Why does ‘giftedness’ provoke such reactions?
How could this happen? Giftedness is a complex idea, and for people who care about gifted children, it is worth trying to understand why it provokes such violent reactions. This is important, I think, for the sake of gifted children, and it is also important for their parents. As the parent of a gifted child, I have experienced both ends of the prejudice. The parent of a dyslexic child may casually tell another parent ‘My child is dyslexic’, but no way can (or should) the parent of a gifted child do this. ‘My child is gifted’ is heard as ‘My child is better’, meaning cleverer than your child, and cleverer than other children of the same age. I have seen this rapid translation going on behind the eyebrows of parents and teachers. Along with this translation (and I swear that this is not paranoia) goes the thought: ‘Watch out for this parent’. Distrust of the parent becomes distrust of the child. She is a ‘sprot’ or a ‘boff’, the legitimate target of a host of unpleasant insults. She rea
