Our favorite definition of giftedness comes from Annemarie Roeper, founder of the Roeper School.
It’s “a greater awareness, a greater sensitivity, and a greater ability to understand and transform perceptions into intellectual and emotional experiences."
If you have a child described in the above quote, you
probably realized early on that you’ve had to be on your toes, ready to provide
deeper experiences and more complex answers to questions than you ever thought
you would.
It follows that when it comes to schooling, gifted students
think and learn differently than typically developing peers. We often get the
question, “Why Seabury?” It’s phrased in different ways, but people wonder why
choose this small, independent school over the other options for youngsters in
the South Puget Sound area – public schools, parochial schools, private schools
– even the new charter schools?
Seabury School, which serves students in prekindergarten
through eighth grade, is unique among schools in the south Puget Sound because
its program is specifically designed for gifted learners. Seabury's program is
designed around research based on best practices in gifted education.
Here are a few things that research has taught us about how
gifted children learn and grow, paired with how we address these needs at
Seabury.
Gifted children are
often intense and are best served when parents and teachers understand
this. Their intensity – or sensitivity – can cause them to be misunderstood or
even misdiagnosed. Teachers in public and private schools typically have not
had training in recognizing or providing support for the unique learning needs
of gifted children. At Seabury, gifted youngsters are supported by teachers who
understand them.
Gifted students are
typically not equally gifted in all areas. Seabury tailors instruction and
expectations to the needs of each individual student. The goal is to provide
appropriate challenge in areas of giftedness and support in areas of growth. By
individualizing instruction and expectations, teachers can appropriately
challenge each child every single day.
Gifted children learn
quickly and retain information easily, especially in their areas of
giftedness. Too much rote repetition of material they have mastered will
decrease achievement levels. Seabury teachers work closely with individual
students and adjust the amount of practice with new information according to
the needs of the individual student, with the goal of providing enough practice
to master the skill but not repetition that is meaningless or unnecessary.
Gifted students understand
abstractions at an earlier age than typically developing students, and seek
complexity in work and play. They tend to be "whole to part"
learners, preferring to start with the big picture or a big idea, and then
deconstructing it into its component parts. Seabury's curriculum is developed
around integrated, project-based units of study. Because students learn factual
information easily, the bulk of our time is spent on higher level thinking and
problem-solving.
Gifted students show
greater academic and social-emotional growth when grouped with other gifted
students. Gifted children, like all children, need peers they can connect
with to learn how to make friends, collaborate, and develop self-confidence. Grouping
students with intellectual peers provides a rich learning environment, but also
an environment where gifted students feel like they fit, can learn the give and
take of working with others, and feel safe trying new things.
Research into the success of gifted adults, shows that intellectual intelligence is most likely to
lead to success in life and career if it is coupled with emotional intelligence
the ability to communicate clearly and navigate socially. Understanding and
supporting the social-emotional development of gifted children is as vital at
Seabury as academic challenge.
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