Gifted Children Not Living Up To Their Potential
January 31, 2014
“Are Gifted Children Getting Lost In The Shuffle?” is a question asked by David Lubinski when he conducted a study that tracked 320 gifted children from age 13 until 38. News At Vanderbilt details how 203 of the children earned a master’s degree or higher, of which 142 earned a doctorate. Most of the children had successful careers, and went on to become doctors, attorneys, software engineers, Fortune 500 senior leaders, and even an advisor to the US President.
The article explains:
“Despite their remarkable success, researchers concluded that the profoundly gifted students had experienced roadblocks along the way that at times prevented them from achieving their full potential. Typical school settings were often unable to accommodate the rapid rate at which they learned and digested complex material. When students entered elementary and high school classrooms on day one having already mastered the course material, teachers often shifted focus away from them to those struggling with the coursework. This resulted in missed learning opportunities, frustration and underachievement, particularly for the exceptionally talented, the researchers suggest.”
The article continues that gifted children were left to their own devices, because they understood course material and that schools fail to have programs for gifted children, though they have special education classes. Lubinski concluded that if children were challenged it would motivate them to push themselves farther.
No argument with the study, except did they take economic, environment, and socioeconomic levels into consideration? What other factors helped these children achieve success and how exactly was a “roadblock” defined?
Whitney Grace, January 31, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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