Why the best schools can't pick the best kids - and vice versa    - By Barry Schwartz We like to believe, in our least cynical moments, that the U.S. is a meritocracy. Success is about talent and hard work. Luck has nothing to do with it. This attitude may well contribute to a lack of sympathy, sometimes even bordering on disdain, for life's losers. I believe that this attitude is profoundly false. It is not the case that people always get what they deserve. There just aren't enough top rungs on the Ivy League's (or life's) ladders for everyone to fit.

Actualization of Giftedness: Effects of Perceptions in Gifted Adolescents - by Shelley Fahlman
One of the most familiar markers of adolescence is the cognitive concept of the personal fable - the part of adolescent egocentrism involving an adolescent's sense of uniqueness... which includes the adolescent's belief that no one can understand how they really feel due to his or her exceptionality. This perception is usually a misleading one for adolescents.

Adjusting to Giftedness  by Rita Richardson
Life's not always a bowl of cherries for those golden, "gifted," young people between the ages of 11 and 15. Many are beset with problems ranging from overcompetitiveness to difficulty in getting and keeping friends. ... Your gifted child may realize that she has been "blessed," but at the same time may be suffering from the "imposter" syndrome -- "Am I really that good?" crops up as a constant refrain. Some gifted kids deny their talents, burying them under a guise of "goof" or "know-it-all"; many of these kids have trouble with self-acceptance.

Adolescence and Gifted: Addressing Existential Dread - by J'Anne Ellsworth, PhD
I am hearing the reverberating tones of existential dread now - in my interactions with high school and college students. ... Giftedness may be another element. What if being a gifted youth has a dark side? What if there is a heavy burden to knowing too much, feeling too much?

Affective development of gifted students with nontraditional talents  by F. Richard Olenchak
"Children, whose talents and gifts exist in those domains distinct from the intellectual, academic, and athletic realms should still be considered gifted. They are especially talented in one or more areas of human pursuit although their talent is reflected in domains unique from those customarily served by schools; and their social and emotional development appears to be unique. Such young people are in particular danger for generalized school failure, for the manifestation of a variety of social and emotional problems, and are at risk for underdevelopment and occasionally even denial of their talent."

Being a Role Model  by Douglas Eby
Role models can be examples of how to discover and realize your own unique talents, and inspiration to do more, to be more authentic. A number of prominent actors and other people admired as role models have commented about being responded to that way, and about their own choices.

Being gifted without the scores - by Nora Brahim
I tried to tell my mom that i was gifted, and she avoids the conversation. My dad...well...he believes in my potential...he is gifted too. With my sisters, they simply know i am very intelligent, but i doubt they know more than that. I mean...i am not just intelligence...i am more than that...but...who cares? Thats a part that hardly they will understand.

Brain Development Rate Linked to IQ - By Robert Lee Hotz
Seeking a link between neural anatomy and mental ability, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and McGill University in Montreal discovered a rhythm in the patterns of childhood growth. Brain development in children with the highest IQ peaked four years later than among average children.
...
College Students Use Alcohol as Way of Coping with Social Anxiety by Deanne Repich 
It's no secret that alcohol use is alive and well on college campuses across America. New research studies investigate a largely unexplored area -- the relationship between heavy drinking and social anxiety.

Common Myths About Gifted Students
brief document from ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education

Counseling Gifted and Talented Students by Nicholas Colangelo
"In 1973 you could count on one finger all the leaders in gifted education who made counseling issues their primary focus. In 2002 there is considerably more respect and attention for the social-emotional issues..."

Cultivating otherwise untapped potential - by Deborah Smith 
Psychologists are developing programs to identify gifted children earlier--and to ensure their success. Psychologist Frank Worrell, PhD, has seen countless adolescents develop into highly talented college students... But that talent doesn't flourish on its own, he says: "People have talents in various areas, but if those talents aren't developed, they're not going to mean anything."

The Do's and Don'ts For Raising Your Gifted Kids  By Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.  'Parents have usually reached the "We're desperate!" stage by the time they seek out a person to help them with their gifted child. In fact, although all the background information on IQ scores, gifted programs, and affective needs is nice, what parents really want is to staunch the bleeding. Their formerly bright-eyed, bushy-tailed pre-schooler has lost the spark, turned sullen, or worse, hates school. Different but often equally troubling, some kids actually make such a good adjustment to school that they no longer seem to be learning anything new at all beyond "fitting in" skills.'

Educating the Very Able - by Joan Freeman 
A 15-year follow-up of 82 'valedictorians' (the highest grade earners in high school) from 32 schools across Illinois showed that even such exceptional grades were not good long-term predictors of later high achievement (Arnold, 1995). The research was thorough, with each individual being given five or six interviews after leaving school. They had enjoyed all aspects of school, which they found to be a supportive social environment, and had used it efficiently to prepare for their future lives. Their major academic advantage was in their determination to better themselves. Neither boys nor girls felt themselves to be outstandingly clever nor had they been labelled as such; in fact, during their college years, the women continually lowered their estimates of their intelligence. None of this sample made outstanding progress in their careers (particularly the women), and at 26 years old many were disillusioned.

The Emotional Journey of the Gifted and Talented Adolescent Female by Suzanne Blakeley
At 14, our daughter lost a hard fought struggle. Her slow descent into depression began during fourth grade... In ninth grade Sarah was haunted by rapid thoughts, and sleepless nights. Her tremendous mental energies eventually spiraled inward, settling into a looping, repetitive chant: I'm unacceptable. ... To begin, we assisted our daughter with recognizing signals and discovering positive ways to temper her sensitivity so she did not have to surround herself with a "bubble." Her initial efforts were rewarding, opening the door once more for independent development of additional positive strategies.

External barriers experienced by gifted and talented girls and women -  by Sally M. Reis
Gifted and talented females face conflicts between their own abilities and the social structure of their world. They confront both external barriers (i.e., lack of support from families, stereotyping, and acculturation in home, school, and the rest of society) and internal barriers (i.e., self-doubt, self-criticism, lowered expectations, and the attribution of success to effort rather than ability).

Feeling Boys and Thinking Girls: Talented Adolescents and Their Teachers by Jane Piirto
The MBTI was administered to 226 tenth and eleventh graders who qualified as gifted and talented. Sixty teachers of the talented and 25 elementary and high school teachers were also administered the MBTI. Talented teens preferred ENFP. Gender differences were calculated as well among artistic youth and academically talented youth. Male artistic youth preferred F and academic females preferred T.

Feelings and attitudes of gifted students by Tiffany Field [Adolescence mag.]
The present study attempted to avoid these problems by comparing gifted and nongifted students from a homogeneous sample within the same school. In addition, not just one but several dimensions were assessed - social, emotional, and cognitive. Gifted students' self-perceptions were compared with those of nongifted students on intimacy with family and peers, social support, family responsibilities, self-esteem, depression, and risk-taking behavior.

Gender and Genius by Barbara Kerr, Ph.D.
Our ideas about what is gifted behavior for a boy or for a girl are imbued with society's notions of appropriate gender identity. Gifted boys and girls need to learn to cope with their giftedness while careful1y following prescribed gender roles if they want to avoid the rejection of their communities. How were these gender roles shaped, and how did we get our ideas about what gifted girls and gifted boys should be like?

Gender Issues: Gifted Girls [twicegifted.net]
Bright girls who are highly verbal, curious and like to debate, are often seen as aggressive or unfeminine by classroom teachers. The bright boy who manifests these same traits is seen as precocious. In research about schools and stereotyping, Myra and David Sadker (1994) found that boys vocally dominate the classroom. Boys also got more attention and encouragement from teachers. Once gifted girls become gifted women, they are faced with very difficult personal choices regarding those that they love and their desire to pursue a career suited to their extreme talent. Many gifted women may choose a career path that is less demanding if it allows them to spend more time raising their children.

Gifted Girls - Many Gifted Girls, Few Eminent Women: Why?  by Anita Gurian, PhD
Are their talents being identified, encouraged, or ignored? This second in a series of articles dealing with gifted children focuses on possible reasons why giftedness in many girls fades as they grow older. By Anita Gurian, Ph.D

The Gifted Identity Formation Model  by Andrew S. Mahoney M.S.,L.P.C., L.M.F.T.
Knowing one's giftedness and having a well-developed sense of identity as a gifted person are crucial for the development of the self. Many gifted people struggle with their giftedness, what it means to be gifted and how to develop that potential because there are few models available to assist in the identity development and counseling of gifted people.

Giftedness and mental health - by Laurie Meyers
It is unclear from current research whether gifted children exhibit higher rates of mental health problems, says Laurie Thayer Martin, ScD, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. Based on her work linking higher cognitive function with better physical health, Martin believes that gifted children will have a lower incidence of mental illness because they have more inner resources.

Giftedness As Asynchronous Development by Stephanie S. Tolan  "We identify and then measure unusual intelligence ('giftedness') by externals -- performance and achievement. .. Giftedness becomes achievement, and so seems to reside outside the individual, a reality having to do with grades, awards, scholarships, and ultimately career choice, position, wealth, success or eminence. It is vital to remember that giftedness (in childhood and beyond) is an internal reality, mental processing that is outside of norms. Achievement, as important as it is, is merely an expression of that mental processing."

Girlpower: Women in the Music Industry  by Gabriella Schleinkofer [WIN mag.]
"Superficially, women in the music business have come a long way. ... But despite such success, female artists are too often subjected to the marketing strategies of male managers and label heads that choose their outfit and image."

Gritty kid tomes have H'w'd thinking young by Jonathan Bing
A generation of young writers -- very young writers -- is laying seige to Hollywood. Eighteen-year-old Nick McDonell has sold his novel "Twelve" to Ted Field's Radar Pictures. And 22-year-old J.T. Leroy has sold his story collection, "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things," to Chris Hanley's Muse Productions. "XXX" star Asia Argento plans to adapt, direct and star in the project.

Helping adolescents adjust to giftedness - by Thomas M. Buescher and Sharon Higham
Young gifted people between the ages of 11 and 15 frequently report a range of problems as a result of their abundant gifts: perfectionism, competitiveness, unrealistic appraisal of their gifts, rejection from peers, confusion due to mixed messages about their talents, and parental and social pressures to achieve, as well as problems with unchallenging school programs or increased expectations.

Helping Your Highly Gifted Child  by Stephanie S. Tolan

Highly Gifted Children and the Press by Kathi Kearney [The Hollingworth Center for Highly Gifted Children]
Extraordinary children occasionally receive extraordinary attention. Magazines, newspapers, radio, and television have portrayed the plight of highly gifted children in various ways since the turn of the century. From the vicious press attacks on celebrated child prodigy, William James Sidis, in the century's early decades to "Doogie Howser, M.D.," ABC television's sensitive and well-written weekly series about a highly gifted 17-year-old doctor, both press coverage and dramatic portrayals of this population reflect the consistent ambivalence Americans feel toward highly gifted children.

Home Room: Debunking the Myths of Home Schooling - Lisa Rivero
Home schooling is a more natural educational choice for many families who seek alternatives to a fast-paced, treadmill way of life. When families make decisions to live in closer harmony with the earth, to take a more spiritual approach to living, to reduce their contribution to world waste and pollution, and to simplify their daily lives, home schooling often seems the next logical step toward respecting life's natural rhythms, both in terms of their children's intellectual development and their day-to-day schedules.

Introverted Children in Extroverted Schools by Marti Olsen Laney
"Entering into the swing of a new school year overwhelms one in three children who are introverted. Schools are designed to educate the extroverted majority. They are fast paced, demanding quick thinking and snappy answers, group brainstorming, adapting to constant change and the ability to compete. Extroverts succeed in this environment while introverts thrive in just the opposite atmosphere. A thoughtful, individual and reflective approach to learning brings out the best in introverts. This is why there are more significant negative consequences for introverted school children than parents typically think. Introverted children are trying to gear up to match a pace that is draining and overwhelming for them."

Is it a Cheetah?  by Stephanie S. Tolan  "It's a tough time to raise, teach or BE a highly gifted child."

Is It Good to Be Gifted? Optimal IQ and the Flipside to Giftedness, by David Palmer, Ph.D.
Having a higher IQ is certainly no guarantee that you’ll zip through life effortlessly accomplishing great things. I’ve met many people who don’t appear to be particularly bookish or intellectual, but are very successful in what they do. Then again, I've known lots of academic types who have scored extremely high on an IQ test but lack the "people skills," personal motivation, or whatever it takes to translate their abilities into outward signs of success.

It's All About Identity by Andrew S. Mahoney, M.S., L.P.C., L.M.F.T.
The notion of being gifted must be based on the reality of daily living, not on some romanticized, perfect ideal. ... Research needs to move in the direction of understanding the complexity in the relationship between identity formation, achievement and self esteem.

Kids On Stage  by Douglas Eby
"Children seem to be born actors, to love playing parts, even ones their parents would just as soon live without: "I was an ugly little kid with a big mouth, an obnoxious show-off". That is a recollection from someone who not only learned better parts to play, but has inspired many of us with her power to act : Meryl Streep."

The "me" behind the mask : Intellectually gifted students and the search for identity - 
by Miraca U. M. Gross
The process of identity development in intellectually gifted children and adolescents is complicated by their innate and acquired differences from age-peers. To be valued within a peer culture which values conformity, gifted young people may mask their giftedness and develop alternative identities which are perceived as more socially acceptable. The weaving of this protective mask requires the gifted child to conceal her love of learning, her interests which differ from those of age-peers, and her advanced moral development.

Mis-Diagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children: Gifted and LD, ADHD, OCD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder - by James T. Webb, Ph.D.
Many gifted and talented children (and adults) are being mis-diagnosed by psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals. The most common mis-diagnoses are: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Mood Disorders such as Cyclothymic Disorder, Dysthyinic Disorder, Depression, and Bi-Polar Disorder. These common mis-diagnoses stem from an ignorance among professionals about specific social and emotional characteristics of gifted children which are then mistakenly assumed by these professionals to be signs of pathology.

Misdiagnosis of Asperger's Disorder in Gifted Youth by Edward R. Amend, Psy.D.
 A "qualitative impairment" in social interaction is one of the two main characteristics of Asperger's Disorder. Although the DSM-IV gives fairly explicit criteria for this type of social impairment, which does sometimes appear in gifted kids, the highly gifted child's atypical social interactions or unusual modes of commenting and joking may often be misinterpreted as being characteristics of Asperger's Disorder. However, a closer look at the criteria shows differences between Asperger's Disorder and behaviors associated with gifted children.

Overexcitabilities in Gifted Children - By Lesley Sword
Overexcitabilities are an abundance of physical, sensual, creative, intellectual and emotional energy that can result in creative endeavours as well as advanced emotional and ethical development in adulthood. Overexcitabilities feed, enrich, empower and amplify talent.

Power and Promise : Helping Schoolgirls Hold Onto Their Dreams - 
by Tim Flinders [free online book]
".. is the result of almost twenty years' experience teaching gifted children, and a decade of gender-equity work with parents and teachers. I first published it in 1996 as a practical guide to help parents and teachers better empower the girls that come under their care... the core problems of gender inequity remain -- glass ceilings, persistent gender biases and stereotypes..." Tim Flinders

Prodigiously Gifted Students Honored as Forerunners for U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation - Davidson Institute press release
There is ample concern over the nation's lagging progress in international competitiveness and innovation. However, given the accomplishments of 16 Davidson Fellows, all under the age of 18, it's possible to see a much brighter future led by prodigiously gifted students who have received the support needed to reach their full potential.

Psychological Factors in the Development of Adulthood Giftedness from Childhood Talent - by Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, PhD
In early childhood, some children come to the attention of parents and teachers because of very advanced abilities or exceptional interest in an area. However, many of these children will not go on to be very exceptional in adulthood. Some will not receive the proper kind of guidance and support to sustain their involvement within the domain. A few, burdened by the overinvolvement of parents, will burn out in adolescence or early adulthood. Many will acquire expert levels of knowledge and perform at a high level in their area. But, only a very few will become eminent in adulthood... A major issue for the field of gifted education is why so few highly gifted children grow up to be renowned and creative producers.

Psycho-social Needs: Understanding The Emotional, Intellectual and Social Uniqueness Of Growing Up Gifted - By Lesley Sword 
Gifted children not only think differently to other children, they also feel differently. Their intellectual complexity combines with their emotional intensity to give them a qualitatively different way of experiencing the world.

Reaching for Excellence: Gifted Students  by Douglas Eby
"The natural trajectory of giftedness in childhood is not a six-figure salary, perfect happiness, and a guaranteed place in Who's Who. It is the deepening of the personality, the strengthening of one's value system, the creation of greater and greater challenges for oneself.." Dr. Linda Silverman

Sex and the Highly Gifted Adolescent by Annette Revel Sheely

Sexing Up Little Sister - by Jess Barron and Allyson Krieger
A telling example of Little Sister Syndrome can be found on "Party of Five." Is it just us, or do you get the heebie-jeebies now that Claudia (played by Lacey Chabert) - is considering becoming sexually active with her boyfriend Cody? When "Po5" first aired in 1994, Claudia was an innocent 11-year-old. Now, suddenly, she's evolved into a teenage vixen.

Social Development of Gifted Children: Fact and Fiction by Maureen Neihart, Psy.D.
A popular view about gifted children is that they're socially immature. Even parents of gifted children themselves will sometimes comment about their child's social awkwardness. There are exceptions, of course, but generally, studies indicate that the social development (i.e. social problem solving, social understanding, and social skills) of intellectually gifted children is advanced compared to that of their age mates. People are sometimes surprised to hear this because it doesn't fit their perception. Like many other aspects of development, social development follows mental age more closely thanit does chronological age.

The Social-Emotional Health of Gifted Children: An Interview with Psychologist Maureen Neihart
"One of the beliefs is that gifted kids are at risk for negative outcomes. People also believe that gifted kids have higher rates of depression, are at greater risk for suicide, delinquency, and under-achievement, and that they're vulnerable to certain kinds of psychological and educational problems as a result of their personality characteristics and their high levels of intensity. ...
The other view is that gifted kids are in fact better adjusted than the average kid-- because they have high intelligence, and they're creative, and they can problem solve well. Even though gifted children may face unusual kinds of stressors or challenges in their life, they're able to cope very well and are better adjusted with fewer psychological problems than the average kid."

Social and Emotional Issues Faced by Gifted Girls in Elementary and Secondary School
by Sally M. Reis, Ph.D.
Research with talented girls and women has revealed a number of personality factors, personal priorities, and social emotional issues that have consistently emerged as contributing reasons that many either cannot or do not realize their potential. Not all gifted females experience the same issues, but trends have been found in research about talented women that identify a combination of the following contributing reasons: dilemmas about abilities and talents, personal decisions about family, ambivalence of parents and teachers toward developing high levels of potential, and decisions about duty and caring (putting the needs of others first) as opposed to nurturing personal, religious, and social issues.

Social & Emotional Needs of the Gifted (Adults and Children)  - by Deborah L. Ruf, PhD 
"An intellectually gifted child begins life receiving feedback that she is a surprising delight to her family. She receives positive feedback for her speech and vocabulary and for how quickly she figures things out and learns to do things. I believe many gifted people spend much of their remaining life trying to recreate this positive feedback and wondering what they are doing wrong."

Some can sail over high school - By Laura Vanderkam [USA Today]
Noshua Watson has crammed much into her 24 years of life: four years in college, four years in graduate school at Stanford, close to three years reporting for Fortune. She recently entertained an offer to teach college-level economics. Her secret? She never went to high school. Instead, at age 13, she enrolled as a freshman in Mary Baldwin College's Program for the Exceptionally Gifted in Staunton, Va. "I expected more from myself," Watson says. "Being able to finish high school early, or not go at all, opens a lot of doors."

Spirituality and the Highly Gifted Adolescent  by Stephanie S. Tolan  "Writing about spirituality and highly gifted adolescents is a daunting task. It has often been said that individuals at the high end of the intellectual continuum vary from each other more than any other group, regardless of age. Extreme variation is true for abilities, passions, personality, temperament, social/emotional issues and life experience. It may be especially true about spirituality, which partakes of all those other differences and is so fundamentally personal. There is no way to produce a handy map or a set of predictors to mark the trail through the thickets of adolescence. The best I can do is offer a few principles and share a few stories."

Study: Gifted children especially vulnerable to effects of bullying - by Purdue University News Service
Bullying in the gifted-student population is an overlooked problem that leaves many of these students emotionally shattered, making them more prone to extreme anxiety, dangerous depression and sometimes violence, says a Purdue University researcher.

Teen Depression Taxes Adult Development
Teens With Depression More Likely to Have Problems as Adults
by Cherie Berkley, MS  [WebMD Medical News]
Teenagers who experience a major episode of depression are more likely to have a relapse in their early 20s that causes personal problems across the board. Researchers say such a relapse can greatly affect the person's quality of life -- including being more likely to have poor job performance and encounter social problems. The findings appear in.. the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

Teen Emotional Problems Go Unnoticed
Clinical Depression, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD Found in Many Adolescents
by Jeanie Lerche Davis [WebMD Medical News]
Nearly one-fifth of the nation's teens are suffering from emotional disorders. Some have faced violence and abuse in their lives and have enormous difficulty dealing with it. The result: clinical depression, even posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For others, the trouble is internal -- they battle an inherited anxiety disorder, triggered by troubling life experiences.

Time Can Transform the Fantasies of Youth  by Russell Banks
[writer: Affliction; The Sweet Hereafter] "Back in the winter of 1961.. I was a 21-year-old dropout, a kid with little more than a fantasy that he was a writer, living in the Back Bay demimonde among poets and hustlers, artists and drug addicts, musicians and con men. I was literary, but not very literate, a late-arriving beatnik with a taste mainly for getting wasted."

Time out for Sarah McLachlan  "The first gig we ever played was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I'm from. I was in a band called the October Game, and we opened up for a Vancouver band. The guitar player in the band was also the A&R guy from Nettwerk (Records). He heard me sing and wanted me to join the band. I was 17, barely getting through high school. My parents freaked out, said 'no way.' So that didn't happen. But we kept in touch, and two years later (1987) they offered me a five-record deal, a solo career -- a solo deal based on kind of that one night, really."[CNN article]

Why Nerds are Unpopular by Paul Graham
I know a lot of people who were nerds in school, and they all tell the same story: there is a strong correlation between being smart and being a nerd, and an even stronger inverse correlation between being a nerd and being popular. Being smart seems to make you unpopular. Why?

Yesterday's Whiz Kids: Where Are They Today?  - by Melissa Hendricks  "This would be a more dramatic story if all the precocious youth rejected intellectual pursuits for sheepherding, suffered mental breakdowns as did the piano prodigy in the movie Shine, or, on the other hand, became Nobel laureates. But the truth for most of them lies somewhere in between."

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