Stories of Life With Gifted Children

Over the years, I have heard so many fun stories from families about the students that I teach. Of course, all children do funny things. Gifted students, however, often take things in a different direction than anyone would have expected or they have that unique blend of their physical age combined with their different mental age, which can lead to some comedic happenings.

I will never forget Back To School Night during my first year teaching at a school for gifted students. I was teaching first grade. A parent raised his hand and asked what to do when his daughter opens the refrigerator to get a glass of milk and then becomes so engrossed in reading her book that she just stands there with the fridge door open, reading, oblivious to the cold or her thirst. Her dad had recently found her like this and estimated she had been standing there for twenty minutes. The whole parent group burst out laughing.

I also remember talking with the parents of three highly gifted students. They were amazed at how other parents could take their children out in strollers. They said from the moment their children could walk, they didn’t want to be in a stroller. A stroller limits a child’s explorations. Their children wanted to be out and about, interacting with the world. My son was exactly the same way. It was so fun for all of us to find each other and feel connected over this fact because we had all often felt so different from the stroller-toting families we saw around us.

It is a delight for parents of gifted students to connect with other parents of gifted students and hear their stories. For this reason, I greatly enjoyed reading Karen L. J. Isaacson’s book about her gifted family. It is called, Raisin’ Brains, Surviving My Smart Family.

Isaacson has a lot of stories to share. She is a parent of five gifted children and comes from a family of talented individuals. Her book is easy to read and entertaining. Sometimes she gets so involved in sharing stories that her chapters lose their cohesiveness but readers will enjoy the stories, even without this organization.

I appreciated hearing about the experiences of Ms. Isaacson’s children in school. It sounds like their school does have a gifted and talented program but it is also clear she has encountered a few teachers who aren’t quite sure what to do with her children academically. Upon starting kindergarten, her oldest was already reading college textbooks. His teacher, however, wouldn’t let him work on anything more challenging than ABC’s claiming, “We need to make sure he understands his letters first.” Oh, yes, I think every parent of a gifted child has met a teacher of this type. I have met many of them through my work coaching teachers to work more effectively with gifted students. As a teacher, I must say in their defense that some teachers just haven’t met many gifted students and don’t know what to do with them. What these students need, to begin with, is a teacher with an open mind and a learning attitude. Once teachers have that mindset, gifted students will benefit immensely.

I also enjoyed Ms. Isaacson’s fresh, laid-back attitude. So many parents of gifted students are pushing the students to perform at the top of their class, participate in summer programs for high-ability children, and take classes on a whole range of topics. It was interesting to read about a family that was not engaged in this frenzy. While Ms Isaacson clearly sees her children’s various abilities, she mostly lets them travel their own paths. She is there as a supportive parent but is not engaged in directing their every move and ensuring that each activity provides academic stimulation.

I hope other books of this type will follow. All of us parenting and/or teaching gifted students will enjoy hearing the stories of others and feeling the warmth of connection that comes from knowing that we are not alone on our journey.