THE GIFTED CHILD

Chapter 18

THE GIFTED CHILD

The Chapter at a Glance

Who is a gifted child?

The genius in the making.

Exceptional achievements of a gifted boy.

Characteristics of the gifted child.

Education of the gifted child.

Special class for the gifted children.

Problems in the education of gifted children.

Need for special education of the gifted.

            Gifted children have been included in the group of excep­tional children needing special attention because they are so superior in intelligence and deviate so markedly from the nor­mal children that they present huge problems connected with their training, education and adjustment. If properly brought up at home and adequately educated at the school most of them are bound to prove talented leaders and geniuses. Conversely, if they are neglected by parents and teachers their giftedness might just as well lead them to excel in undesirable directions.

Who is a Gifted Child?

            Usually exceptionally high intelligence has been regarded as a mark of giftedness. Thus the term gifted child has been commonly taken to mean a child with a high I. Q. A gifted child may or may not have some other special ability. But most of them usually do have it.

            The gifted children that Terman studied were "superior in physical development, educational achievement, intelligence and personality". Witty's observations also endorse Terman's findings. The definition of the gifted child given by the U.S. Office of Education includes not only those who have high I. Q. but also those who are markedly superior to other children in any given field, e.g., poetry, art, literature, sociability, etc.

The Genius in the Making

            Accounts of the childhood of geniuses are both interesting as well as revealing. It would indeed be very helpful if an examination of intellectual performances during childhood could enable one to predict whether or not a child under study was going to be a genius.

Early Marks of Giftedness

            The available life accounts of some gifted children are simply staggering. Hollingworth describes the case of an ex­ceptionally precocious child who wrote the following verse at the age of five years:—

                        If I had Aladin's lamp, you see,

                        I'd give one wish to you and me.

                        And then we'd wish for every toy,

                        That every child should have some joy.

            Another gifted child, the famous Ralph Waldo Emerson is reported to have composed a long poem at the age of 10 years. Two lines from that fine poem are:—

                        Six score and twenty thousand, gain the fray,

                        Six score alone survived that dreadful day.

            Such superb intellectual performances are certainly excep­tionally outstanding for children of such tender ages.

Gesell's Study of a Gifted Child

            Gesell has reported the case of an exceptionally gifted boy who excelled even adult level of intelligence at the age of eight years. His I. Q. at that tender age was approximately 200.

            The following table summarizes the accelerated develop­ment of that extraordinary boy.

Exceptional Achievements of a Gifted Boy

	Nature of Accelerated Achievements	Age of Achievements	Usual Age of Achieving the Same with other  Children
1	Clearly articulated many words	1 Year	2 Years
2	Alphabet (150) words	1/2 Years	4 Years
3	Read stories	3 Years	7 Years
4	Tales from Shakespeare	4 Years	11 Years
5	Entered Junior High School	7 Years	12 Years
6	Completed  Plane Geometry	8 Years	11 Years
7	4-Year College Chemistry  Course	9 Years	18-22 Years
8	Passed  College  Entrance  Examination	10 Years	18 Years
9	Entered College	13 Years	18 Years
10	Passed Phi Beta Kappa Test	16 Years	22 Years
11	Advanced  Postgraduate  work	16 Years	25 Years

Examples From Muslim History

            Muslim history abounds in examples of this type. Innu­merable reports are available of cases wherein children have been found to excel normal children of their age, and even adult, to an incredible extent. Most of such children later on turned to be exceptionally reputed poets, musicians, writers, physicians, lawyers, administrators and geniuses in several other fields.

            Some of the instances of such exceptionally gifted children in Muslim history are: Imam Bukhari, Imam Shafyee, Imam Ghazali, Bu Ali Seena, Ibn-e-Qasim, Shah Wali Ullah, Allama Dr. Mukhmmad Iqbal, Quaid-e-Azam M. Ali Jinnah, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Maulana Abual-Ala Maududi, Dr. Israr Ahmed, and a host of others.

            These persons impressed their age both during their child­hood and in later life by their super-normally gifted talents.

Characteristics of the Gifted Child

            Gifted children have been found to differ from each other considerably. Certain features and traits, however, have been commonly observed amongst a majority of them.   Some of these significant traits are as follows:—

Physical Traits

            Popular opinion pictures gifted children physically under­developed. They are usually imagined to be under-weight, under-sized, bad-sighted, stoop-shouldered and clumsy creatures.

            Factual observations, however, belie this popular opinion. Most gifted children have been found to be physically superior to the normal children of their age group.

Mental Traits

            That a gifted child is mentally superior to the normal child has been unanimously agreed upon. Terman found the gifted child to excel other children at all ages in several intellectual traits, especially in "general intelligence," "desire to know," "originality," "will power," "perseverance," "desire to excel," "sense of humor," and "common sense."

            Those intellectual characteristics which are more exclusively associated with gifted children are: ability to make logical associations, longer attention span, originality, initiative, power to generalize, deep and varied interests, etc. Gifted children also eclipse others in special abilities, school work, social graces, etc.

Emotional Traits

            Emotional stability and adjustment are the commonly ob­served traits of superior children. They are usually cheerful, prefer to face their difficulties and problems independently, make adjustment to persons, places and situations easily and are inclined to develop socially healthy emotional outlooks and attitudes. Their character and personality is usually superior to other children.

            However, if they are not properly handled at home or school they are equally liable to develop into conceited and snobbish personalities. Several studies of geniuses reveal that they had been suffering from a marked emotional instability right from their early infancy.

Social Traits

            The capacity of social adjustment of gifted children has been found to be very much higher than that of the average child. They have been found to be outstandingly honest, dependable, original, self-reliant and possessing a number of other social traits which are desirable for leadership.

            Some studies have pointed to the shyness and the imma­turity of the gifted child in making social adjustments.   It may, however, be remembered that there are two distinct aspects of social adjustment:

            (a) Ability to intermingle, and

            (b) Ability to be socially useful.

            The gifted child might be lacking in the former but he certainly abounds in the latter trait. His social utility manifests itself in his creative and socially useful pursuits, e.g., research, invention, literary creation, etc.

Education of the Gifted Child

            One of the baffling problems that a teacher often faces is: what to do about the gifted child? He is "keen intellectually with unusual insight, and is a sensitive person. Consequently, he requires a special form of education, training and guidance.

            Some of the most universally accepted principles which are usually found helpful in planning the education of the gifted child are as follows:—

            (1) Equality of opportunity.

            (2) Avoidance of conceit and snobbery.

            (3) No rapid promotions.

            (4) Enrichment of curricula.

            (5) Prevention of bad social habits.

             (6) Emphasis on all-round development.

            (7) Basis of education on child study.

            (8) Special handling of the specially gifted children.

(1) Equality of Opportunity:

            Like all average children the gifted children should also be provided with all the necessary freedom and opportunities to develop their talents to the maximum.

(2) Avoidance of Conceit and Snobbery:

            Effort should be made to guard against the development of conceit and snobbery in gifted children.

(3) No Rapid Promotions:

            It is not advisable to attempt at accelerating the educational progress of the gifted child by giving him rapid promotions. Such a step brings the gifted child into contact with class mates who are physically and socially mature than he is. This may lead to social maladjustment which is liable to mar and nullify the good effects expected from rapid promotions.

(4) Enrichment of Curricula:

            The bright child usually takes less time to understand class instruction than the normal child. The time thus saved might be profitably utilized in teaching him enriched curricula of a specialized nature.

            Only a few years ago the popular trend in the education of the gifted child was rapid promotions and segregation into special classes. These steps have now been found to be inade­quate in most cases. The contemporary emphasis rather centers round the worthwhile enrichment of the curricula for the gifted child while placing him in the same class along with the average children of his age.

            Hollingsworth suggests the following programs to be included in the enriched curricula specially designed for gifted children:—

             (a) Study of civilization.      

             (b) Study of biographies.

            (c) Study of modern languages.

            (d) Training in special abilities.

(5) Prevention of Bad Social Habits:

            If the surplus creative energy of the gifted child is not properly exploited it may drift in socially undesirable directions. His education, therefore, should guard against the development of cynicism, conceit, snobbery, defiance, introversion and other unhealthy and wasteful social habits in him.

(6) Emphasis on All-Round Development:

            A gifted child should never be allowed to develop into a typical 'scholar' or a 'book-worm'. The physical, social, moral, cultural and emotional 'aspects of growth should not be ignored for the sake of strictly intellectual and educational development.

(7) Basis of Education on Child Study:

            Education of the gifted children should be based on a very careful and pains-taking study of each individual child and his specific talents. This can be best achieved if their education is based on child study.

(8) Special handling of the Specially Gifted Children:

            Those children who are extra-ordinarily highly gifted and outshine even other more averagely gifted children require still further special and individualized attention at the hands of the school teacher.

Special Class for the Gifted Children

            An interesting controversy is raging in the field of special education regarding the desirability or otherwise of opening special classes for gifted children.

            The advocates of the special class maintain that such an arrangement provides the best possible educational atmosphere for the maximum development of gifted children. Their mixing with average children, they hold, kills all creative urge in them.

            Those who oppose the opening of special classes for gifted children think that their segregation from normal children is extremely undesirable in that it debars the gifted child from the opportunity of getting training for adjusting to normal situations. Moreover, the average children, as well as the teacher, miss the stimulation and inspiration provided by the presence of the brighter children in the class.

            Heck has summarized the main arguments which are most commonly urged for and against special classes for the gifted child. Some of these arguments are as follows.

Advantages of the Special Class

            Those who advocate the establishment of special classes point out the following merits in such an arrangement:—

(1)       In a special class the gifted child gets an opportunity to work to a level suited to his

             superior ability

(2)        He is saved from developing habits of carelessness and slothfulness which are liable to

              take root in him if placed in an average class.

(3)       Special education provides an opportunity for the teacher to adopt instruction to the

              needs of the gifted children.

(4)        It prevents social maladjustment. Such an arrange­ment stimulates him to take due

              interest in the class work. He gets all the incentives to work creatively in such a

              congenial atmosphere.

(5)       It stimulates him to exert himself in order to keep pace with his group, the whole of

              which is composed of equally gifted children.

(6)        In certain specific fields he secures definite and specialized training for leadership.

(7)        He gets an opportunity to utilize materials and methods specially adapted to the unique

              ability of gifted children.

Demerits of the Special Class

            Opponents of the segregation of gifted children from aver­age children and grouping them into a special class put forward the following arguments:—

(1)       It is undemocratic and tends to create an intellectual aristocracy of gifted children.

(2)       The gifted children in a special class are liable to become conceited.

(3)       The average child becomes jealous of those children who are placed in the special class.

(4)       Higher and intensive work in the special class causes over work and strain on the gifted

             child.

(5)        Such   an   arrangement restricts   the   production   of leadership to a selected few.

(6)       Average children loose educationally by missing the inspiring company of their

            gifted class-mates.

(g)       It is uneconomical, the expenditure incurred being prohibitive.

A Middle Course for Gifted Children

            A middle course could perhaps be found to solve this dilemma and cater adequately for all the needs of gifted children. We could group the gifted children separately for part of the time, for certain forms of specialized training and instruction exclusively planned for them. For the rest of the time they could be allowed to remain with the average children in the ordinary classes. Such an arrangement promises to meet both the intellectual and the social needs of gifted children.

            This, however, might not be practicable in most cases. It might involve certain financial and administrative incon­veniences. However, if such expected inconveniences could be overcome the middle course suggested above appears to be the best possible arrangement for the education and guidance of gifted children.

Problems in the Education of Gifted Children

            Public opinion is not yet fully alive to the necessity and utility for making adequate provisions for the education of gifted children.

             Some of the specific problems encountered in connection with the organization and conduction of special education for gifted children are as follows: —

            (1)   Lack of proper understanding.

            (2)   Selection of a suitable school.

            (3)   Curriculum planning.

            (4)   Instructional methods.

            (5)   Provision of suitable equipment.

            (6)  Educational visits and excursions.

            (7)  Special extra-curricular programs.

            (8)   Selection of trained staff.

            (9)   Follow-up records.

            (10) Financial aspects.

(1) Lack of Proper Understanding:

            Few parents and teachers appreciate the purpose and proper significance of such special education. Similarly, average chil­dren in the school and even some of the gifted children them­selves might not be able to grasp the true spirit of such an education.

            Extreme care should, therefore, be taken to prepare an at­mosphere of better understanding at all levels before starting such classes, so that chances of friction, failure and frustration are minimized.

(2) Selection of a Suitable School:

            Special classes should only be started in a school where the staff is progressive enough to be enthusiastic about the starting of special classes. It is not an easy job to spot such an adequate school in a town.

            Organization of such classes in a school where the atmos­phere is uncongenial is extremely undesirable. Special classes in an unfavorable school atmosphere are liable to do more harm than good to gifted children.

(3) Curriculum Planning:

            The curriculum should be planned very carefully. The gifted child is endowed with a vast fund of intellectual energy. His character is dynamic, his personality creative. Consequently, he needs curricula which are creative, comprehensive and satis­fying. The ordinary curricula in vogue in most schools are utterly out of tune with his superior mental make-up.

(4) Instructional Methods:

            The methods of teaching needed for gifted children are somewhat different from those employed for average children. Being exceptionally bright, gifted children are liable to under­stand class instruction easily and quickly. The teaching methods should, therefore, be up to the level of their understanding and should avoid being common-place, repetitive, etc.

            A teacher, who feels unable to adopt his teaching methods to the individual needs of the gifted child, will consequently face great inconvenience in the class-room.

(5) Provision of Suitable Equipment:

            Gifted children should be provided with more comfortable class-room furniture than is usually available in schools. In ad­dition to this they need adequate library services, well-equipp­ed laboratories and the most advanced audio-visual aids and other modern instructional material.

            Non-availability of such equipment puts innumerable obsta­cles in the way of their proper educational progress.

(6) Educational Visits and Excursions:

            The teacher of gifted children should organize study trips and educational excursions very frequently. Places of historical significance, literary and scientific interest should be visited by gifted pupils in order to enrich further their social, cultural and intellectual horizon. Without participation in such educational programs they are liable to feel strangulated intellectually.

(7) Special Extra-Curricular Programs:

            Special extra-curricular programs like discussion groups, mock parliaments, specialized club activities and diversified recreational pursuits in and outside the school premises also go a long way towards exploiting the talent of gifted children to optimal achievement.

            Provision of such cultural facilities requires original thinking and creative planning on the part of the teacher.

(8) Selection of Trained Staff:

            Extreme care should be taken in the matter of the selection of staff to be entrusted with the task of teaching gifted children. If an average school teacher, gifted with a congenial tempera­ment, makes insightful readings and exerts other personal efforts he can equip himself with the necessary technique and art needed for such a job. A teacher with expert training in the art of teaching gifted children is, however, the ideal.

            Some Appreciable Traits: Some of the appreciable quali­ties that the American Educational Policies Commission consi­der desirable for a teacher of gifted children are:—

            (a)       Superior intelligence.

            (b)        Rich fund of information. •

            (c)       Versatility of interests.

            (d)        An inquiring mind.

            (e)        Ability to stimulate and inspire.

            (f)         Modesty.

            (g)       A sense of social and personal responsibility.

            (h)        Freedom from jealousy.

              (i)         Freedom from excessive sensitivity to criticism.

            Needless to point out that it is exceedingly difficult to find such a teacher who should fulfill all the above mentioned conditions.    Nevertheless, finding a teacher approximating to many of these qualities is not an impossible task.

(9) Follow-up Records:

            What becomes of gifted children when they leave the school? A follow-up record giving the details of their lives after the com­pletion of their school careers would be extremely interesting and thought-provoking.

            Unfortunately such follow-up records have never been maintained at our schools.

(10) Financial Aspects:

            Finally, an important problem which has a vital bearing on all those mentioned in the preceding pages is the financial and economic aspect of the issue. Acquiring adequate finances to meet the various items of expenditure involved in the edu­cation of gifted children, and their most economical disburse­ment are very significant problems. In order to make the campaign for the special education of gifted children a success this important aspect of the problem should, therefore, be equally seriously attended to.

Need for Special Education of the Gifted

            The specialized education of the gifted child cannot be ignored in the larger interests of the nation. If properly edu­cated, such children are most likely to develop into leaders in science, industry, arts and literature. Thus the amount of money and energy that a nation spends on the special education of its gifted children is more richly returned in the long run.

            The financial burdens involved in a specialized program catering for the education of a select minority of intellectually superior children can be easily met with only if the urgency and magnitude of the problem is adequately realized. Besides other effective fund raising measures, the government, philanthro­pists, rich businessmen and wealthy feudal lords could be moved to finance projects for such a significant form of special educa­tion. It is heartening to learn that the problem of the special education of the gifted children is now receiving the attention that it deserves. The Commission on National Education has highlighted the necessity and utility of the education, guidance and patronage of the talented children.