tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post7684670577105426355..comments2024-03-19T22:10:49.383-04:00Comments on Gifted Challenges™: Why is the "gifted" label so threatening?Gail Post, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-80455793940919657532014-05-05T10:59:55.906-04:002014-05-05T10:59:55.906-04:00So sorry that your son has to endure this situatio...So sorry that your son has to endure this situation. Good luck.<br />GailGail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-1089271681267570782014-05-05T08:00:32.619-04:002014-05-05T08:00:32.619-04:00We are encountering this for the first time. Havi...We are encountering this for the first time. Having moved to a new town, my son who has been proud of being "gifted" in the past is being treated badly by his peers who see it as thinking he is better than others (which he does not). When he tries to blend in by telling other boys they are gifted in football, for example, that has not worked. Kids as well as adults feel threatened by the gifted child, and we are at our wits end with my son crying and not having friends. And even teachers do not take well - especially if they are corrected (albeit very tactfully). I wonder if changing the word would make any difference.Lisa Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07787778505815214202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-7025309014381830042014-05-04T10:18:31.289-04:002014-05-04T10:18:31.289-04:00Anonymous. Really well put about the idea of worth...Anonymous. Really well put about the idea of worth, and how, despite the label, others feel devalued if their intelligence is on the line. I really like your comment about valuing kindness, integrity, etc. as so much more important. Meanwhile, we have to sort out how to advocate for the needs of gifted individuals without inciting so much backlash among those who feel threatened. Thanks for your comments.<br />GailGail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-57397414143597840072014-05-04T09:58:51.438-04:002014-05-04T09:58:51.438-04:00I think it's deeper than a label. I think that...I think it's deeper than a label. I think that most people equate a very large sense of their self-worth with their innate "intelligence", far more so than any other intrinsic characteristic. This is why it is so threatening to most people to consider that another person may be more intelligent than they are, because they see that as a direct threat to their own worth as a person. Where we separate out e.g. sporting or musical prowess, from our notion of worthiness as a person, intelligence is more fundamental and people are not able to isolate it as a trait that confers no intrinsic additional worth on a person. Also, high intelligence is often assumed to bring high material or social rewards. If we valued integrity, honesty, kindness etc above social standing, power, and any individual skill or proficiency, then maybe others would find the notion of "giftedness" less threatening. Until then, when we say "my child is gifted", many people hear "my child is worth more than yours", and it doesn't matter what label is used, that's what's going to be heard. <br />-@GinevraCatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com