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