Is This Good Enough?

One of the challenges of distance learning is the question, “Is this good enough?” or, “Can I be done now?” Teachers answer this question all the time when we are at school and have context not only about what’s expected for the age/grade level, but also about what each child is capable of. What is outstanding for one child might be minimal effort for another child, so our teachers are constantly tailoring expectations to individual children to make sure that each is being sufficiently challenged, but not overwhelmed. At school, teachers calibrate expectations not only by seeing finished work, but also watching the children as they do their work.

During distance-learning, parents, grandparents and others working with kids at home are typically the first to get that question. It can be difficult to answer, because although you know your child well, you don’t know your child at school as well. Since starting distance learning, teachers have observed kids who have stepped up and are doing their best work ever. They have seen others who are struggling for a variety of reasons and are working with those kids and families to adjust expectations so those kids can experience success. And we have seen other kids who suddenly have no idea how to do something we have seen them do independently at school on countless occasions. Having family members nearby might seem a convenient escape hatch. They could need an extra push to step up and do what they are capable of doing.

The question, “Is this good enough?” is further complicated because many gifted kids are perfectionists. Perfectionism is a trait we see often in gifted people of all ages. So, you can imagine there might be concern at home over the definition of “good enough.” Too much time might be spent on an assignment that wasn’t intended to be that difficult. At school, we help kids judge. For example, a research paper a student has worked on for months with lots of time to edit and revise would have different expectations than a story reflection paragraph where 10 minutes of class time was allotted.

Teachers are experienced at helping children navigate these decisions at each grade level. They also know each child’s strengths and weaknesses. They know whether each child, on this particular assignment, typically needs an extra push or needs permission to call it good enough rather than stressing over it, trying to make it perfect.

As an adult at home in this partnership with school, the best thing you can do when you get the “Is this good enough?” question is to respond back with a question:

“Do you feel like you’re done?”

“Are you proud of your work?”

“Do you think this will give your teacher the best understanding about what you’ve learned / what you know / what you can do?”

Coaching children to reflect on their effort will help them learn that hard work is most important. It’s a key life skill to recognize that the biggest fulfillment comes with producing work that you’re proud of.

It’s hard to watch children make mistakes on an assignment or realize they could do better. But remember, letting them turn the work in as they have completed it will allow teachers to see what they need and make adjustments to address those needs.

Our teachers know kids well. It’s one of the benefits of being at a school like Seabury with small classes and a program designed to meet every child where they are. Our teachers continue to do that during distance-learning. Being able to meet the needs of kids is what we do best, and it’s the work that we love.

– Sandi Wollum

Distance Learning – Seabury Style: Meeting the Needs of Gifted Learners

Seabury School’s educational program is designed for the specific needs of gifted learners. So much of what we do has always relied on daily face-to-face, individual contact with our students so that we can ensure they get their learning needs met in every subject, every day.

But now, we find ourselves in a global pandemic. Our students are learning in their own homes, scattered across the Puget Sound Region. They are working alongside younger and older siblings and adults. Some of their parents are still working outside the home in essential jobs. Some have their own computers or tablets. Some families share one computer. Some students work at desks in their bedroom, at kitchen tables, snuggled with the family dog, on the backyard deck – or all of the above. How do Seabury’s teachers meet the needs of their gifted students in this time of distance learning? How do we address not only their unique learning needs, but also their unique circumstances?

Lessons Learned About Educating the Gifted and Talented: A Synthesis of the Research on Educational Practice, by Dr. Karen Rogers, is a synthesis of 150 years of research. The study recommends five key practices for the effective education of gifted learners. These practices are fundamental to our regular program at Seabury.

So what about Distance Learning – Seabury Style? How do those practices apply now?

Gifted and talented learners need daily challenge in their specific areas of talent. We want our students to learn something new every day at school. Our kids come to us with various interests and abilities. In fact, it’s common for gifted students to have varying levels of abilities in different subjects. A child might be exceptionally gifted in math and less so in reading, or vice versa. Some of our students are also twice-exceptional, meaning they are gifted, but also have a learning difference such as ADHD or dyslexia that impacts how they learn. Our teachers make adjustments in the pace of learning and expectations for each student based on that student’s readiness. Even when the teacher gives every child the same assignment or project, their expectations for the outcome vary – some are asked to do more, and others might complete the work in a different way. The goal is for everyone to be challenged, but not overwhelmed. In distance learning, our goal is the same. During distance learning, teachers teachers can’t observe children during a lesson or while they are working, so they are finding creative ways to get this information by conferencing with students on their work, and through Zoom meetings and tutoring sessions. But they depend on students (or their parents if they are young) for feedback on whether work is too hard, too easy, too little, too much or if it needs to be done differently.

What Families Can Do: If children are old enough, have the child reach out to the teacher if an assignment needs adjusting. For younger children, adults working with them at home should reach out. Our teachers differentiate, or individualize, every day and want to make sure that school is meaningful and provides appropriate challenge for every child.

Opportunities should be provided on a regular basis for gifted learners to be unique and work independently in their areas of passion and talent. At school, we have many opportunities for this each week through Genius Hour in the MakerSpace, project choices, art, creative writing, passion projects, electives, free choice times – and more. At home, there are also many opportunities for kids to explore their passions and find new interests. Teachers are providing optional assignments for students who want a deep dive into the subjects they are studying. Teachers also recognize while our children are learning at home with parents and other family members as partners, it can be a time to explore interests that might not be possible at school. Baking with a parent or grandparent is an opportunity to learn about fractions and equivalence, as well as nutrition and hygiene. Working in a garden can become lessons in botany, entomology and geology. A neighborhood walk can test powers of observation and accomplish fitness goals. Just as teachers give our kids space to explore interests and passions at Seabury’s campuses, the school-home distance learning partnership will provide those opportunities as well.
What families can do: When children ask questions, encourage exploration. That’s exactly what Seabury teachers do every day. The inquiry process means not only looking for the answer, but exploring the possibility that there might be many answers, and that those answers might lead to more questions. From pre-k to eighth grade, our kids practice the inquiry process every day, and you will see it in our distance learning program. Encourage children to pursue interests outside of assigned schoolwork as well as optional assignments of interest. And encourage children to share what they learn with their teachers. Seabury teachers not only love to know more about their students’ interests, but are then able to incorporate those interests into future school activities. 

Provide various forms of subject-based and grade-based acceleration to gifted learners as their educational needs require: At the middle school this year, we have three grade levels, 20 students and six math levels that range from sixth grade math through algebra two. In pre-k, we have students who are working on reading simple Bob books and students who read chapter books. Children working at home also need greater acceleration in some subjects. Our teachers use pre-assessments to determine what children are ready for each time they start a new unit of study, especially in math. Our students learn quickly. But they haven’t necessarily been exposed to everything equally so even as we accelerate students, we also find gaps in their learning. Add developmental readiness to that. Just because a second grader can read at a sixth grade level doesn’t mean that child comprehends in the same way a sixth grader would. It becomes a complicated proposition to figure out what a highly capable child needs, how fast the child can move through new concepts, and what they need next. Our teachers are experts at working with gifted kids on many levels at the same time and make sure children keep moving at a pace that is right. At school, our teachers have the advantage of being in the room as students are working. At home, as mentioned earlier, they need to rely on work turned in as well as questions raised to get that “just right” fit.

What families can do: This is another reason it is important to communicate with the teacher when things are too easy, too hard or need to be done differently. It is also important to remember that a child might move more quickly in some subjects or in some units of study than others. Just like a child’s growth in height doesn’t follow a steady, predictable pattern, a child’s academic growth also goes in spurts. Additionally, at this time of heightened stress for everyone, a child’s progress might slow or their attention wander. It’s ok. We’re there to support all of our children and families through this. And when the students are ready to pick up their normal pace – and that time WILL come – our teachers will be ready for that, too.

Provide opportunities for gifted learners to socialize and to learn with like ability peers. This is one of the biggest benefits of being at Seabury. The chance to learn and grow with kids who “get” you. You have probably seen how important this is to our kids if you have listened in on any of your child’s Zoom class meetings. Our children connect on a deep level and inspire each other. In the classroom, they spark ideas in each other and support each other. When kids come to us from other schools, it is often one of the first things they notice – they can be themselves at Seabury in a way they can’t anywhere else. This is vital as they develop their sense of self-confidence and self-esteem. It is in learning to navigate these early friendships with intellectual peers that they gain the skills they’ll need learn to work and learn with all kinds of people. As we moved to distance learning, we recognized how important Zoom meetings would be for kids to be able to make these connections with each other. Hanging out, sharing ideas, laughing at each others’ jokes is important for their social-emotional learning and mental health. Tools like Flipgrid and programs such as advisory, as well as individual and small group check ins with teachers and virtual play dates are all important ways of keeping our kids connected with each other. You can see the joy in their faces when they connect with friends online.

What families can do: This is a difficult time as we face an unprecedented global crisis. No matter the age of your child, they feel the stress and uncertainty. It may show up in worry, but it could also show up as silliness, inattention, lack of interest in schoolwork, irritability, etc. Classroom Zoom meetings, advisories, and other real time connections with classmates are as important as academic work in order to help kids feel connected. Adults who have watched classroom Zoom meetings might wonder why teachers take time for silliness or sharing. It’s because because our kids crave these connections. Adults help support their Seabury kids’ social-emotional growth by getting them to as many of these meetings as possible. They can also help set up virtual playdates with friends. We have heard about kids playing Adventure Academy, Roblox or other games together, practicing ukulele together and hanging out on FaceTime. Older kids know how to do this on their own, but might need oversight. Younger kids may need more adult assistance to connect – and also need oversight. 

For specific curriculum areas, instructional delivery must be differentiated in pace, amount of review and practice, and organization of content presentation: Seabury’s program includes inquiry learning, multi-disciplinary studies and projects. These are all instructional approaches that are best practice for gifted children. Because our kids learn information quickly, we don’t use a lot of repetitive drills. Rather we take learning and apply it to promote complex, higher level thinking. In distance learning, you may notice that teachers start with a big picture overview of a new unit. Gifted students are more likely to be “whole to part” learners. In distance learning, teachers adjust the pace not only to students’ learning needs, but also to family needs. That’s why teachers are providing a combination of basic work and optional work so that the pace and depth can not only be adjusted to what the child is ready for, but also to what works for the family, especially with younger students who need more help from adults.

What families can do: Our teachers know how to deliver content to our children and know lots about how each of their students learn. What they learn more about each day is how individual children are doing in this stressful environment, how much help (and wifi bandwidth) is available at home so they can determine what are reasonable expectations. Knowing that what is reasonable will change over time. They are ready to adjust expectations and projects as kids get into the groove of working from home. When a teacher gives a big picture overview of what is coming next, nobody should panic; not all the work has to be done at once. It’s a preview, so the child has context for their learning, because this is how gifted kids learn best.

As you can see, Seabury’s program both at school and from a distance is grounded in meeting the needs of our unique kids. We have always treated learning as a partnership with families, and we are experiencing that now more than ever. Shifting to distance learning has been a huge learning curve for our faculty and staff. But the fundamentals of our program have not changed. We know gifted kids. We know our kids. And we will walk through this time supporting their academic and social-emotional needs together.

–      Sandi Wollum

Source: Lessons Learned About Educating the Gifted and Talented:

A Synthesis of the Research on Educational Practice

Karen B. Rogers

University of New South Wales

Gifted Child Quarterly

Volume 51 Number 4 Fall 2007 382-396 © 2007 National Association for Gifted Children 10.1177/0016986207306324 http://gcq.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com

Seabury School and differentiation

Differentiated instruction – teaching tailored to students’ different learning styles and levels – is an educational concept that has been around for decades. It is a concept that’s embraced by most schools in theory – and varying degrees of practice.

Because it is essential for gifted children to have a program designed to address their individual characteristics, needs, abilities, and interests, differentiating curriculum so that each child is appropriately challenged is at the core of Seabury School’s mission.

Learn more about differentiated instruction at Seabury in this Q&A with Head of School Sandi Wollum.

How do you define differentiated instruction?

It goes back to the fundamental philosophy that every child gets to learn something new at school every day. Giving every child equal access to education means you need to do different things for different children.

Isn’t that just common sense?

Not always. Some systems in schools are set up to say that every kid should hit the same academic milestones in same way at the same time. We don’t expect children to hit growth charts like that. We don’t expect their T-ball skills to develop like that. Why do we expect their reading or math or other academic skills to develop like that?

How do we ensure differentiation happens at Seabury?

At Seabury, we have small classes and highly trained teachers in order to be able to appropriately challenge every single child, every single day. Most gifted kids are not equally gifted in every area. They have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. Although our classes are small, the range of needs is extremely wide.

What might that look like in one of our classes?

In a first grade class, we might find students whose reading hasn’t really clicked yet, where they’re still struggling to sound out words, but who also have highly advanced comprehension skills when they hear a story read.  Other children might be reading chapter books meant for fifth or sixth graders, and yet only have five or six years of life experience so while they “understand” what they are reading, they don’t comprehend like an older student would. It makes the range of abilities in any class wide.  And they’re all still gifted.

How does a teacher address this?

What it means in a first-grade reading class is that kids who are not decoding well need to be stretched in decoding, while still being offered materials that allow them continue to stretch their already high level of comprehension.

With the early readers, Seabury teachers know that they usually start reading spontaneously without relying on phonics, so the teachers work with them to notice things like patterns that they haven’t been exposed to. They don’t need phonics to be able to sound out words, but understanding word patterns will help with spelling and vocabulary development.

How can this apply in math?

You might have kids who are gifted in one facet of math because they have had some previous exposure to it and learned it quickly. But in other areas, they may have had little or no exposure and be totally new to the concept being taught.  Teachers need to be able to assess what kids have mastered already and skip that material in order to spend time on concepts they haven’t yet mastered.  They need to sort out whether kids really understand concepts, or have just memorized a series of steps for solving a problem.  And they need to adjust the pace of instruction to match the child’s learning.  Gifted kids need fewer repetitions to master new material, so teachers need to be keen observers and able to adjust the pace of instruction as needed.

How do our teachers find out what children know?

We do a lot of pre-testing and post-testing, and assessments all year long. Our teachers have to know our students really well. They are keen observers every day, constantly monitoring the pace and depth and amount of practice that kids need.

It sounds complicated.

It means really complex scheduling. Students are loosely grouped. But teachers are constantly observing and readjusting. Who’s ready to go faster? Who needs more practice? Who’s ready to move on?   It might mean giving out three different homework assignments for five kids. Or at the middle school, a math teacher with a dozen students might need to create five different finals. Recently a college professor looked at some papers done by our middle school students and commented that the writing was better than much of the work turned in by his students. Every one of our middle school students gets one-on-one time with a teacher on those papers. Our teachers are good at asking things like, “I wonder what would happen if you do this?”

Could we do what we do if we had 25 kids in a class?

Not to the extent that we do. Not with the day-to-day adjustments we do. No human teacher I’ve met could do it. There’s another layer on top of the academic ­– the social-emotional stuff. Our teachers also know that this kid really loves this; or this kid is having a rough time in his family; or this kid is a perfectionist. If you’d asked me when I was a public school teacher, I would have told you I knew all the kids in my class, but it wasn’t the same. When I came here, I thought with 15 kids this is going to be so easy. I spent so much more time with each kid. I knew them so much better. At the same time I was working so much harder because the adjustments were so much more nuanced.

Differentiation was originally devised so teachers could move away from tracking groups of kids. How do we at Seabury avoid having children making comparisons or feeling labeled if they know they’re in a less advanced, math group, for example?

Our overall focus is always on everyone getting what they need. We focus on kids’ strengths. After they’ve been here for a little while, they should be very aware of their strengths. This is also one of the reasons it’s important to have gifted kids with other gifted kids.  In a class of more typically developing kids, if they find that they’re always picking up on things before everyone else, they don’t get a sense of their strengths – or weaknesses. They either get a sense that everything should be easy and shy away from challenge,  or they develop a fear that the first time they don’t know something, there’s something really wrong. We want them to understand that they don’t have to be good at everything, and at the same time help them develop the work ethic and grit that comes from taking on challenges and being confident that the effort is worth it. 

What else is important to know about differentiating for gifted kids?

The vast majority of teachers have zero training in gifted kids. That means that despite their good intentions for our kids, they’re often operating on myths that are just not true.  For example, more work is not better work.  Rigor is not measured in hours of homework per night and, in fact, more work for the sake of adding work can be detrimental to the growth of gifted kids.  Research shows that gifted kids’ achievement goes down with excessive practice beyond what is needed to master the skill they are learning. Gifted kids learn quickly in their areas of giftedness, so need less time practice time to master a skill and more time to apply it in new and more complex ways. 

Seabury’s teachers understand gifted kids – how they learn, what the research says about their intellectual, social and emotional development, and how to both support and challenge them.  Our approach really goes back to that basic philosophy that EVERY child deserves to learn something new EVERY day.  Including gifted kids.

Further reading on myths about giftedkids

The Gift of Adversity

It’s hard to see your child struggle.  As a parent, one of the biggest challenges we face is how to handle those moments when our children are unhappy, uncomfortable, frustrated, angry, hurt or overwhelmed.  From the time they are born, we worry about them, try to make the right decisions about what they will eat and where they will go to school, and do all we can to help ensure that they can grow up to have the life we dream of for them.

 

Now that he is in college, I have found myself reflecting on my son’s growing up – especially on those experiences that seem to have had the biggest impact on his development.  I’m grateful he was able to spend his elementary and middle school years at Seabury School, the school I head, a school designed for bright, sensitive, inquisitive gifted kids like him. Seabury was a place where he developed strong relationships with amazing children who are already proving to be lifelong friends.  Kids who were, and continue to be, kind and supportive and a joy to be around.

But if I am really honest about it, the experiences that have had the biggest impact on making him the responsible, well-rounded, incredible young man he has become were those that were the hardest.  When he was young it was dealing with the kid who was constantly provoking fights on the playground, the group projects with kids who didn’t pull their weight and left it all to him, having to room with the most annoying kid on a school trip.  As he got older, it was the difficult roommates and the challenging bosses and the frustrating teachers.  These challenging experiences, these times of struggle, are the moments that taught him the most about getting along with others and about how to be a friend.  They taught him to be resilient, to speak his truth, to choose friends wisely, and especially that he had the resources to solve problems.

As a parent, those times were, and are, hard.  It was, and is),heartbreaking to see him struggle.  My impulse is to rescue him.  To make it easier.  To fix what’s wrong. To take the hurt away and make it all better. 

I’m glad that I resisted (most of the time).  It isn’t easy.  Even now that he is an adult, I struggle to listen and support without swooping in to fix it for him. But I know that is what I must do.  I realize that many of the traits that serve him best now – independence, leadership, responsibility, confidence, compassion – were developed as he found his way through those difficult times.  Of course it was important that he had good times and experienced tremendous support from his friends But if I’m really honest about it, his incredible social skills were honed by navigating situations with the challenging kids.   

Rescuing him would have not only deprived him of opportunities for growth, but would have sent the message that I wasn’t confident he could handle whatever challenges faced him.  Of course, there were situations that required me to step in because they were too dangerous or too far beyond what he was ready for, but those were few and far between compared to those that required me to step back or come alongside while he worked through the challenge and made mistakes along the way.  

As parents, we need to hold each other up, because parenting is hard.  We need to help each other find the courage as we watch our kids struggle. 

We need to walk through difficult situations with our kids rather than rescuing them from every bump in the road.  To let our kids know we have confidence that they can solve problems for themselves rather than sheltering them from adversity.  To give them the gift of experiencing the natural consequences of their choices – even when those consequences are hard to take.  Because it’s in the times of struggle that they grow most profoundly. 

Gifted Girls

“My son needs your program. He gets in trouble because he can’t sit still and his teacher says he asks too many questions.  He is like the absent minded professor – knows everything about the solar system but can’t remember to brush his teeth or where his coat is.” 

As I sit in my office talking with this parent about the possibility of her son coming to Seabury, I notice his little sister sitting quietly next to mom, doing page after page of multiplication facts sheets for fun. She has asked for mom’s phone because it is better when she can time herself. She has just turned 5 and is in pre-k at another school.

I ask the mom whether she would also like to consider Seabury for her daughter. The mom looks shocked. My daughter? No. She is bright, but not gifted like her brother. She does well in school and has friends. She likes her teachers and never talks about being bored like he does. 

I have had versions of this conversation more times than I can count when talking to parents of gifted girls. When I can convince them to have their daughter assessed – just in case – they are often shocked, as this parent was, to find out that their daughter’s IQ is as high or possibly even higher than her brother’s. 

Research from the Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado, has shown that siblings IQ scores tend to be within 5-10 points of each other. So a parent with a gifted boy likely also has a gifted girl. Why is she missed so often?

Research has taught us a lot about gifted girls. And as a gifted girl myself who had no idea of what I was capable of and who still battles with whether I can really take credit for my achievements, it has taught me a lot about me.

Obviously, these are generalizations. Every child is different. But we see this pattern play out often at Seabury and in gifted programs across the country.  And it has led me to be passionate about making sure we are not missing our gifted girls.

Gifted girls tend to be seen as bright, but not gifted, especially if they are socially successful and willing to do the work given to them, even when it is not sufficiently challenging. Gifted girls are more likely to go along with giving the teacher what s/he wants and hiding the more innovative, creative ideas they have. This leads both parents and teachers to believe they are not as capable of creative, analytical thinking as they really are.

Gifted girls are at high risk of developing “Imposter Phenomenon.” Girls are more likely to discount their successes as flukes or luck, or to think that the person evaluating them is wrong. 

Gifted girls are also more likely to experience what researchers refer to as “The Horner Effect,” in which girls hold back what they are capable of because they are more driven to please others than to compete with them. This can include girls hiding that they can already read or do advanced math for their age when entering preschool or kindergarten and/or monitoring how often they raise their hand in class to ask or answer questions so they don’t stand out.

Seabury exists because we believe all students deserve to learn something new at school every day, and that all students have a right to discover their unique gifts and develop their talents.  Regardless of gender identity or cultural background, Seabury is designed to allow gifted children - boys and girls - to experience challenge, to see what they are capable of, and to experience the joy of learning every day. 

The danger of not identifying and serving our gifted girls is that they will go underground, leaving their talents and gifts unrecognized by teachers, family and even from themselves. 

Gifted girls need a place where it is safe to be smart.  To be themselves.  To share their unique perspectives and engage in stimulating discussion with intellectual peers.  As a Seabury alum once said, “Seabury is a place where I found my voice, and found that my voice can make a difference.  It is a place where I can truly be myself.”

Do you have a gifted girl?  Is she getting what she needs in her current program?  She may have friends, like her teachers and be getting good grades.  But is that enough?  Is she experiencing all of what she is capable of and being challenged to grow every day? 

– Sandi Wollum

Sources:

What We Have Learned About Gifted Children.  Gifted Development Center, 2009. 

Smutney, J.F.  Gifted Girl. Originally published in “Understanding Our Gifted.”  Vol. 11, No. 2, pp 9-13.  Winter, 1999.  

“... Parents are more likely to bring their sons for assessment and overlook their daughters, and this inequity appears to be getting worse. From 1979 to 1989, 57% of the children brought for testing were male, and 43% were female, whereas 51% above 160 IQ were male and 49% female... In 2008, 68% of the children brought for testing were male and only 32% females.”

                        Gifted Development Center, 2009.

“Gifted girls from all ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds are living an invisible life in classrooms across the nation ... By age 11, many gifted girls do not know they have talents. Others, who know, guard it as a well-kept secret. This means that the abilities they could use to develop their potential are instead wasted on adjusting others' expectations (Eby & Smutny, 1990).” 

                                                            Smutney, 1999

Why Seabury?

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.

Learn more about giftedness on our website – www.seabury.org.

– Sandi Wollum
Head of School

The "G" word

I heard it again just this week. "I don't believe in gifted education. I believe all children are gifted."

Of course, all children have gifts. All children are capable of learning new things at school and showing growth in a variety of ways each day. But this statement makes me bristle because I also know that not all children have the same gifts. To treat them if as if they do, denies them the chance to be the unique individuals they are.

Many of us who specialize in gifted education are uncomfortable being saddled with the term “gifted” for the children we are passionate about serving. There is often an assumption that the label "gifted" is an honor or achievement, and programs for gifted kids can be accused of being elitist for that reason. But, for better or worse, it is the term applied to the students that we serve, first by the field of psychology and then by education. It's important that we understand what it means when we use it – also what it does NOT mean.

This is how the Federal Government defines gifted students. 

“The term ‘gifted and talented' … means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities."

At Seabury, we particularly like this definition of giftedness by the great Annemarie Roeper, a pioneer in gifted education.

“Giftedness is a greater awareness, a greater sensitivity, and a greater ability to understand and transform perceptions into intellectual and emotional experiences."

Society has no trouble recognizing gifts such as athletic ability or musical talent. It is generally agreed that that children who show exceptional ability in these areas need different kinds of training and experiences if they are to fully develop their gifts. Children as young as 4 or 5 who show advanced skill in sports are offered opportunities for more challenging play and different coaching than peers who are still learning the basics. Early music education is a no-brainer for a child who begins picking out tunes on the piano at age 3. Anyone would agree these children need an appropriate level of challenge to continue to grow. But something else seems to come into play when we are talking about intellectual ability.

When a child is speaking in sentences at 12 months old, or forming complex patterns with blocks at 2, or counting to 1,000 at 5, many people assume that the parents are pushing her. When a 3-year-old who is obsessed with learning everything there is to know about planets points out errors in nonfiction books on astronomy and can name the moons of Jupiter, his parents feel alone because talking to friends about their child’s intellectual prowess is seen as boasting. And where will they find teachers who understand him?

Parents and educators often struggle with the idea that these are indicators that children like this need something different than the one-size-fits-all-education program we increasingly have in our schools.

Why does our society struggle with the fact that not all kids learn in the same way – that some kids need more time to learn basic skills, while others the same age learn quickly and need opportunities to think deeply and to ask more complicated questions? This doesn't make one child better than the other, just different, each with their own set of talents and areas for growth.

I have a passion for gifted education because I believe strongly that ALL children deserve to learn something new at school every day. I cannot bear to tell our gifted children that their job in school is to read a book and wait for the others to "catch up." Of course the other children have their own gifts, but they are no more likely to "catch up" to those extraordinary minds than I am to catch up to Felix Hernandez in my pitching ability. Does that make Felix better than me? Better at baseball – yes. Better as a person – no. Just different.

Gifted kids are not the "good kids" or the "easy kids" as many teaching colleagues over the years have told me. In fact, gifted kids often have challenges that are unrecognized. The ability to conceive of things that your body and hands are not yet ready to make or do is frustrating when you are little. Having questions that are often unanswerable – like "What is the meaning of life?" – can be difficult and is the reason many gifted young people experience existential depression. The strong sense of justice and fairness, and high degree of sensitivity that many gifted children carry can make them targets or can cause stress as they worry over the suffering of others. There can be a profound sense of aloneness when a child is seeing things and asking questions that other kids their age aren't ready for yet.

Gifted education is not perfect. We struggle to find all the students who would benefit from the services we offer. We hurt our own cause when we are too rigid with assessments or when the label "gifted" becomes a burden or is treated like an achievement. But when we are at our best, we can provide a safe space for highly capable children to be themselves at school.

Gifted students are not better than other children. But, they, like all children, deserve the chance to learn joyfully, to grow at their own pace, and to be understood and appreciated. That is why Seabury exists. That is why gifted education is my passion. That is why we need to continue to work to make sure ALL students, gifted or not, get to learn something new at school every day.

– Sandi Wollum