Do you ever wonder if your child is gifted in math?
We’ve been having a discussion on gifted children at the Living Math Forum. We’ve discussed a few definitions of gifted.
Here’s my definition (from the thread):
All parents should treat their children like tiny bundles of brilliance. And indeed all children ARE gifted. Right out of the womb. It isn’t until the grownups get to them and try to teach them “reality” that they lose that ability. Want a gifted child? Treat them as gifted from the get-go.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Lots of people have responded.
The “official” definition of gifted.
If you’re a classroom teacher or parent, you know about that. You have to differentiate between who is gifted and who isn’t. This ensures the appropriate children get placed in the right learning environment.
A child is “gifted” if the local testing center says he is.
Some kids have “different brain-wiring.”
Another definition that was discussed was of a neurological nature. Many kids just “get” math while some kids struggle.
But that doesn’t mean the strugglers can’t do math. It merely means that they will likely be brilliant writers, politicians and historians, not mathematicians.
This definition makes my thought of “every child is gifted in math” fly out the window. Indeed every child is “special” and everyone thinks in their own ways. But some people are wired in a way that lets them “see” things more easily than the rest of us.
Math intuitives are one of these groups. I’ve recently encountered a couple of math intuitives – people who will “see” an answer to a math problem without having to do any of the work. One of these even can do Sudoku this way (to the frustration of her father).
Others in this group are true child prodigies. I’m not sure if this is merely an intuitive who is nurtured or actually different. But there are children that amaze scientists and mathematicians.
Every child is still gifted!
Regardless of how you look at it, we all do math. Like Daughter’s pediatrician told us: “We’re all potty-trained.” Indeed – we are all potty-trained and we all do math. On some level. It’s natural. It’s intuitive.
And I still hold that if the grownups stay out of the way, the kids will do all the math their brains are built to do!
What’s your definition of gifted? Are your children/students gifted?
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