Recently I received an amazing gift from my wife. She had noticed that with each new advertisement, I became more and more interested in the Kindle Fire. I would often deny I wanted one when she would ask, giving all sorts of reasons why I could live without one. Now before I lose focus and turn this into a review for the Kindle Fire let me make the connection. Although I had missed the signs that I wanted this gift, her sensitive observation had seen my desire (although maybe it was my more obvious signs, for example I would stop forwarding the DVR through the commercials when I notice that a Fire advertisement was on...) In reality, it was that sensitive observation by my wife on the gift that I wanted that helped me to realize it was something that was drawing my interest.
Reflecting on this made me wonder about the gifted students I teach on a daily basis. Were my gifted students frustrated many times because they were focused on the gifts of others and overlooked their own gifts? Would I be able to identify the gifts my students had? And what could I, as an educator, do to help develop the discovery and acceptance of those gifts, not just the management of gifted students? I wanted to continue to find was to be a teacher with precision focused lessons.
If you are anything like me, I'm sure that you can easily picture this scenario too; a students chasing after the gifts they see in others and missing their very own talents. This didn't just seem to apply to my students identified as gifted. What was I doing and what was the education world doing to help students identify their gifts? This sent me on my quest. I found an amazing document titled the 12 Traits of Giftedness. Hopefully you've seen it... but if not, check it out and see if you can find ways to help all students open and understand their gifts and the challenges that may come with that gift. It's empowering for kids, parents and educators alike.
