Social Emotional Philosophical Statement

A Gifted individual is someone that is capable of distinguished or exceptional abilities and/or high performance (Guiding the Gifted Child).  As I developed my social emotional, philosophical statement, this definition holds a plethora of social-emotional ramifications. From my learning and research over the past 8 weeks in relation to the social-emotional needs of a gifted child, I understand that an individual who is capable of exceptional abilities or performance in creative, artistic, intellectual, leadership or interpersonal attributes will also experience emotional and social attributes on a unique level. In a society and school system designed for the average or "norm" a person with higher order thinking skills or extremely perceptive mind may feel isolated, unaccepted or foreign in a classroom full of pupils the same age. In order to enhance and feed an individual's giftedness, his or her social/emotional needs must also be met. One cannot function and prosper without the other; if a student's gifted ability to sculpt is identified but she feels like an outcast among her peers, she might not feel motivated to sculpt at all for fear of embarrassment. 

http://www.tip.duke.edu/node/1235

Peer Relationships

Peer relationships for the gifted child  may be different. With a mind that processes the world on a higher analytical or perceptive level, gifted individuals may seek out peers with similar modes of thinking or find themselves relating to an older age group.

I created a peer-linking exercise in my art class to help pair student with similar modes of thinking on their art projects:

A couple of the resources I found helpful this week related to friendships and the gifted child included:
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10400.aspx

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10125.aspx

Risk Factors/Resiliency

The following link will take you to the article I was referencing above:

http://www.tip.duke.edu/node/1235

Beyond the stimulating information above, I also explored this article related to resiliency and it's importance for the social emotional health of a gifted and talented individual:

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1459

Underachievement and Motivation for the GT

During my course focus on underachievement and motivation concerns for the GT student, I explored an article from the Davidson institute website that we extremely informative (included below) and also created a Motivation anchoring activity (also included below). After reading the article and other readings related to the topic, completing the anchoring activity with an art student was quite revealing and brought to light many of the attributes from the reading related to motivation issues!

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10442.aspx

Self Efficacy and Resiliency= Promotion in the Visual Arts

Knowing that self efficacy and resiliency both address a method of thinking that reflects a drive for hard work, the belief that a person can grow and learn from their mistakes and stay driven in the face of hardship, they are certainly closely related attributes. A student who embodies both of these traits will have the resiliency to learn from his or her difficulties and mistakes. He or she  will inevitably develop the belief they perseverance can happen in any difficult life situation.

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1459

Stressin' out- intensity heightened for the gifted mind!

Here is a video/slideshow of myself and my classroom. Art and creative expression is a strong forum for stress and anxiety relief:

http://animoto.com/play/KsFvZFoY9cvLxtD1zGZjow











While addressing methods for easing stress and anxiety in the classroom for both GT students and ALL of my art students I created a sculpture project that referenced  life-management wheel:

http://www.geco181.info/documents/Hinsdale-AnxietyStress.pdf

Overexcitabilities and Asynchronous Development

During week 2 of my course regarding the social/emotional needs of a Gifted/Talented pupil, overexcitabilities and asynchronous development were the focus topics. 

To summarize, overexcitability in a GT student refers to the way a gifted mind may react to stimuli. For example, I have a student in my art classes who is identified as an advanced learner in visual spatial relationships. When his mind digests a particularly stimulating piece of artwork, he can't stop analyzing and discussing the piece with myself and his peers. His entire manner reflects his hyper-excited reaction. He stands up and waves his hands with fervor as he describes the "miraculous aesthetic effect it has on my eyes" (his words!).

Asynchronous development may be illustrated in a GT child when he or she exhibits behavior that outshines peers of a similar age bracket. It may come in the form of humorous yet poignant associations. For example, a toddler who hears his Dad say he's making a cake "from scratch" then calling it an "itchy cake" when it comes out of the oven!

I found this article from the SENG website quite illuminating when discovering the interesting content related to Overexcitabilities and Asynchronous Development:

http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/overexcitability-and-the-gifted

While exploring the SENG website I also found this article to compliment the core concerns related to the social/emotional needs of a GT student from a psycho-analytical standpoint and why it's so important to be aware and educated on the topic as a teacher and as a parent:

http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/a-psychodynamic-psychotherapy-approach-to-the-emotional-problems-of-exceptionally-and-profoundly-gifted-adolescents-and-adults-a-psychiatrist’s-experience-2

Gifted Artists: Inherent Talent versus Developed Passion

"Talent= passion and perseverance, determination and grit"
This youtube video was refreshing after completing a case study on one of my high school art students. He tends to take on an entitled attitude based on his identification since elementary school as "Gifted".

Because of this label, he tends to give up when he's not sure of his success on an art project, as if somehow, his gifted expectations for himself are set to the level of perfectionism. The following YouTube video explains that talent and giftedness is not just an inherit trait but a developed ability fostered by motivation and determination.  A willingness to take risks and fail in order to learn.

This video is the perfect way to open my week one exploration into the social and emotional considerations of the Gifted and Talented student, especially being an art teacher where I believe talent is most certainly developed with passion and perseverance, not necessarily just a set condition when a person is born.

In addition to the idea of talent stemming from personal drive, I also found an article about differentiation strategies for the gifted child very helpful. Part of promoting motivation for a gifted student will be knowing how to challenge them and differentiate appropriately. Here is the link to some strong differentiation strategies:

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10342.aspx

Psychological Well-Being and The Gifted Student

This link take you to an article discussing how one's psychological well-being is effected:

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10086.aspx 


As stated in the Maureen Niehart article regarding  a Gifted/Talented individual, there are three major factors that influence one's psychological well being including,  "the type of giftedness, the educational fit, and one's personal characteristics". After reading her article and starting to read through the text, Guiding the Gifted Child, I believe that a GT's psychological state is most definitely relative the these three factors. Just as any student's ability to learn, function socially and develop self-image is relative to the environment, culture, socio economic status and social/familial status all help to shape and define an individual's mental state, so will similar factors determine a GT student's psychological well-being.

An additional article that helped me to understand the social and emotional conditions of a gifted individual was also from Niehart:

www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10051.aspx 

To further understand the Gifted child, these descriptor words created in a Wordle generator will help paint a picture of the positive side to any gifted individual and the unique way he or she may interact with the world or think.