Betty Waltersdorf
How to Recognize Gifted Children
As an instructor, it is your job to make sure that each individual student in your classroom is growing at the maximum rate that their potential allows. The difficulty with this is that everybody is different. People learn at different paces and in different ways, making the task more difficult than initially expected. That isn’t to say that the challenge is impossible, however, it just means that there are distinct groups of students that require special attention. This in large part refers to gifted children, ones who learn more quickly and efficiently than most of their peers, requiring their tutelage to be accelerated. The difficulty most instructors have, however, is recognizing which student is gifted and which is not. Well below are a few traits and distinguishing factors that are usually indicative of a gifted mind, though not exclusively so.
One trait that most gifted children share is that the get bored easily and usually abhor repetitive, mundane tasks. If you are having trouble getting a child to do their daily work, but the same child has one of the best test scores in the class, they may be gifted. Another sign to look for is a short attention span. If you have most of the class’s attention, but this child is constantly day-dreaming, no matter the subject, it may be because they already fully understand it, and are waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. Identifying gifted child can be challenging, but with proper testing, along with parents and educators insights they usually are places in enriched and accelerated learning programs.
Betty Waltersdorf stated that she has been involved with many gifted children during her time as a teacher and educator, each one unique and very special.
How to Teach challenging (troubled) Children
It is inevitable that as an instructor, you will come across students who perform poorly in your class, whether it be a result of lack of effort, or of ability. More often than not however, a failing student can be attributed to their own personal struggles. Though it can be frustrating to have a problem or challenging child in class, as they can often be disruptive to the learning of others as well as themselves, often it just takes a bit of patience and understanding to find the root of the problem. It is the duty of a good teacher to offer a helping hand to children with issues, to help work through them together and let them know that they are not alone. Sometimes children have a convoluted or difficult home life, which will inevitably leak over to their school life and career. If the parents are the issue, it is important to stress to the child that while at school, they can be independent of their parents, make their own road to success that is unhindered by their parent’s choices.
Teaching troubled or challenging children is a matter of making a personal connection, reaching out so that they know you are not the enemy, but someone who is looking out for them. Though they may resist attempts to reach out to them at first, given enough time and proper distance, the troubled child will usually come around, as what they desire most is some proper guidance. If you show them how much others care, their attitude can shift and they can apply themselves to the task at hand.
Betty Waltersdorf is a teacher with much experience in the way of teaching troubled children.