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The Whole Gifted Child

Gifted children like all the other kids are nonetheless whole children. Parents and teachers are inclined to pay them special attention, but often at the cost of their general social and personality development. Do you agree? Discussion is welcome.

September 21

Profile Information

school/district/affiliation to gifted ed: parent, community member, gifted student, other

A little about me:: Many years ago after I joined Mensa I was invited by Chris Harding to to join the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry, having attained an IQ %ile ranking of 99.997. Chris at that time had an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, with the world's highest IQ. In 1984 I was elected Fellow of the ISPE on the basis of original research I had carried out in profiling and compatibility testing of gifted people. In 1989 I graduated with Honours in Anthropology from the University of Western Australia, with a dissertation on education in traditional Aboriginal society. Since then I have contributed in many ways to remedial and enrichment programs for not only gifted students but all manner of intelligent children whom the general education system fails to motivate adequately toward achieving their potential. I should add here that I raised two fine sons by myself, who are now 17 and 18.

Website (if you have one):: http://gilhardwick.org

Blog (if you have one):: See my website, as above, which also includes seminar and tutorial bulletin boards for colleagues and students alike, and several public and private chat rooms.

What age of student/person do you have an interest in mostly?: Primarily 8-12, but happy to work with adolescents and those struggling with University entry programs.

Gil Hardwick's Blog

Fun learning to write

This is to let all my friends and fellow students here know about my new on-line fun learning to write web site.

Point your browser here, and let's see you there: http://pluralitas.org.

Part of the admission is learning how to pronounce the name . . . . ;-)

Gil

Posted on March 15, 2008 at 11:16pm — 1 Comment

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At 11:32am on February 20, 2008, ceego said…: Gil,

Thank you so much for your response. I like hearing your point of view. It makes me feel much better about the way things have gone so far. I haven't pushed for anything; deliberately ignoring some signs that my son has shown.

When the school said he should be tested it sort of threw me the other way and I have been reading and doing research on what "gifteds" are and asking my son if he wants to do some extra work; right now he loves it.

I really like your personal example with the ants. Focus on what my son is interested in and what he needs as he goes. He is a sponge and really soaks up the stuff he likes.

Also, I took your advice and posted a picture of sorts.

Thanks,
Ceego

At 10:37pm on December 31, 2007, Gil Hardwick said…: This to let you all know Graeme's Year 11 finals . . . . Straight Level 3s (A's under the old system) across Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and English.

You are probably aware by now that he has dropped out of High School halfway through Year 11 and went labouring for 18 months, proving to himself that he could put in a solid day's work alongside grown men at the same rate of pay.

After lengthy discussions with his Dad as to his future he then took it upon himself to enrol at an adult college rather than go back to school.

We agree that his results are due to the fact that he is being treated as an adult not a child, or worse a "teenager", and allowed to work at his own pace rather than being held back to the average.

I think there is a lesson here worth considering; that as we treat our children with confidence and respect, knowing what they are capable of achieving, and opening the cage so they can fly free, we will never be disappointed.

Kindest regards to you all, and every prosperity in the coming year.

Gil

At 3:22am on December 13, 2007, Gil Hardwick said…: This is just to let you all know I am still alive! Busy moving house, readjusting, getting on with new projects.

Will try to touch base again in the New Year.

Gil

At 9:32pm on October 31, 2007, Donna said…: Cartoonists have great perceptiveness, and a special ability to communicate by a few strokes of the pen. An amazing gift.

All the best to Michael and Graeme!

At 7:51pm on October 31, 2007, Gil Hardwick said…: Hi Donna,

He knew all along, but was persuaded by various others in his life that it was a bad thing, that super smart were nothing but trouble-makers. Well, in my case that part is true, I go out of my way to make them THINK! No pain, no gain, with that lot.

A large part of that particular problem is that some areas of state sponsored education in Western Australia are very highly politicised, and heavily influenced by socialist left ideology. The place is still very much the Wild West, and we are still working on bringing a modicum of at least passably civil conduct to the place.

With Graeme, he needed to grow up enough, to come of an age where he was able to perceive the stresses in the adult world for himself, and in that to realise what his Dad was in fact doing with all these people coming and going all the time, seeking help and support with their kids.

Michael has an entirely different talent set. Where Graeme is very scientific, excelling in mathematics, physics, chemistry; the 'hard' sciences, Michael is a cartoonist and wit. At the moment he is working as a welder, like his Dad keen to get his hands dirty learning the practical stuff.

I have a vision of him later in life becoming a monumental sculptor, creating huge works of public art with a silly cartoon-like twist to them.

He disagrees . . . . . ;-)

Gil

At 5:29pm on October 31, 2007, Donna said…: Thank you, Gil, for sharing.

How did Graeme take that long to come to realise he has a super smart dad? I guess children tend to idolise their teachers as the smarter ones in their lives.

Hope your other son has had a smoother path in education.

Were they ever tested for high IQ when younger? I have found that the magic number has helped in persuading the school to accommodate my son's needs better, and consequently has made school education more interesting and relevant, when compared to other advanced students who have not been tested.

At 7:23am on October 30, 2007, Gil Hardwick said…: Donna, thanks for your comments.

I apologise if there is a misunderstanding. Most of the long discussions Chris Harding and I had years ago were focused on ideas current at that time concerning Type A and Type B personalities. Our argument was that rather than stress out trying to "achieve", and die of early heart failure, the trick was to relax and over the many years accumulate a portfolio of work.

With kids today I advise them not to stress over failing exams, or "underachieving". Rather think about what you want to do in life, and if frustrated take a break.

My older son Graeme, as it turned out, left school at the same age and during the same part of the same year that I did. He went and worked for 18 months, and proved to himself that he could make a good living alongside grown men. His next realisation I think was that he had a very smart Dad, much smarter and certainly far more patient than his past teachers who had ill-advised him, causing him to argue with me.

Well, in the outcome he went back to complete his tertiary entry, we used to call it matriculation, but at an adult college rather than returning to high school. There, treated finally as the young adult he is in fact, he is achieving A-levels in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, all the standard entry subjects.

But then, he realised that I have access to CSIRO scientists and others influential in the various professional fields. As I had discussed with many others in the past, my advice to him too was that rather than try to get a good job and make lots of money (which is also bad advice), simply strive to excellence in your chosen field.

Then, coming to the attention of the various Deans, Readers, Examiners, and so very many others who decide these things, one day out of the blue a professor will start looking for research assistants, or lecturers or tutors, and his name will come up.

The academic world is global. It is no different here in Australia to the US or the UK, or the rest of the developed world. The same opportunities are there for everyone.

All parents need to do is realise that, and have their gifted children relax knowing that whatever happens, as they continue to excel and work patiently toward building a respectable portfolio their name will inevitably come up. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant.

C'est comme cela.

Gil

At 6:46am on October 30, 2007, Donna said…: Thank you, Gil, for inviting me to be one of your friends, which has given me a chance to visit your page and get to know you a bit better.

I am not half as intelligent as you are, but can still empathise with your disappointment when others let you down. We thrive to give our best all the time, and can't help but expect others to put in a decent effort as well. When they don't, I, speaking for myself, feel being taken for granted, and a fool for having trusted them to do their part. This can make me feel bitter or depressed, if the person letting me down is close to me.

It's great that working hard to achieve your goals works for you. I'd much prefer a more laid back solution if there is one. When I have found it, I'll definitely share it with you :)

At 8:24pm on October 23, 2007, Gil Hardwick said…: The single best thing to help depression is to have something useful and positive to achieve, a goal in sight, something to work toward. A reasonable level of acknowledgment and recognition would help also, allowing one to accumulate enough close friends to act as a buffer.

For example, one of the things I do is build custom computers for people. I can put together expert systems very quickly, and have them installed at 1/4-1/3 the price at retail. The problem for me is that I have to slow right down to a snail's pace during training and setup, else my clients simply cannot follow what I am doing.

The benefit is that I eventually managed to find a way to get through to them that what they were dealing with is a machine, and that it operates on repetitive logical steps. It is not another human, and it is not trying to be reasonable, or ingratiating like a human would. In computing that becomes an appertinence and a distraction.

So, this is interesting. It not only tells you a very great deal about computers, it also tells you a very great deal about human behaviour, not just at the interface but generally.

Suffice for the moment that my work on anthropology can bring misunderstanding.

The most part of our lives I think are thus concerned with building trust.

What is depressing is that far too many people will betray that trust, and all that work with them goes to waste. We are required to keep starting all over again, ending up doing the same jobs over and over again, wasting our lives on dishonest people, who lack integrity and who lack any reasonable concern for others.

I have to not think about that too much, else I am back on medication.

Gil

At 7:07pm on October 23, 2007, Conny said…: Dear Gil,

Thanks for sharing. It appears that gifted individuals often end up experiencing depression. It's the same for my daughter and now our son is afflicted as well. He's a great guy (will be 20 next month) who's sensitive and caring. I really believe that some woman is going to be lucky to end up with him someday. I raised him well, though not without some flaws that most guys are notorious for like not picking up after themselves :)

Anyway, I guess it's OK to add you as a friend. It's probably easier to communicate, since you will then be "cached" :)