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Myth....busted




There are so many myths about giftedness out there. Some are factually incorrect, some are just silly, some can be easily brushed off, but some can be hurtful and confusing for gifted kids and their families. I asked my MindPlus classes what, if any, myths about giftedness they had heard, how these myths affected them, and what they think in response to myths. Buckle up, here we go...

- gifted kids are walking calculators (go on, give us a hard maths problem, NOT!... not all gifted kids are into maths, and even those who really are don't so much like solving equations on the spot)

- gifted kids know everything (everything???.... really???....what does 'knowing everything' even mean? It just isn't possible to know 'everything' and it's not fair to expect something impossible from gifted kids)

- gifted kids have an advantage over everyone else (nope, we don't, some gifted kids learn faster and more easily than other kids, but not all, but sometimes this isn't an advantage at all)

- gifted kids are nerds (although I self-identify as a nerd, I do this positively, it's not an insult unless you are using it as one, which you almost always are)

- gifted kids are good at everything (so often we hear, you're gifted, you should find this easy, but you know what, we aren't magically good at everything. We have strengths and difficulties, like everyone else)

 -  if you aren't good at (spelling, maths, writing, whatever), you can't really be gifted (again, being gifted does not mean we are automatically good at everything, please don't give us an extra hard time about what we are not good at)

 - gifted girls aren't as gifted as gifted boys (well that's just incredibly sexist isn't it... girls and boys are obviously different, but we are all kids, and here at MindPlus, we are all gifted kids)

 - gifted kids are all the same (just like everyone else, each gifted person is unique, they have their own strengths and weakness, their own interests, their own friends, family and pets. We do have some things that are in common with other gifted kids, but we are each our own person)

 - gifted kids aren't sporty (well what did we just say about all gifted kids being different, come on folks, sports and giftedness aren't like opposite ends)

 - giftedness is a learning disability (well, it's a learning difference, but not a disability, but like disabilities, giftedness needs some care and attention)

 - giftedness is common (no, statistically giftedness occurs in about 10-20% of ANY population)

 - giftedness is like autism (again, no, autism is a different thing to giftedness. Sometimes the two can be be together in a person though)

 - gifted kids only come from rich families (gifted kids come from all sorts of families)

- giftedness should be doubted (why?... if someone rightly identifies as gifted why would you doubt that and try to prove the person wrong somehow? Is that really ok?)

 Once we start uncovering some of these myths and talking about them, we can start really working towards understanding the varied needs of our gifted kids and supporting them to grow.


This blog is part of the 2019 Gifted Awareness Week Blog Tour. 

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