Specialist training in teaching gifted children
Bernadette is a high school teacher. Her special interest has always been language teaching. First she was a teacher of Latin, but now she teaches English. After thirty years of teaching and administration, Bernadette completed the Certificate of Gifted Education through distance education at the University of New South Wales. Over a period of eighteen months, there were twenty-three days of university lectures and five assignments completed off-campus. As the only New Zealander in her group, she enjoyed the insight she gained into a different educational system. However, the most stimulating aspect was her research involving gifted children in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Profiles of the gifted children Bernadette worked with
The Mathematician
Michael was an eleven year old Chinese boy who resided close to the University of Canterbury. Achievement and application to studies are a hallmark of his family. His twenty-eight year old brother was engaged in post-graduate Space Research studies at Cambridge University; his sister completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours when she was aged fifteen. Three years after meeting Michael, Bernadette comments that he is currently studying Stage 2 Mathematics and Computer Science.

The Linguist
Morag spoke clearly but quietly. An Audiology test, administered at the start of schooling, had diagnosed a total loss of hearing in the right ear. She had obvious verbal ability, knew grammar well, possessed an extensive vocabulary, especially in French and German, and demonstrated a talent for creative thinking and a concern for justice. Morag now studies Political Science towards a Bachelor of Arts Degree, but is considering a second Degree in Law.

A Permanent Resident in New Zealand
Daniel was enrolled in pre-school in Canada, and later attended a self-contained centre for the gifted at Queen Elizabeth Junior/Senior High School in Calgary. He attended that school of 1,200 students ranging from Grade 7 (aged 12+) to grade 12 (aged 17+) for three years, as a considerably younger child. He is now focused on playing in a band, and his creativity is a crucial aspect of his giftedness.

Children gifted in a particular area may be in any class
Bernadette stresses that to be teaching gifted children a teacher does not have to be teaching a class of children rated as having high ability. She has become increasingly aware of the importance of focusing on the individual differences in each child and working to these differences as much as possible in her teaching.

Creativity needs to be nurtured
If a student has a special interest in a particular type of writing, for instance, it is important to nurture the interest the child has because that is where the creativity lies, and the more that creativity is nurtured the more it will develop.

Giftedness in the use of language
One of the ways in which giftedness in a language programme surfaces is in the use of a wide vocabulary and a curiosity about the meaning of words. Bernadette emphasises that it is important for the teacher to respect the writer and never to replace an ordinary word with one which the teacher thinks is more appropriate. It is better to put a question mark after the word and put in an option, leaving the power with the writer to choose whether or not to use the word suggested by the teacher. This will often lead to the writers' arguing the case for their own choice of word. This is a fun approach and engenders enjoyment of words.

Bernadette enjoys words herself and attributes this to two experiences - first to her study of Latin and secondly to a book which her mother ordered when Bernadette was about twelve years - 'Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary'. The book had probably been ordered for her mother, but Bernadette devoured it. It made her fascinated by words. Her students too enjoy the challenge that they can extend their vocabulary and that there is power in a wider vocabulary.

Teaching is empowering the student
Maybe it is writing where some students have difficulty. Acknowledging when they learn to write more in a given time lifts them over one of the big barriers to learning. It is empowering for them to see that they can move ahead and get to different milestones, and even better if they can set their own milestones.

Giftedness can be a burden
A common fallacy about giftedness is that it is always positive and makes life and schooling easy, whereas in actual fact it can be a burden to carry. Many adults can respect the giftedness and any unusual actions and reactions that result from it. Peers often hold back and may refer to the gifted person in derogatory terms.

Sometimes the gifted child can be out of sync in development so that a young child might be ahead intellectually and emotionally but be developing physically at a slower rate. This could mean that in intellectual exercises the child may be ahead, but in learning to ride a bike, for instance, slow to learn such a skill. Bernadette remembers teaching music to a seven year old child who could understand all that was involved, but with her tiny fingers she could not span the keys - a frustrating experience. This is an extreme example of the problems of the gifted child's uneven development, but it is common for the gifted child to be out of sync with his/her peers in some activities. It can be worrying for the child and a matter of concern for the parents.

How do we recognise the gifted child?
Such a child shows intellectual curiosity and interest in divergent thinking or exploring and questioning ideas, and such enthusiasm for a topic that there is reluctance to let go of it. Such a student prefers to go in depth into an area of interest rather than going wide. They are often diverted into such detailed discussion of part of a topic that they cannot discipline themselves into giving a fair coverage of all the requested aspects. Another characteristic in a young child is the tendency to focus on issues that are worrying, such as death, nuclear disaster and earthquakes.

Testing for giftedness
The three characteristics that have been identified by psychologists are above average intelligence, creativity, and commitment to tasks. While parents may like to think that their child is gifted they may want to look for some reassurance from an educational psychologist. There are tests for children from a very young age.

Does giftedness sometimes lead to an uncooperative attitude or disruptiveness?
Under-achievement in gifted children is a major area of research study and as a high school teacher Bernadette thinks this is a problem that must be guarded against, especially in sixteen or seventeen year olds. Sometimes a student will say that s/he is going to take the next year off. This is probably linked with under-achievement which may be causing frustration. It is possible that they have not been challenged sufficiently to keep their energy in their tasks. It could also be resentment at the confines of a syllabus and the restrictions that must be placed on students.

Just as we give extra attention to students who are struggling at the fringe of the group, so those in the vanguard need to be recognised too, as it is as lonely in the vanguard as it is in the rearguard. The happiest place is in the middle.

Latin taught to gifted young pupils
In her last semester in 1996 Bernadette was lectured to by Joyce van Tassel Baska, who taught Latin to eight year olds, giving them the grammar of the language as a key to unlock the code. She showed them how to work the grammar, and then moved into teaching the language. She is a very charismatic lecturer with the emphasis always on the process rather than the product of learning.

Bernadette involved
Inspired by her example Bernadette went home and wrote her own course on Latin as it impacts on English, which has been the basis of her three language workshops at the University of New South Wales for gifted primary school students aged nine to twelve years.

Parents' roles
Bernadette believes that it is important where children are profoundly gifted that healthy links are maintained between the parent and the school. She met some outstanding students on campus in Sydney and in each case the parents seemed very central to the students' self-esteem and self-awareness.

Mentors important
The theorists talk about mentorship and the importance for gifted students of having regular contact with a mentor who shares the student's special interest.

Giftedness not to be seen as solely intellectual
Parents continue to play a major supportive role in developing their children's gifts as they ferry them to sports training, craft classes, dancing, drama or music lessons.

We readily enjoy sharing the achievements of our sportspeople; we should likewise encourage the talent of our thinkers.

One gift that is seldom honoured is the gift of sensitivity in being a nurturing and caring person who is responsive in meeting human need. Empathy is a tremendous gift .