Video Links

If you only watch one of these video clips, this should be the one.

The term gifted child is often misunderstood by parents, educators, and students. Sometimes it appears threatening, or exclusionary, or elitist. Here's a quick video (put together by gifted kids) to dispel myths about gifted kids. Myth 4 addresses "All children are gifted" from a gifted child's perspective (3:26)--comparing stellar academics to stellar athletes.


Dan Peters does an excellent job explaining some of the developmental issues faced by gifted kids. "It doesn't excuse their behavior, we have to understand their behavior" (0:28). A little social skills training could help gifted kids fit in better and curb some of their quirky behaviors in class. He also addresses some of the biases held about gifted kids--that if they're so "gifted," then they must be good at everything all the time. His comments on this issue are enlightening.


C-SPAN created this documentary about gifted education in America. One of the most important facts revealed in this clip, something most people don't realize, is that gifted kids frequently underachieve or drop out of school entirely. Why is that? "Because they don't know how to study. They don't know what it is they need to do to be successful." (1:34) Does that surprise you? That can be fixed, through appropriate teaching and skills training.


This report from Learning Matters, discusses how gifted students are the ones getting left behind by the No Child Left Behind Act. Interesting perspective on this mandate.


Dan Pink presents a novel approach to motivation that applies to students in the classroom. Extrinsic rewards (rewards from the outside, like stickers, grades, pizza coupons) are less effective when it comes to learning new things than intrinsic rewards (rewards from the inside, like increased self-esteem, sense of accomplishment, and personal satisfaction). This approach would be effective in classrooms.


Sir Ken Robinson has a no-nonsense way of addressing problems in education. He contends that "creativity is as important in education now as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status" (3:16). How different would our classrooms be for all children if teachers approached daily learning from this perspective?


Another of Sir Ken Robinson's talks, "Changing Education Paradigms," was adapted by RS Animate to illustrate the mistakes inherent with using 19th Century interests to educating children to function in 21st Century economies.


Many gifted kids are being misdiagnosed with behavior problems that may just be manifestations of their giftedness. "Diagnosing someone's educational and learning needs is not something that should be taken lightly" (0:57). There is no checklist of gifted markers included in the process of diagnosis.


References
Chapman, S. (2010, January 13).  C-SPAN documentary--The fall and rise of gifted education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT2wftKNTzI

GTAMoCo. (2010). Top 10 myths in gifted education. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/MDJst-y_ptI

Learning Matters. (2012, March 28). Learning matters: Gifted education (2004). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPdzqZklELg.

Pink, D. (n.d.).  Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. [Video file]. RSAnimate. Retrieved from http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-drive.

Robinson, K. (2006). Do schools kill creativity? [Video file]. TED Talks. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY


Robinson, K. (n.d.). Changing education paradigms. [Video file].  RSAnimate. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U

SENG. (n.d.). The misdiagnosis of gifted children. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/9XN7IOteagI

SummitCenterCA. (2012, July 12). Development potential of gifted children, by Dr. Dan Peters, Summit Center. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/mYCSxoHciEY

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