Unwrapping the Gifted

A few weeks ago I talked about the use of bibliotherapy with gifted students and how I was implementing the strategy with my 5th and 6th graders. Not long after that post, the kids finished reading their selected books and we had discussions on them. The 6th graders also each did a project to answer their questions. (I have less time with my 5th graders, so we only held discussions.) Just for a little quick review, these were the questions I posed to the kids:

* Who in the book do you identify with and why?
* What situations/events/problems do you identify with and why?
* Do you agree or disagree with the significant decisions the main character(s) made? Why?
* How did being gifted impact the character's life? (in positive and/or negative ways)
* In what ways was the character gifted? How did you know he or she was gifted? (i.e. What, to you, were the identifiable characteristics?)
* What do you think are the messages the author is trying to send with this book? (Or: What do you think was the author's purpose for writing this book?)
* Do you agree or disagree with the author's message? Why?

(I made each of them a bookmark that had the above questions printed on it.)

They suggested that I add this question for next year's kids: "What was the problem or challenge in the book and how was it solved or overcome?"

So now that the process is concluded, I thought y'all might be interested in a few reflections from myself and from the kids. One of the first things I noticed was how much most of the students loved the idea of reading a book with a gifted main character. I was actually a little uncertain about putting that prospect before them at first (maybe because this was a new process for me to undergo with my students, maybe because I'm always seeking a balance between helping them examine their giftedness but not overdoing it in the process), but I found them to be eager and curious to delve into the books, the questions, the projects, and the discussions. As a matter of fact, about half of the students even opted to read additional books from the list - not for extra credit, not for more work to do, but just because they loved the books so much and found the process of examining the gifted characters to be so interesting.

The students brought up some intriguing points during our discussions. Some of them felt that the book they read had only come from the angle that gifted kids had problems and struggles, that their challenges were over-emphasized in the book and that the great things about being gifted were barely illustrated. Others, however, felt that their books had done a great job of showing the myriad aspects of being a gifted kid - yes, the challenges, but also the triumphs and benefits. Some specific insights that the kids said they gained from the process were the following:

"I realized that someone can be gifted even when they're really little."
"I learned that it's possible for a person to be gifted without knowing it."
"I hadn't thought before about it, but my book made me think about how people can be gifted in different ways."
"My book's message was that you shouldn't take being gifted as something wrong or torture or a problem - you should take it as something that can help."
"Being gifted has been good for me, but I learned that some gifted people can have challenges - it's not always easy."
"I realized that being gifted isn't everything. Friends and the people around you are important, too, not just yourself."
"Even though you're different doesn't mean you can't follow your dreams. Just because others don't understand your dreams doesn't mean they aren't worth pursuing."
"Nothing is impossible if you keep working at it. Be persistent."
"Don't think people are crazy just because they're different. They have a lot to offer the world."
"Being smart doesn't mean it's okay to use your brains for evil."
"When times get tough, try to get through them as best you can and not try to change the past."
"I learned that even when you're smart (or challenged) people should still just accept you for who you are - not for what you can or can't do."
"I realized you should stop hoping for things to happen and instead not give up on making them happen."
"You should ask for help if you need it." (a great realization to hear coming from a kid who has typically been afraid to let others know when she needs help!)
"Even though some people are different doesn't mean they're crazy or wrong."
"I learned that being gifted and being who I am is an okay way to be!"
"I realized that the smart people who actually make a big positive difference in the world are the ones who pursue their talents a lot and also become really good people."
"It helped to learn that I'm not so alone in being like I am."

Intriguing to me was how, when it came time to have our class discussions on the books and the bookmark questions, it didn't matter that every kid had read a different book. It was similar to when we have discussions on other topics where each student comes at the topic from their own perspective and life experience and has something to offer based on that. I found our book discussions to function the same way. Each student was discussing the questions from the perspective of the unique book he or she had read, yet no one seemed to have any trouble understanding what everyone else was talking about despite not having read the other books themselves. Of course, we were discussing the issues and the big ideas of the books (which were similar in most cases), not the details or the plots (which would be different in most cases). And discussing these big ideas from the books led us to discussion of the same big ideas in their own lives. It's so fun to see kids being reflective! They are deeper than most people realize.

I also asked the kids to give me recommendations of books to add to or delete from the suggestions list. The most common request for addition was Artemis Fowl, so I have checked it our from our library to preview over the summer and possibly add to the list for next year. Thanks to everyone here who also added to (and in a couple cases deleted from) the list as well!

Happy reading :o)

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, I got hooked.

If you’re looking for a little summer humor and some fun, brainy entertainment (and aren’t already hooked as I am) check out this summer’s re-runs of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory.” (I hope they re-run them!)

The show is built around Leonard and Sheldon, roommates and research physicists at CalTech. Their always-underfoot pals Raj and Howard also work in labs at CalTech. (Raj has his own apartment and Howard lives with his loud and never-seen mother.) The four of them are happily immersed into their routine lives (Wednesday night is Halo night, for example) and Sheldon in particular loves routine. But their lives get set off-kilter when beautiful, mid-west born, actress-wannabe, not-to-be-underestimated Penny moves in across the hall.

Yes, the characters are a bit stereotyped, but what sitcom’s characters aren’t? I was initially bothered by the stereotyping, but I soon became impressed by how much the writers for the show understand gifted lives. I think the characters can seem stereotyped if one watches an isolated episode without having yet developed a love for their well-developed personalities. But if you stick with it, about three episodes in you will see that the writers actually have a great grasp of the quirks, interactions, and realities of the lives of people like Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard. Their struggles and triumphs are explored and celebrated with perceptive insights and surprisingly-often sensitive treatment. And I know a lot of other geeky people like myself who have come to love and appreciate the show, too -- an indication of its ability to truly relate (rather than simply poke fun, like a lot of other media entertainment does at gifted characters).

I know these people… I teach them, I am friends with them, they are the pals I played with liquid Nitrogen with in college… Whoever writes for this show knows gifted people inside and out (well, the "typical" 20-something nerdy scientist male version of gifted people). They remind me of my friends who walked down the aisle to the theme from Star Wars, my students who get together on Friday night to have a LAN party, my relatives who tinker and build and invent unique solutions to problems, and myself.

Although, in the interest of full-analysis, one disappointment I have with the show is that the gifted female character(s) is still one-sided and has yet to become a multi-faceted dimension in the show. (The actress portraying Leslie does a nice job, I just don't think the writing has done her character justice yet. Not that I'm enough of a television or acting connoisseur to really be offering a critique...!) Another disappointment is that I can't comfortably recommend the show to my gifted students due to some of its adult humor.

That said, though, they get it. And it's so much fun to spend a half hour with this nerdy fab four and probably-underrated Penny.

One of my favorite scenes is the one where the guys set up a laptop to send a signal around the world (via wi-fi, fiberoptics, and satellite, etc.) that returns to their apartment to turn on a lamp that's within arms-reach... just because they think it's cool to be able to do something like that. (It is!) Another personal favorite scene is Sheldon's dilemma in trying to decide what to get Penny when she informed him that she had gotten him a Christmas gift. Sheldon's interpretation of "the rules" of gift-giving dictate that he give her an appropriately reciprocal gift in return. But how to decide what to get her when he doesn't know what she's gotten him‽‽ He hatches what he thinks is a fool-proof plan to have readily-on-hand any gift for her of approximately equal value (both monetary and sentimental). But when part-time waitress Penny gives him an autographed napkin used by Leonard Nimoy, well, the results are hysterical.

See for yourself what the brainy fun is all about:

A montage of their fascination with superheroes

Testing their killer robot, "Monte"

A geek’s guide to cleaning

Leonard refers to one of Sheldon's insights as a "little" idea

Settling disputes with Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

An analysis of the physics of Superman

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

"save and save often"

but I didn't

just lost a whole post :o( thanks to an apparently timed-out connection

(this is why I usually type them in Word and then copy/paste, but thought I didn't "need" to this time...)

and I have to head to work so I can't re-type it all right now

Oh, I'm so bummed! (Tamara pounds her head on her desk...)

I'll scramble it back together for you :o)

Ah, the wonders and conveniences of technology...

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Although I might be the only person left in the world still using a VCR!)

Our high school here is looking into the possibility of using Virtual High School, beginning next school year (if not fall semester, then spring semester). I'm intrigued and excited by the possibilities. It will give our students the opportunity to take courses they otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity to take at our high school. For example, we only offer Spanish language, but next year a student could take French or Mandarin or Russian if they wanted.

One complication for Montana students (and maybe other states did this, too) is that our state school board passed a policy a few years ago stating that Montana students can only get credit for an online course if the teacher for the course is a Montana certified teacher. A student could still take any online class they wanted on their own, but if the teacher isn't Montana certified the student wouldn't get school credit for it. I understand the desire to protect Montana teaching jobs and Montana teachers, but I also think the bigger goal should be LEARNING for our students. There are kids in tiny Montana towns - and for the target audience of this blog, let's think of highly advanced students - who don't have access to the expertise to learn at the next level in their town of 100 people. (Sometimes they *do* have that access - Any tiny town has brilliant people in it with their own areas of expertise - But my essential point is that the chances of finding a mentor on any given specialized topic in a town of 100 are far less than they are in a town of 100,000). So I'm disappointed that the unintended consequence of the policy is a restriction on the credit-worthy coursework Montana students have access to.

But VHS is aware of our state's policy on this and the two (that we're aware of) Montana high schools who began offering VHS courses to their students this school year were still able to be a part of VHS because some of the VHS teachers are Montana certified. A team from our high school recently visited a nearby school that began VHS this year and met with the teachers and students who have been a part of it. All involved were reportedly pleased and excited by the experience.

All VHS teachers are actual teachers somewhere (i.e. at a brick and mortar school), certified in the discipline they teach online for VHS. Eighty-five percent of them hold a Master's degree or higher. (And, lucky for us, at least some of them hold a Montana teaching certificate!) VHS also requires that they complete training in teaching online classes before they are approved to teach a VHS class.

I still have a lot to learn about VHS, but I'm excited about the possibilities because it opens a lot of new learning opportunities for my gifted students (and for all of our students). The kids I work with have a lot of unique learning interests that aren't always able to be accommodated within our course offerings. And they're so curious that some of them want to take more than the seven classes that fit into a high school schedule each semester. For a few years, our high school offered a couple classes during an Early Bird (i.e. before school) class period and a few of my students took Early Bird plus the next seven class periods (instead of the additional six that would've made for a typical full day). They've thrived on it and were able to prove to a couple of initial skeptics that yes, advanced students can capably handle taking eight classes a semester. Next year, due to a revised schedule, we won't have any Early Bird classes. But the addition of Virtual High School means my motivated, curious, hard working, advanced students can still pursue an extra class if they want to.

[Part of me is even a little bit jealous... Had an opportunity like this been around "way" back when I was a kid, I would've loved taking advantage of it! I never could fit all the classes I wanted to take into the limited, standard seven-period-day. I would've jumped at a window-of-opportunity to take an interesting course that was beyond the scope of that structure.]

I'm also excited about the possibilities of VHS because it might open up some windows for my gifted middle school students to take these high school courses. In the course catalog, many of the course descriptions say, "This course may be appropriate for Gifted and Talented middle school students that meet all course prerequisites." From what I've read so far, as a feeder middle school to a VHS participating high school, it seems our younger students could be a part of this opportunity. And I know I have some middle school students who would jump at the opportunity.

However, even though that might be a possibility, we're still trying to work out the details of just how all of this is going to work for us. I raised a few questions in our meeting last week (or was it the week before? things have been a little crazy...) that we don't have answers worked out on. I'm curious how any of your schools have answered these questions or handled these situations:

* If one of your middle school students takes a VHS course, does she get credit for the course when in high school? (i.e. Do you count it toward her graduation progress and cumulative high school GPA?) [For a point of reference, we usually have a handful of 8th graders who take a math class at our high school and it does count toward their graduation progress and high school GPA. It shows up on their transcripts as if they took the class their freshman year, usually reflected in a double-booked class period or as an Early Bird class.]

* We are a small enough high school that some/many classes we are only able to offer during one class period, which means a student sometimes has to choose between two classes he wants to take because they're both only offered during the same class period. Hypothetically, one of those classes could be available via VHS. In cases of such schedule conflicts, do you allow the student to take the class via VHS and get credit for it even though it's offered at your school? For reasonable reasons, our high school is going to tell the students that if a VHS course is offered at our school, they have to take it at our school. But I know that my students sometimes have to make choices between classes due to lack of repeated availability, and taking one of the classes via VHS might allow them to do both. How have your schools handled this?

* For those of you who have weighted grading systems, how do VHS courses fit into those? Some VHS courses are listed as "Honors" (as opposed to "Standard"). Do you weight their grades in an Honors VHS class the same way you do for one of your Honors on-site classes?

* Some high schools require more classes and tougher classes for those wanting to graduate with Honors (such as taking more Math, more Science, more Honors classes). How do VHS classes fit into your school's requirements in this regard?

I know what I would like to see happen here in answer to each of these questions, but I am not the decision-maker. Any ideas any of you can offer based on your own schools' experiences would be helpful and appreciated!

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)