Dr. Linda Karges-Bone goes through her little mnemonic for the word G-I-F-T-E-D ("G" = "
Gets ideas effortlessly", etc.) and she comes up with a great definition. (see video below)
With four children who have all been tested and labelled as "gifted", I've had over twenty years to come up with my own definition. And the picture that keeps coming to mind is the first time I dropped my oldest child off at the gifted program in our small town in Illinois. I wasn't sure where to take her, but the crossing guard told me to look for the crowd of parents. The bell rang, and the screaming horde of kids milling around the playground sorted itself into lines of children heading into the building. All except for one group, which consisted of at least one and usually two parents for each child. Obviously, we'd found our line. I recognized the intensity of the parents' expressions from my own mirror. Sure, each of these children was bright -- some amazingly so -- but at that moment I realized that the one gift they shared in common was the commitment of their parents.
I know that we cannot be the only family who moved to Bellevue because of the opportunities offered by the school system here. But I also know that these opportunities are only available because our community has decided to make all of our children "gifted". I'm grateful for this rare and special commitment, and I'd like to start off this blog with a public THANK YOU to those who have worked so hard to make this possible -- the amazing teachers, committed parents, the farsighted district administrators -- and of course, our children.
NOTE: to respond to this post, click on the "comments" icon below. For more information about the Gifted Program in the Bellevue Schools, see
contacts at
http://www.bsd405.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1551
