newspaper. Now, I read these same comics and see Calvin in a different light: an example of all of the unexpected traits of gifted students.
The Surprising Financial Failures of Walt Disney
As I read about the origins of the Disney studios, I’m struck by the endless financial trouble Walt Disney found himself in. Even after his classic films hit theaters, the studio was constantly in debt and faced a dismal future.
Mindset & Impostor Syndrome
Our gifted kids receive lots of well-intentioned “you’re so smart” praise. But, this leads directly to a fear of straying beyond their safety zone. In college or the workplace, where they face challenges for the first time, the impostor syndrome rears its terrifying head.
What Can We Learn From Gifted Adults?
What better way to learn about gifted students’ needs than by talking to gifted adults? Here’s a tour of some of the resources I found online.
Build Relationships With Small Talk
Intelligence may get students through school with high marks, but out there in the wild, a high-performing brain can only get one so far. We need to explicitly help our students learn to relate to those around them by teaching them about “small talk.”
The Curious Case of Impostor Syndrome
They believe that only they are aware of their limitations, near misses, and potential for error. They attribute their success to luck, not ability. In an attempt to maintain an illusion of perfection, they avoid situations in which they might not be the best. This is called Impostor’s Syndrome.
Asynchrony and X-Men
Not only are they dealing with the usual trials of growing up, they are often doing it with an increased awareness of their faults, a frustration with being unable to do everything well, and a world that often doesn’t know what to do with them. Worse, they often lack the emotional tools to accompany their increased awareness.
Overexcitabilities: Five Unexpected Intensities
We know gifted students are far more complex than their test scores might suggest. And while we might expect certain quirks, others blindside us: a strange reaction to sound, a sudden outburst of tears, or a need to stand up at inopportune times. Dabrowski’s five overexcitabilities provide some insight into these unexpected moments.