The Stereotypical Gifted Child:
Gifted Stereotypes, the stereotypical gifted child, and stereotyping gifted children
An introduction to the stereotypical gifted child and ideas for discussing gifted stereotypes with adults and children.
Arriving to school on time, the stereotypical gifted child proceeds eagerly to her classroom where, consistently on-task, she masters each new skill with ease. At lunchtime another model of gifted stereotypes walks to a bench where he places his sandwich, peeled baby carrots, juice box and cookies onto the lunch sack he has unfolded in front of him. He eats, cleans up his area, then reads quietly until hearing the bell signaling a return to class. As the gifted stereotype asserts: all gifted children are always well behaved, mature, and easy to teach. A stereotypical gifted child never breaks the rules, question adults' decisions, or balks at learning. Now for two truths: gifted children are children first, and, like stereotyping in general, assumptions drawn from gifted stereotypes are misleading at best, and at their worst, hurtful.
Stereotyping is created out of ignorance; a lack of information or understanding about a subject. Gifted stereotyping, then, serves to group individuals with unique or unfamiliar characteristics into a "one-size-fits-all" category. This categorization can cause conflict within the psyche of a gifted child already navigating the social seas of conformity, and can frustrate parents who may be perceived as over-protective, arrogant or elitist. In an effort to challenge the stereotypes of gifted children and the programs designed for their benefit, it is up to adults to address gifted issues in a straightforward and level-headed manner. It is central to the well-being and development of gifted children that parents strive also to address instances of child-initiated stereotyping early on rather than attempting to remedy later events.
Begin discussing stereotypes at an early age. A four-year old may not yet be prepared to internalize all of the subtleties of the term stereotyping, but if your child won't play with someone because of a physical attribute or social characteristic such as, "his hair is funny," or "she eats weird stuff at lunch," or "they use a different word for boo-boo," the subject has already been broached and conversation can continue in a straightforward manner. Adult responses such as, "do you think the way he combs his hair will make him a bad friend; why?" or "remember when you thought burritos were yucky, and then you tried one?" or "how many different ways can you think of to say boo-boo?"
Level-headed communication is the best first-step in eliminating assumptions caused by gifted stereotyping.
