The Little Prince – Institute for Educational Advancement

10 Lessons for the Gifted Child from Children’s Literature

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 03:45:15 +0000

Literature has so much to teach all of us. Because reading is a cherished pastime for many gifted individuals, we thought we would share some great quotes from children’s literature and beloved children’s authors that teach gifted kids and adults alike important lessons.

Be Yourself

“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake.” ― Lemony Snicket, The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story

“Never be ashamed! There’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth bothering with.” – J.K. Rowling

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

You are Unique and Special and Complex; Embrace It

“There’s such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I’m such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn’t be half so interesting.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

You Will Find Your Tribe, and It Will Be Magical

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” – Dr. Seuss

Use Your Talents to Make the World a Better Place

“‘We can’t take any credit for our talents. It’s how we use them that counts.'” – Madeline L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter

Do Not Be Afraid of Failure or Obstacles

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Live in the Present

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Embrace Life’s Quiet Moments

“In this modern world where activity is stressed almost to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked. Yet a child’s need for quietness is the same today as it has always been—it may even be greater—for quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and sleepy times a child can dwell in thoughts of his own, and in songs and stories of his own.” – Margaret Wise Brown

Dream Big

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” – C.S. Lewis

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child,
Listen to the Don’ts
Listen to the shouldn’t
The Impossible, the won’ts
Listen to the never haves
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen child,
Anything can be.”
– Shel Silverstein

“How do we know imagination isn’t just a different way of knowing something? A message from outside.” ― Stephanie S. Tolan, Welcome to the Ark

Listen to Your Heart

“‘Eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart!’” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Believe in Yourself

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

What are your favorite lessons from children’s literature? Share in the comment section below.

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Beneath the Surface: Twice-Exceptional Students

��Ƶ Staff — Fri, 01 May 2015 14:01:40 +0000

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

In The Little Prince, the narrator describes a picture he drew as a child. He was rather proud of this drawing and was certain it would inspire fear in those who viewed it. When he revealed his masterpiece to the adults in his world, however, they were not afraid; all they saw was a simple drawing of a hat. The narrator was indignant: “My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant.” Upon offering an explanation of his piece, the narrator expressed his honest thoughts about grown-ups: “They never understand anything by themselves and it is exhausting for children to have to provide expectations over and over again.”

Twice-exceptional (or 2E) children – those who are both gifted and have a learning disability – are often rendered exhausted as they try to explain how they think and learn to “grown-ups”. What is going on inside of them may differ greatly from what other people, including their teachers, are able to see.

“I saw a very different child than the teacher was seeing.” – ��Ƶ Parent

Twice-exceptional students are seldom identified as gifted, as having a disability, or as twice-exceptional. Often the disability masks the giftedness, the giftedness masks the disability, or the giftedness and disability mask each other, preventing the rest of us from understanding the inner workings of these children.

Although 2E students were identified as a “distinct” group in 1977, data regarding the number of individuals in the group were not collected until 2000. It is now estimated that between 2 and 5% of gifted children have learning disabilities and that 2 to 5% of students with learning disabilities are gifted. The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act defines 2E as:

“A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.”

While each individual is vastly different from each other, this distinct group of learners are connected by their exceptional intellectual ability, discrepancy between ability and achievement, challenges in learning or processing, and the anxiety of being different.

Special programs exist for children with learning disabilities, and there are programs for gifted students, but few deal with both exceptions. Without services that celebrate a child’s gifts and talents, these students fall victim to low academic self-efficacy and issues regarding self-confidence.

“No one knows what I know!!! I see and hear the answers in my head, but I just can’t get them out onto paper. Everyone thinks I am a stupid kid that is ‘slow.’ But I get it – I get it all!!! I hate myself!”

Once we see what is truly going on within a child, we must support and nurture all aspects of his or her needs. A child learns through success; supporting children’s gifts feeds them and provides them with energy and confidence to tackle their learning difficulties.

Addressing students’ disabilities is often seen as a more pressing need than nurturing their gifts, and it is easy to get caught up in needing to “fix” the disability. Though we do need to support these children and help them work with and through their disabilities, we must not lose sight of their incredible intellectual capacity. We should still provide them with advanced curriculum by allowing for modifications that keep any weaknesses in mind.

A gifted child’s self-concept improves when we help him or her nurture all aspects of self – intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical – in a safe, nurturing environment surrounded by like-minded peers. Feeding the intellect of the twice-exceptional child is the best way to begin the process of personal growth. Knowing and celebrating our possibilities – as well as our limits – helps us to lead a life of purpose, passion, and wisdom.

Twice-exceptional children are not broken. We do not need to fix them. Instead, we need to help them understand both their strengths and their weaknesses, nurture their gifts, and help them find ways to succeed and grow. But before we can do this, we must truly see them for who they are.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

It is so incredibly important that we look at the whole child and truly understand what is going on so that we can support and nurture the growth of these wonderful individuals.

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