INTRODUCTION

Go get a piece of paper.Now,write down the name of someonewhose gifts, talents, bilities, intellect, and contributions you admire. It can be a famous person, a dead person, a person who made a difference in your personal life. Now, here is the question for you: How well did that person do in school? Did she get 100% on spelling tests each week? Did he graduate at the top of the class? Did she get an A on that science fair project? Did he go to an Ivy League university? Perhaps you aren’t sure. The person I most admire didn’t even finish high school. He was viewed by his teachers as lacking in imagination. He came from a family where his father was very strict and oppressive. As an adult, he had a drinking problem and was a chain smoker. Many of the people who worked for him felt he was a very difficult boss who was brutal in his criticism of their work. On the upside, he was a great father and husband. He was generous, often taking no salary so that his employees could be paid. Have you guessed the person I most admire? It’s Walt Disney. The point of this exercise is to remind us at the outset that giftedness is not always about school performance. School is such a small part of the lives of our gifted students; their minds often are elsewhere. Some gifted students might not be good students but they could be excellent scholars. Just keep this in mind as we examine, Who are the gifted?