Who Can Talk About Giftedness?
As parents, teachers, and volunteers in gifted education, we may be acutely aware of how our culture reacts to the term and phenomenon of giftedness, and we likely have seen a variety of responses to individuals who are gifted and discussions of giftedness among learners – ranging from negative to positive. When we consider the lightning-rod effect the term giftedness can have, it is no surprise that gifted children become socialized to the often mystifying reactions to others’ understanding of giftedness and become guarded about when and how they talk about themselves as gifted students. Even when listeners are themselves gifted, the atmosphere that surrounds conversations about giftedness can be polarizing, as was the case in a recent class where an individual began to share his story of being a gifted learner. As a faculty member at a large urban institution, I am often invited to a variety of graduate and undergraduate classes to share information about gifted individuals – and my
