Gifted Characteristics

Alexandra
“Oh, that’s really dumb!” exclaimed Alexandra. “I’m not going to do that assignment.”

Frequently this first grader would balk at assignments that the other children felt were fun. On the outside Alexandra appeared rude and spoiled. On the inside she was scared to death. She was afraid to try anything that she wasn’t sure of. If she didn’t think she could be the best in class, she wouldn’t try at all. On the assignments she did do, she took extraordinary amounts of time. Every detail had to be perfect before she was comfortable giving it to her teacher.

Rashid
At school Rashid was frequently scolded for not following directions. Mr. Smith explained to Rashid’s mother, “I ask the boys and girls to put things away and line up and Rashid is consistently the last one to join the group. I call them in from recess and he often pretends he doesn’t hear the directions.”

At home Rashid was left alone to do as he pleased. He would spend hours alone in his room with his books, his toys, and his imagination. His mother would have to call him many times to come to dinner, but he didn’t mind being late or occasionally missing a meal. It was worth it to be allowed to finish what he was doing.

Samantha
Samantha stared at the page in her workbook. There was a picture of a boy and a girl on a sidewalk next to the street. The girl clearly wanted the ball, but the boy was about to throw it over her head and into the street. The caption under the picture asked, “Where will the ball go?” There were several choices to mark including “Into the street.”

As Samantha studied this picture, her face screwed up into a contorted expression. She thought, “It might go into the street, but if a big wind came up, it would probably be blown right back onto the grassy area next to the sidewalk. Or, if a car came along just as the boy threw the ball, it might bounce right off the car and back towards the children.”

Mrs. Littlefield couldn’t understand why it took Samantha so long to complete her work. She also could not figure out how Samantha came up with some of her answers. She must not be very bright.

Defining the Problem
Certain personality characteristics are often associated with people who are very bright. Some of these include
� perfectionism
� independence
� perseverance
� originality
� ability to analyze
� verbal precociousness
� curiosity
� a sense of humor
� ability to learn quickly

As we view these personality characteristics, we tend to place value judgments on them. For instance, we say the ability to learn quickly is a virtue. If a person can learn quickly, life will be easy for that individual; however, the ability to learn easily in school can also cause problems. The student may have no patience with those who learn at a slower rate. If the child understands a concept quickly, she may want to move on to the next item on the agenda before everyone else is ready. The child may become bored easily. He may never be really challenged and therefore never learn how to cope with challenge. The truth is that there are at least two ways to look at every personality characteristic. Each of these traits has its up side and its down side. Here are a few examples.

Perfectionism

Positive aspects: Works hard to do a good job. Pays attention to detail.

Difficulties: Unrealistic expectations, “perceived failure,” supersensitivity to criticism, doesn’t finish work because it’s never good enough.

Independence, Nonconformity

Positive aspects: Thinks for self, does not need approval of group to act.

Difficulties: May have a seemingly rebellious or disruptive nature, tends to challenge and question indiscreetly, resents the constraining structure of the classroom.

Perseverance

Positive aspects: Strong power of concentration. Stays with an activity until it is completed.

Difficulties: Resistance to interruption or to a schedule. Inflexible.

Originality

Positive aspects: Comes up with new and creative ideas.

Difficulties: Behavior may be “off task.” Desire to investigate and invent for oneself. Not motivated by traditional textbook approach to learning, rote learning, tasks, excessive group instruction, and teacher control.

Ability to Analyze

Positive aspects: Strong perception of relationships between ideas and events. Seeks to interpret and understand what is learned and experienced.

Difficulties: May tend to dominate discussions or activities, or to resist curriculum and skill work that is convergent or repetitive. May become quite skillful in manipulating and controlling others.

Verbal Precociousness

Positive aspects: Able to effectively articulate thoughts.

Difficulties: Difficulty restraining desire to talk and develop listening skills and habits.

Curiosity

Positive aspects: Strong desire to learn and to explore.

Difficulties: Asks so many questions that it becomes annoying to others.

Sense of Humor

Positive aspects: Strong wit and unique way of looking at life.

Difficulties: May be the class clown.

Advice for Parents

Knowledge and understanding are the tools that can help you as a parent of a gifted child. Try to understand both sides of every personality characteristic. Expose your children to ways in which they can use the positive sides of characteristics. For example, if your child is verbally precocious or has a strong sense of humor, acting classes may be appropriate.

Being very bright should not be an excuse for bad manners. We must expect the same courtesies from our gifted learners that we expect from the rest of the population. We must teach our children to be tactful and polite when expressing their thoughts, be good listeners, never dominate the conversation, be contributing citizens, and not be overwhelming or manipulative. Verbally precocious children often sound like miniature adults, but it is important to remember that they are children and should not be given more power than their age indicates.

For every characteristic there is a positive and a negative side. It is important for us to avoid attaching simplified labels of “good” or “bad” to each of these traits. Simple modifications of the environment and self-understanding can help to alleviate many problems associated with these concomitant characteristics.