Article: Can Emotional Intelligence be Taught?

Recently at our GT parent meeting, I stressed the importance of addressing the "affective" or "social/emotional" aspect of growing up gifted. This New York Times article discusses some of the current, ongoing research on the topic. Here are a couple excerpts from the article that might entice you to read more:

"...school is an emotional cauldron  a constant stream of academic and social challenges that can generate feelings ranging from loneliness to euphoria. Educators and parents have long assumed that a child’s ability to cope with such stresses is either innate — a matter of temperament — or else acquired “along the way,” in the rough and tumble of ordinary interaction. But in practice, Brackett says, many children never develop those crucial skills."

"So-called noncognitive skills — attributes like self-restraint, persistence and self-awareness — might actually be better predictors of a person’s life trajectory than standard academic measures. A 2011 study using data collected on 17,000 British infants followed over 50 years found that a child’s level of mental well-being correlated strongly with future success."

Here is the URL to the article in case you have trouble with the link above: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/magazine/can-emotional-intelligence-be-taught.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine

Read More

1st Grade Update: 8 Kinds of Smart

What does it mean to be "gifted" at something? Does being gifted mean being smart at everything? These are some basic but very important questions we've been answering with some bibliotherapy (using literature as a self-learning tool) the first few weeks of 1st grade GT.

We used a series of wonderful books by the actor John Lithgow. Each book is centered on a character with a special, but specific, type of giftedness. For Farkle McBride it's musical talent. For Macawber it's artistic talent. And for Marsupial Sue it ends up being intrapersonal intelligence.

After reading and enjoying the journeys of these characters, we took our own inventory called "8 Kinds of Smart" based on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. After, we completed some reflection questions and graphed the results to get a visual of how our 8 types of smart compared.

Since this was a self-reflection, results may not have been completely accurate. However, the important thing was the process of reflection and the understanding that giftedness comes in many shapes and sizes.

We've now begun our study of inventors by researching the life of Thomas Edison. The challenge level will be high and we'll be looking to push our limits as first grade learners.

Read More