Helping the Child with Exceptional Ability PDF
Preview Helping the Child with Exceptional Ability
HELPING THE CHILD OF EXCEPTIONAL ABILITY ROUTLEDGE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERIES Edited by Bill Gillham, Department of Psychology, University of Strathclyde ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Phyllis Hastings and Bessie Hayes INDEPENDENCE TRAINING FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN Doris W.Tooze WORK PREPARATION FOR THE HANDICAPPED David Hutchinson TOYS AND PLAY FOR THE HANDICAPPED CHILD Barbara Riddick TEACHING POOR READERS IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL Christine Cassell TEACHING READING TO MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN JamesThatcher DAILY LIVING WITH A HANDICAPPED CHILD Diana Millard HANDICAPPING CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN Bill Gillham A BASIC ATTAINMENTS PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN Bill Gillham Series Foreword The Routledge Special Education Series is explicitly intended to give experienced practitioners in the helping services the opportunity to present a wide range of remedial programmes and techniques which they have developed in practice. The basis of the editorial policy is the belief that there exists much ‘good practice’ which warrants wider dissemination in book form. The present project is, therefore, concerned with the communication of ideas and methods developed by those who use them in their working lives. Helping the Child of Exceptional Ability is a book for teachers and parents, and anyone else who seeks to understand more about ‘giftedness’ and the way it can affect a child’s progress and relationships. It is not a document based on formal research, nor does it seek to be a teaching manual. It presents a personal view of the implications for a child, the family and the school, when that child demonstrates exceptional talents or precocious intellectual ability. B.G. Helping the Child of Exceptional Ability SUSAN LEYDEN First published 1985 by Croom Helm Ltd This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 1985 Susan Leyden All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Leyden, Susan Helping the child of exceptional ability (Routledge special education series) 1. Gifted children—Education. I. Title 371.95 LC3993 ISBN 0-203-97397-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-05173-8 (Print Edition) Contents Preface Chapter 1. Introduction: Beyond ‘Normal’ Expectation 1 Chapter 2. Infant Stages 5 Crying 7 Sleep 10 Play and Exploration 12 The Development of the Self Concept 16 Chapter 3. The Pre-school Years 19 Widening Horizons 19 Relating to Other Children 20 Family Relationships 25 Chapter 4. Formal Schooling Begins: The Case for Partnership 29 Two ‘Problems’ for the Psychologist 29 Reviewing Teaching Methods and Resources 34 Reducing a Child’s Frustration 35 Avoiding Isolation 36 Chapter 5. Individual Needs and Collective Rights: A Question 39 of Balance in the Primary Years Pupils: 39 Belonging to a Group Experiencing Success and Risking Failure Learning Styles Personal Contact Time vi Teachers: 45 Personal and Professional Qualities Resources and Support Within the School Parents: 50 Shared Help and Information Parents’ Expectations Chapter 6. Transition: A Case for Professional Co-operation 53 Puberty 55 The Implications for Exceptional Children 56 Ways of Meeting the Problem 57 Chapter 7. The Secondary Phase: Adolescence Exemplified 61 Chapter 8. Creating a Climate for Growth 67 The Recognition of Exceptional Intellectual Ability 68 Class Organisation and Learning Opportunities 72 The Prejudice of Sex Stereotypes 77 The Handicap of High Achievement 81 Endpiece 85 Appendix A. Summary of Methods Used for Assessing Ability 87 Appendix B. Intelligence Testing and Exceptional Ability 89 Appendix C. Behavioural Checklists to Help in the Recognition of 91 Exceptional Ability Appendix D. Bloom’s Taxonomy 93 Appendix E. Providing Opportunities for Intellectual Growth 95 Further Reading 99 About the Author 103 Index 105 Preface Public interest in the care and education of exceptionally able children tends to wax and wane according to current political and economic concerns. Whether or not such interest is topical or fashionable at any given time, the fact remains that exceptionally able children exist. They live within their families; they attend our schools; they are loved and cared for by their parents; and they are taught and guided by their teachers. Parents and teachers are not primarily concerned whether there is a national interest in certain labelled groups of children. They are concerned with individuals, with the child they know; and for whom they strive to do their best to promote a healthy and happy development. Exceptionally able children are first and foremost children. Their need for love, understanding and acceptance is as great as that of any other child. Love may be readily available to them. Understanding and acceptance may prove more difficult. The picture presented here is the result of several years spent working with pupils, parents and teachers, and of listening to children describe their experiences. The interpretation owes much to the author’s own search for understanding about the growth of self-knowledge and the management of relationships. All children described are based on actual case studies, though the names and some details have been altered in the interests of maintaining confidentiality. The book could not have been written without encouragement and support from many people, particularly Ethel Milroy for the experience and wisdom she so generously shared; Bill Gillham for suggesting it in the first place, and for constant trust in its development; Gervase Leyden for his support and patience, and helpful comment. I am grateful for the excellent photographs by Jan Siegieda and Sam Grainger (p. 16) which illustrate the book, while Marvin Close’s witty cartoons prevent it from being altogether too serious. Above all, thanks must be due to the children themselves and their parents, who through their generosity and willingness to share their thoughts enabled me to learn. S.L. viii CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Beyond ‘Normal’ Expectation Katie was a startlingly pretty child with a mass of auburn curls, huge blue eyes, and dimples. She sang with a true clear voice, took dancing and guitar lessons, and enjoyed writing stories. She was an avid reader. She was also an out-going child, very much at ease in the company of adults whom she liked to entertain with bright social conversation. She was confident in manner, even a little gracious. Her parents adored her; I disliked her on sight. For Katie was only 3 years old. Poor Katie. Apart from her doting parents, no-one felt comfortable in her presence. Everything about her jarred one’s expectations. First there was the contrast within the family. Both parents were in their late 40s when Katie was born, and both were as plain as she was beautiful. They were usually taken to be her grandparents. Then there was the mismatch between her age and the manner and content of her conversation. The unexpectedness of it, the discomfort of being addressed in such adult terms by such a tiny child aroused a sense of indignation and disapproval in those who met her. On top of all this were the surprising accomplishments. A 3-year-old is just not expected to be able to do all the things that she did, and with such evident enthusiasm. Katie was something discordant. She was an exceptional child— and no-one liked her. Another example. A friend came to tea bringing with him Anthony, his 9-year- old son. Seated round the table we talked of this and that, of mundane affairs, ordinary concerns, until someone asked the boy about his interest in some science project. From an awkward and rather taciturn lad, he became transformed: his eyes lit up, his hands moved rapidly in the air, words poured forth—theories were expounded, experiments explained in lengthy and (for us) confusing detail, research findings elaborated, hypotheses raised only to be discarded, and the whole peppered with references and personages and texts beyond the understanding and experience of any others present. The rest of the company watched with mounting feelings of amazement and dismay. I remember thinking that we were hearing something remarkable, that Anthony was displaying a level of understanding and knowledge that was not at all in keeping with his age. I was also aware of the general discomfort and unease that this was causing. We simply did not know how to respond. We understood almost nothing of what he was saying. He, on the other hand, was so engrossed in his subject, and so caught up in the telling, that he left no room at all for the
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