March Madness in almost here, making college basketball top-of-mind. And so I perked up at last week’s California Association for the Gifted Conference when Dr. Sandra Kaplan mentioned that UCLA’s basketball team takes ballet classes. This caused me to sit up and think. Any young woman or man playing on a Division I basketball team is a gifted athlete. But ballet?

Well, yes, ballet. There is a lot of fancy footwork going on down below while basketball players are busy dribbling, passing, shooting and dunking.  Watching the Lehigh versus Bucknell Patriot League Conference Tournament Championship game, and looking only below the knees, I saw dance. Pirouettes, jetés, leaps, and the occasional third and fourth position were all there. Lehigh’s Tim Kempton (6’10”, 245 pounds, 20.4 PPG) would make a wonderful Rat King in The Nutcracker.

This all begs a few questions. Can an art inform a sport? Can sport inform an art? Can students advance in one field because they explored another? By combining unrelated fields, will our gifted scholar-athletes create a greater exceptionality? And what does this mean for us?

I am an independent college counselor, often working with gifted students as they apply for college. (I am also an ������Ƶ mother and consultant.) Some families consult with me when their students are just entering high school, so I see exciteabilities develop over the course of four years. Before taking on Dr. Kaplan’s question, I knew, but I didn’t comprehend, how ballet made for better basketball. My happiest students have been telling me for years that they like it when they mix things up, when obvious skills and interests become companion to less obvious skills and interests. Reflecting back, I see that those students who intellectualize their giftedness were among my most joyful.  Here are some first hand examples.

My first inkling this was happening came fifteen years ago, from a Mentor supervising five high-school-aged ������Ƶ Apprentices in a material science research lab. (������Ƶ’s Apprenticeship Program has evolved into the , both outstanding.) These Apprentices were similar in lab skills and science understanding. One stood out, however, because of his English skills. Specifically, he could more quickly tease out ideas shared in conversation, read manuals and reports in and out of context, and clearly stated questions that moved ideas forward. Early on, he became the student leader because everyone in the lab understood him. He is now a very successful computer scientist. (And an aside: research labs are often home to scientists from around the world and of many languages, so clarity of communication makes for better science.)

I’ve had many students with exceptional mathematical abilities, and their stories speak directly to drawing energy from unusual sources. Four of them were quite upfront that their love of math was fueled outside of math classes. One, a Berkeley graduate, said that creative writing relaxed her into a feeling of bliss, and then, without any notes, she would imagine the answers to her problem sets. Another, now a math major at Reed, described how her remarkable sophomore year English teacher inspired her, through close textual reading, to consider multiple approaches to any problem. A UC San Diego math major told me he feels strongly that poetry and math are the same subject–economy of ideas—and so he approaches them in tandem. And another student, bound for college in 2018, craves playing golf every day because it is so much fun to watch parabolas on the fairway.

And it’s not just my mathematicians. One student, a Harvard graduate, became a better Russian language student when she started playing the piano every day. A current Berkeley undergraduate understands literature more deeply on days when she sees poor immigrants walk into traffic to sell flowers. One of my favorite students this year keeps finding ideas for prosthetic designs watching movies that are not about prosthetics. One young man, Cal Tech bound, described how ideas come while he paints. If he didn’t paint, would he have these ideas?

Lastly, and saluting March Madness, I have worked with both a semi-professional dancer, and a winning basketball player. My dancer, on History: “Yep, the world has always been all about ebb and flow.” And my basketball player thinks his internship in a research university’s chemistry lab is less akin to science classes and more like passing just outside the paint: “The graduate students throw ideas around faster than a good offense, so I’m still hustling to keep my eye on the ball.”

Our students give us their giftedness; our efforts should include enabling their intellectualism. The UCLA coach who first enrolled the basketball team in ballet is now a personal role model. Dr. Kaplan’s workshop, “Giftedness versus Intellectualism,” has prompted me to think of ways to help my students identify and encourage the productive combinations in their lives.

For me, as an independent college counselor, that means more time listening and waiting for the student to share enough so that I can ask more direct questions. For a gifted student, who feels his or her exciteabilities more strongly, working at this intersection is key. Within my niche in their lives, answers to those questions make for powerful application essays.

Sometimes we talk about nurturing a gifted student’s spirituality. For me, the mere though was daunting, so I stayed away. It is easy to get tripped up here because many of us equate “spirituality” with “religion.” But that was never gifted educators’ intention—instead, it is something wholly interior, unseen, and a powerful animator. Perhaps a mathematician’s spirituality lies in poetry.

Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students who are age-mates with their graduating high school class, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA. She also has three incredible daughters.

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Min-Ling is ������Ƶ’s Coordinator. She joined ������Ƶ after teaching high school mathematics in Los Angeles. Her dedication to supporting high-potential students is rooted in her own experiences as a student who struggled to find outlets that nurtured her intellectual and social dispositions.

Amelia is a 10th grader who attends a small private school in Northern California. She enjoys singing and dancing, as well as reading about the universe and diving into the intricacies of supernovae. Amelia is self-motivated but often finds that her school and the courses offered do not satisfy her curiosity in the arts, math, and sciences. The content to learn within her school is often shallow, and completing assignments of knowledge-gathering is baffling to her, as she can find the answer with taps on a keyboard and Wikipedia. She despises memorization. Amelia is respectful. With that said, she follows her enthusiastic and inspiring teachers as they “cover material” which she masters quickly. Amelia is an example of a gifted child within “American schools [that] pledge to educate everyone and expose students to a wide variety of topics” (Davidson, 2004). Amelia’s needs are oftentimes overlooked.

Providing safe and nurturing learning environments for gifted students is often difficult when the student seeks services within educational spaces that are not aware of the needs of gifted youngsters. As the coordinator for a gifted program and a teacher of general education students, I have gained knowledge and experience from my interactions with teenagers. Being an advocate is pivotal in my responsibility to offer the best learning environment for gifted students.

Understanding the needs of a gifted teenager

Advocating for a gifted teenager will require one to look at how we evaluate a valuable learning opportunity. “A gifted, creative child needs [his or her] creativity honed and trained” (Davidson, 2004). Gifted and creative students need options to dive deeply in content and insights from experts to develop passion. They often feel pressures to achieve or not achieve based on structures in place to support their development. As a supporter of a teenager, being open and flexible to his or her passions is vital. Asking questions that qualitatively investigate learning experiences rather than quantitatively evaluating success will motivate students to find their passion. It’s nice to feel you have room to learn and then decide if you would like to continue with the path.

Clear communication of needs

To communicate as an advocate, one must look to the student. Seeking inherently higher intellectual simulations and communicating the needs socially and emotionally of the teen will be a critical component of being an advocate. Listening and observing will be the greatest part to communicating what teenagers may need for their learning. “The construct of meaningfulness, challenge, choice, interest, and enjoyment, have been shown to be central to learning” (Gentry & Springer, 2002). While keeping this criterion in mind, asking observational questions of educators in the youngster’s life will help identify his or her needs. Oftentimes having a to help guide the teenager will enable the needed growth of a gifted student. Having a content expert develop a professional relationship with the student and give constructive criticism will give a youngster real-world working skills.

Be willing to compromise

As an advocate, one will need to work with various people. Finding the best fit for a gifted teenager will require discussion and planning with the youngster, mentor, educators, and family. When there are many vested interests and experts working to find or provide the best opportunities, it might not fit the vision of everyone, but keep the youngster and his or her need for enriching experiences in mind. Ellen Winner writes about gifted children and their “rage to master,” in other words, their willingness to do what they are passionate about for hours each day until they find their level of mastery (Whalen, 2000). Sometimes the path of a gifted teenager is unconventional, but keeping the youngster’s needs in mind will help construct and execute the best fit.

Reflection

Continuous consideration and assessment of learning experiences will identify the strongest approaches to nurturing a youngster. Advocating for a teenager will require a subjective reflection of the teenager’s desires and needs as he or she nears adulthood, “looking at gifted children, first and foremost, as the unique beings that they are rather than the eminent adults the might someday become” (Delisle, 2014).

References:

Davidson Institute for Talent Development. (2011). Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

Whalen, Sam. “Sustaining ‘The Rage to Master’: A Conversation with Ellen Winner.” The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, Spring 2000.

Gentry, Marcia, and Penny Mork Springer. “Secondary Student Perceptions of Their Class Activities Regarding Meaningfulness, Challenge, Choice, and Appeal: An Initial Validation Study.” The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, Summer 2002.

Davidson, Jan, Bob Davidson, and Laura Vanderkam. Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting our Brightest Young Minds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Delisle, James R. Dumbing Down America: The War On Our Nation’s Brightest Young Minds (And What We Can Do To Fight Back. Waco: Prufrock Press, 2014.

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This post is part of the Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page October Blog Hop on Gifted Advocacy.

Photo credit: via

Every gifted person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through ������Ƶ programs. ������Ƶ’s – mentioned in this story – links gifted high school students from across the country with mentors who advance each participant’s skills through the application of knowledge and exposure to real world experiences.

Photo courtesy of Lucian Capellaro

Lucian Capellaro
������Ƶ Apprentice at CNN Atlanta in 2000
Sr. Photo Editor in International Publicity, Paramount Pictures

It is true that Lucian Capellaro’s current job involves international travel, world famous celebrities and cutting edge photography; however, he actually started on his career path shortly after participating in ������Ƶ’s Apprenticeship Program at CNN in Atlanta in 2000.

“I was originally interested in the photography program. However, after hearing about ������Ƶ’s involvement at CNN, I became excited about the prospect of learning something completely new. I wanted to see a real-world career application of my photo, video and writing interests. Journalism always appealed to me, and seeing a company like CNN in action was an exciting prospect,” Lucian explained.

“While at CNN, we were given some amazing insight into cultural sensitivities and global mindsets. I wrote, shot and edited a video story on the practice of Reiki and its adoption in western culture as an alternative healing art. Being part of an objective global news channel brings with it the obligation to think carefully about the world as a whole. Pronunciation of names, syntax and communication style all became topics of discussion in our group. The experience helped flag awareness in me regarding my environment and how I would choose to interact with it.”

Lucian said that after completing his CNN Apprenticeship things were put “into perspective a bit” for the rest of his time spent in high school. “It’s always helpful to have an end game in mind, and a career using my interests seemed like a real honest possibility after seeing the teams at CNN working. The staff and amazing hosts treated us like adults. That instilled confidence, which made high school and subsequently college hold more meaning. I was there to learn, earn a degree and find a rewarding career.”

After high school, Lucian went to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and earned a BFA in Photography. “I was planning to attend school in New York City, but after spending some time in Atlanta, I thought I would try something new. I always had it in my head that I would go to school for photography, and after hearing some further support from the teams at CNN, it felt like a good fit in Savannah.”

How did Lucian end up photographing celebrities such as Randy Jackson, Seth Rogan and Reese Witherspoon? “I moved to Los Angeles after college and was shooting portraits and retouching for various clients. I started to book retouching jobs for some entertainment clients, which led to movie studios. I retouched magazine covers for Rolling Stone, Maxim, Black Book, WIRED and tons of ads.”

“When a friend at a major studio needed someone to sit with a director and work through the color on publicity stills, they hired me for a quick last-minute job. It started as a one-day gig sitting with Director Michael Bay but continued through all three films of the Transformers franchise. This opened the door to other exciting projects, and I was given the opportunity to sit with some amazing filmmakers, retouching images from their set photographers to more accurately represent the feel of the film. Meanwhile, the same studios were hiring me to photograph their talent for publicity shoots in addition to the advertising jobs I was shooting.”

“Paramount came to me in 2009 with a job opportunity to handle all photography materials for their International Publicity department. I continue to serve this role as Sr. Photo Editor for Paramount Pictures in International Publicity. I handle talent and filmmaker approvals on publicity photographs as well as work with our global offices to ensure appropriate photo material is available and on target with the message of the film. I also organize all our International Publicity photo shoots for the studio from concepts to final placements. Additionally, while traveling on our international publicity tours, I photograph the red carpet events and behind the scenes coverage of our participating talent. This has taken me to some amazing places around the globe, for which I am very grateful.”

As for anyone considering the ������Ƶ Apprenticeship Program, Lucian said, “Take any opportunity you can to explore the real world before you are launched out there. ������Ƶ’s program helps introduce you to the many possibilities in a very positive, rewarding way.”

Does Apprenticeship sound like an experience someone you know would like? Applications are currently being accepted for ������Ƶ’s !

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