Teaching at GHP

Continuing our examination of what those students heading your way are like…

This one is very important: they are no better at groups than regular students. In fact, they’re probably worse. Think about it: when you assign a group project, whose is the first hand in the air? It’s the gifted kid, asking if she can do it on her own.

The reason is obvious, of course: when they’re “stuck” in a group, they’re the ones who have to do all the work, either because their team mates don’t do the work, or often, because the work their team mates do is not “acceptable.”

This aspect goes hand in hand with our next item: they are opinionated and more than willing to share their opinions. Everything is a debate, an argument, and they are going to win.  (This is the main reason why we do not use competition as an instructional strategy in the classroom.)

So if you want them working in groups—and you do—then you’re probably going to have to monitor and model cooperation and division of labor. You will have to teach them how to discuss a topic, not debate it. Watch for, and take care of, the quiet ones.

Finally, and probably most importantly, look out for the impostor syndrome. That’s the still, small voice in the back of everyone’s brain that is always whispering, “What if you’re not really as smart or talented as everyone thinks you are? What if they find out you’re a fraud?”

In gifted people, that voice is a little stronger than in most people’s heads, and when the kids arrive on campus, that voice is roaring to the point that some can’t hear anything else. (You’re probably hearing it a bit yourself!)

This syndrome manifests itself in a couple of ways. You may see the kid who decides to hide: he won’t offer any ideas, he hesitates to share, he sits back and watches. He is simply not going to expose himself as the ungifted idiot that he surely is.  (And for a brilliant look at this very phenomenon, see this essay.)

Another manifestation is the kid who decides to go on the offensive and prove to you that not only is he gifted, he’s the most gifted kid in the room. He will answer all your questions, he will correct his peers, he will correct you.

Just be aware of what’s prompting these behaviors and be prepared to gently assist those students who exhibit them. By Thursday, nearly every kid has figured out that he does belong and is as happy as a clam.

By Thursday, you should have figured out basically the same thing. Welcome to GHP!

NEXT: 11. Evaluation without artifacts, part I

Let’s talk about the students you’ll be empowering this summer.

Yes, they’re gifted. (Gifted? Honey, Please…) Let’s parse what that means in terms of being prepared to deal with them effectively.

First, be aware that your students are coming from all different kinds of backgrounds. A few may be coming from The Magnet School for Kids Who Read Really Good and Can Do Other Stuff Really Good Too, but you will also have a few from Podunk Tri-Counties Area Comprehensive High.

In all seriousness, you may have a kid come up to you in the first week or so and tell you he doesn’t belong here. Feel free to remind him of all the hoops he had to jump through to get here. And offer him a counselor.

Likewise, the kid who’s truly advanced may cop an attitude of being “unchallenged.” Feel free use the line we give the parents: “I see. What are you going to do about it?” Empower that student to make it more challenging for himself.

Offer yourself for lunchtime “tutoring” or after-minors sessions. Refer the fast learners to source materials or further reading. You know what to do.  (Do you know what not to do?  Don’t take it as a personal attack on your teaching ability—even if the student means it to be.)

The second thing you need to be aware of is that these students have a very short attention span for banality. They are expecting “different,” and they have every right to do so. Don’t be giving them worksheets.

They’re very good at role-playing and self-parody: have them stage a Senate Agricultural Committee hearing or compare GHP to the Weimar Republic. They delight in whimsy: let them play childhood games in French. They seek patterns and tools: show them “here”s how you use… archetypal analysis/gas spectrometry/three-point perspective.”

Third thing: they are of course much much better at receiving and digesting information than regular kids, but even they may not get it the first time. Double-check that they’ve got it before moving on.

NEXT: The nature of the beast, part II