Gifted children are one of the most overlooked lots at school. They often go unrecognized and have to go through regular school because nobody understands their capabilities. But you as a parent or a teacher can change this by trying to identify their giftedness. By doing so, you can strive to provide them with a platform that is at par with their capabilities. Gifted children need a different format of instruction as opposed to the instructions offered by regular schools.
Identifying Gifted Children
Gifted children are different. There are a few signs that you can easily notice and identify a child to be gifted. They are:
1) Curiosity
It is a well-known fact that brilliant minds are curious. They want to know about everything, and hence, naturally, they ask a lot of questions. If you feel like your child asks too many questions, you may be dealing with a gifted mind. Asking questions is not enough though, you have to observe if your child is equally keen about the answer and listens to you attentively when you explain things.
Most children ask questions but lose interest in the answer once they realize that the concept is long or complicated. Observe how your child responds to the answer. A patient child who asks a lot of questions and also works hard to understand the answer is definitely gifted.
2) Information Retention
Gifted children are blessed with good memories. They retain information about almost every topic they come across. Gifted kids are also quick to grasp new concepts. You tell them something once and they will get it, even the most complicated topics that are beyond their age group.
Parents of gifted children will often feel like their children appear to be too mature for their age. This is because they have higher skills in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. They understand the family dynamics as easily as they do math or science and behave like mini-adults when it comes to family discussions. You will also be able to notice extraordinary problem-solving skills in different types of life situations.
3) Independent Thought Process
Brilliant minds are assertive. Therefore, it is common to come across high-performing children who have their own independent thought processes and they also often question authority. This is probably one of the glaring signs of giftedness and cannot be confused with any other trait.
If your child showcases a unique thought process and often has issues with general instructions, it’s very likely that your child has an above-average IQ. Such children need an environment that understands where they are coming from and caters to their learning needs.
The above list is of all the positive signs. There are also some negative signs of giftedness that often come across more clearly than the positive ones. As a parent/teacher, you must look out for these also.
- Short attention span
- Resistance to repetitive work
- A critical attitude towards others and has trouble making friends
- Gets bored easily
- Impatient behavior in class
Preparing for SCAT
SCAT is a two-section exam, that tests children for verbal reasoning abilities and mathematical skills. It stands for School and College Ability Test and is for students between grades 2-12. SCAT is conducted by John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). Every year, qualifying students in SCAT get a seat in one of the many gifted programs run by CTY. They get a chance to learn with like-minded students and under the guidance of some of the most learned minds in the country.
Preparation for SCAT needs an understanding of the exam format and the timing of the sections. SCAT is an above-grade-level test. This means a child is tested with the curriculum of higher grades. So, the curriculum is extra on top of what the child is currently studying at school. So, there will be extra hours of study in a day. Their schedule might get hectic but the result is worth the hard work.
SCAT preparation can never be complete without timing practice. You have to prepare your child to balance the exam time between both sections because it is important to have good section-wise scores. So, you will have to practice moving from one question to another quickly. Learning and practicing some tricks can come in handy to save time.
eTutorWorld for SCAT Preparation
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Conclusion
Giftedness is not always appreciated or celebrated. Gifted children often experience bullying with words such as Nerd and Geek thrown at them. Teachers and counselors often come across students who often under-perform, to fit in with their peers and avoid bullying. While this kind of behavior is unfortunate, it can be avoided if teachers and parents collaborate in their efforts to identify a child’s abilities.
It’s the adults in the education system who have to take the onus to normalize giftedness. We cannot change society overnight but every school, every household can begin the change at their level by teaching children that everyone has different mental capabilities and different is not weird. It is just different.
Parents and Teachers also have to put extra efforts into bringing the abilities of the gifted children to the fore and provide them with an efficient platform that can guide them in the right direction. SCAT test is one of the best tools to identify gifted abilities at a very early age. This is why parents should consider SCAT for their children and give their children the advantage of an early start in their academic life. If your child is in grade 2, it’s high time you think about this standardized test.