Identifying Gifted
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:43:57 +0000
Rosmah said although the programme was only a year old, it showed promise and was beyond expectations.
"I believe the programme will help mould gifted students into outstanding intellectuals.
"These students are unique and gifted and through this programme, they are given various recreational activities to challenge them physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually," she said after launching the UKM1 screening test at the Kolej Tunku Kurshiah here yesterday.
The prime minister's wife hoped the five would gain valuable experience at the summer camp where they would be exposed to the learning modules of the university.
"They are also the country's ambassadors to promote Malaysia to the world."
Permata expects to pick another 1,000 students for the UKM summer camp at year end. The first screening test is from now until May 31.
"We will also select 10 foreign students to join the summer camp," Rosmah added.
Akmal, from Maktab Rendah Sains Mara in Pengkalan Chepa, was excited about the camp and hoped to be able to share experiences with students from other countries.
Kalithashinee from SMK Dato Onn in Butterworth, said this would be her first trip overseas.
"I'm nervous but it's a dream come true and I'll make full use of my time there," she said, adding that she hoped to pursue a medical degree at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Jonathan is very shy and a reserved kid in the class. He is very quiet and withdrawn, and has an unobtrusive presence, that he remains invisible even to his classmates and teacher. But, it seems that he is wearing a perfect camouflage, whenever he is sitting in his classroom. Jonathan is a person completely transformed and invigorated, when he is in the music class. It is absolutely amazing and surprise to see a shy and withdrawn Jonathan turning into a highly talented singer, providing that rare depth and uniqueness to his voice and musical talents. He comes fully alive and turns out highly energetic, as soon as he steps into the music room. His teachers and the entire class are so curious and interested to know what has really happened to Jonathan!
Jonathan is not alone! There are thousands of kids like him around the world, who excel and show their immense talents in one field or the other. There is a rare and hidden talent does not show so easily, but explodes when given the right opportunity. Child psychologists categorize such kids into a unique personality bracket called “giftedness” and counselors terms kids with rare and special talents as “gifted children“.
Simply speaking, gifted children are those lovely kids, who possess or own rare and unique abilities that provide an exhibition of very high standard skills in intellectual, creative, specific academic sectors, organizational ability or a gift for excelling performing and non-performing arts.
Understanding the basic psychology of a gifted kid could be a tough exercise for a parent. It is more likely that identifying, exploring and detecting the full potential of a gifted child is very long and cumbersome process. The entire process often requires immense encouragement and a deep understanding, by both as well as your kid’s teachers. Under usual circumstances, most parents and teachers often fail to recognize or identify gifted kids. It is also common to see the exceptional talents and extraordinary skills of a gifted kid getting unnoticed and neglected by parents and teachers.
Perhaps, no person is better equipped to identify and detect a gifted child, is the class teacher. Teachers are among the first people, who can discover those excellent and brilliant talents and qualities in gifted kids. An early detection of a gifted child will pave way for a better and bright future. It is also the class teachers, who can inspire, nurture and encourage the core belief and confidence in a gifted child about his or her positive qualities and abilities.
Understanding the basic psychology of a gifted child could be a big task, as most of the gifted children are quite withdrawn and reserved. If you wish to know whether your child is gifted or not, is a process that involve spending some time in interacting very closely, to know the inner mind of the kid. It is often very easy to perform this task with the help of your kid’s class teacher. The first and the foremost priority for every parent is to understand their kids, guide them through their learning process, motivate them towards their favorite activities and encourage them to work hard to achieve their cherished goals.
Once you detect that your kid has some innate and hidden talents, you may also wish to spend some time in teaching them about the importance of realizing their real worth and how they can channelize that talents to achieve greater success in life. Tapping into your kid’s gifted pool in an early age is quite critical and important. Gifted kids are just like dormant seeds that are waiting to sprout and grow into a big, useful tree. As a responsible parent, you may need to provide all those nourishing factors so critical for better sprouting and future growth. Perhaps, nothing could be as benevolent and grateful, as a helping parent, who trudges along the way to assist his or her or gifted child, to develop and streamline the hidden talent and capabilities to their fullest possible extent.
Assisting your gifted child to know and understand his or her perceived giftedness should focus less on the “tag” and more on the whole package of good behavior, like respecting other children, being obedient to parents and teachers, to pay attention to learn better skills and enhance learning abilities. These simple exercises will not make your child arrogant or disobedient. Ultimately, as a parent, you may wish to make your gifted child a responsible kid, who can be a better and understanding citizen with a human touch.
Tags: children, Gifted, Psychology, Understanding
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