Letters to the Editor
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Another one of those
I, too, was one of those kids designated as "gifted"--as was my mother as were my neices and nephews and so will, no doubt, be my daughter. And, yes, much of school did not interest me. Nonetheless, there's a kind of dissatisfied, petulant tone to many of these letters. It's clear that the writers consider the public school system failed them because it did not sufficiently adapt to them.
My own view of giftedness differs. Many of the kids defined as "gifted" are head-of-the-class bright. Teach them well, give them some extra-credit projects and encourage them to read. They'll do fine--provided that they're allowed to be second-best some of the time (we all are.)
With the extremely/profoundedly gifted, I think there are some different issues. A child who thinks that outside of the box will have a hard time fitting in and it really is hard to adapt the standard curriculum to her or him. However, having known some unhappy ex-prodigies, I don't think these kids should be pushed to the edge of their abilities. If anything, they need less pressure than a kid closer to the median--a very bright child is one who's extremely absorptive. In many ways, one of the best things that happened to me is that my abilities were somewhat ignored--I was left to read and think in peace. By the time anyone outside my family found out what I read and how I thought, I was well into my teens and beyond the hot-house child stage. As a result, I enjoy my mind--but many of my former hot-house friends don't.