Letters to the Editor
D. Helix
Published Letters: 52 Editor's Choice: 6
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oh boy
[Read the article: Here's looking at you, "Kid"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I read a book on gifted kids which differentiated between little "C" and big "C" creativity. While kids can display remarkable talent at early ages, the theory goes, it takes years and years for a creator to reach the point where he/she reshapes a field and changes it significantly. I believe it was Howard Gardner who said it took ten years. While a prodigy might take less, they still require time to let their talent develop. What looks remarkable from a seven year old, will look unimpressive if the artist does not continue to challenge herself as she matures. Some kids become so disenchanted with their parents' forcing them to perform that they wind up hating anything to do with their talent.
Young creators also need to spend time on their own, without their parents hanging over their shoulder, in order to develop their craft. In fact, some studies have found that a high number of famous creators grew up with a deceased or absent parent.
Gifted kids also display a "rage to master" that does not result from parental pushing. In fact, it is parents who oftent say they cannot keep up with their child's request for learning materials. In this day and age, every child is supposedly "gifted" but what will the child do once Mommy and Daddy stops pushing? Keep drawing, composing or writing? Or go surf the Internet? Neither parent pushed me to become a writer, or my sister who also displayed talent writing stories. I stuck with it, she found other interests and now works in the financial field. They didn't pressure her into that either.
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another point
[Read the article: The myth of "rape hype"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Many women I knew (and men) had been physically and or sexually assaulted before they even got to college. Often, the perp was a family member or a friend of the family, or say, a youth group leader. For the most part, they did not report these assaults.
I'm not a psychologist, but perhaps being the target of such violence and feeling powerless, has something to do with putting oneself in similar situations. Or not. I'm just saying that this problem does not begin in college.
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coffee: then and now
[Read the article: Has Starbucks lost its soul?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A poster mentioned Gloria Jean's. When a new mall opened in 1990 in my area, that store was quite popular. I suspect, since Starbucks hadn't invaded the area, it helped get the average customer used to drinks that were extremely sweet at high prices. There was a drink called the Belgian Something that was six bucks, kind of steep back then. But it was worth it.
It's funny, but a surprising number of people will admit that they don't really care for plain Starbucks coffee, if you admit it first. The most common comment I hear is, "It tastes burnt." Then the person adds quickly, "but I like their caramel macchiatos" or whatever. Because it isn't cool not to like Starbucks.
I don't save money going to a indie shop because of gas, but the coffee tastes better, costs less, and the people who go there are more willing to interact and turn off their cells while ordering. Whereas the average Starbucks customer can't get off the phone, even when they're sitting down with their companions.
Oh well.
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I learned something today
[Read the article: Welcome to the nuthouse]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I may be missing the point (if it has one) of the article, especially since it's an "excerpt," but....
When I read stories in periodicals like Salon, I tend to expect them to have a definite beginning, middle and end. If they are crisis stories, like so many seem to be, I prefer to see some description of how the problem was solved or dealt with, and then perhaps as a bonus, some final thoughts summing up the whole situation. Otherwise, it's just like publishing someone's diary entry. I read this and thought, "Gee, how terrible," but that was it.
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what about the gifted?
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sometimes the problem is not how the material is presented but that the child has already mastered it.
Girls may be less likely to disrupt the class when they are bored, but that doesn't solve the problem.
I got E's in conduct in elementary school, but I believe this was only because students in those days were given three recesses, and time after school to hang out and just be kids. Thus I could tolerate a lot of the "boring" parts of school, some of which was subjects I'd already mastered. Otherwise, I probably would have been a candidate for Ritalin.
Nurture plays a part as well as nature. There will always be at least a few girls wondering if the boys' activities are more interesting, and vice versa. And there will be kids who are bored or un-challenged, regardless of whether they are in a single-sex or coed classroom. There are a few teachers I remember who managed to get everyone interested and participating, boys and girls, but they were rare. Perhaps we should be studying their techniques, as well.