I have been reading many articles trying to understand what is a gifted kid and how to
determine a gifted kid as where I grew up there is no such thing as “gifted kid”. But from what I read I could not find any straight definition of a gifted kid exists, so it's quite likely that they aren't! From other articles as I was reading things that a kid can do to be titled as a "gifted kid", I started to think if those are what they make a kid to be labeled as “gifted kid” then many of “us” in Africa would be categorized as “gifted”.
Where I grew up the school system/society believes that all kids are the same but the only deference is how fast each child processes data. Though at one school I attended back then they used to put kids in classes according to their aptitudes but at the end of the year we all had to take the same standardized final exam. To me honesty that is what I believe, there are faster learners, average learners and slow learners but all if are enabling and well nurturing will become brilliance in something.
I self taught how to read and don’t remember when I first started to read but what I finished reading the whole New Testament from first page to the last page at the age five. I think many who grew up in Africa know those small black soft cover New Testaments that every Christian home owns one. I am a preacher’s kid so in our home we had so many of those small New Testaments so that automatic became my first book. From 6 to 12 yrs old we lived very nearby the church that my dad was a pastor so we had access to all church facilities at any time. By age 12 I was playing many music instruments such as a guitar, piano, drum, flute and even a saxophone. But I haven’t touched any of those music instruments since then but a piano and when I took a piano class I was the same just as other students. I was learning how to read music notes that I didn’t do back then. I don’t know if I get a guitar today I will be able to play it again like the way I used to.
Now my daughter has been ahead of many of her milestones. By age 2 she was already knew her ABCs, shapes, colors, recognized the entire upper and lower cases, counted up to 20 in English, up to 10 in Swahili, Spanish and Mandarin – Chinese. She started to read or recognize different words by 28 months. She is very curious and has a very long attention span when she wants to learn something new. Another thing that started to creepy me out is her memory. She remember things that she saw when she was just 12 months..The thing I have to admit is that I started to read books loud to her when I was around seven months pregnant and have been reading to her everyday since she was born...She will soon be 3 yrs old and I have never used any of those Einstein DVDs or whatsoever.
But many people when they see what she can do are quick to point out that she could be a “gifted kid”. Do I think that she is a gifted kid? …Yes, she is a gift from God so are all other kids. I am a faster learner and I have noticed that she is a faster learner too like me. So I don’t think that is big of a deal. It just makes my job a little bit easier that I don’t have to repeat many things over and over and over again for her to understand.
I am kind of curious to know who and what they do now all of those kids who went to “gifted” classes? I went to different colleges, working in so many different places and I have never met any student/co-worker who told me he/she was a "gifted" kid growing up…Where do they go to live or work after school? Many of rocket scientists are just normal kids, many of people who created brilliant things are just normal kids growing up. They were not labeled as "gifted kid". Is there such this as “gifted kid”? Can't we build a better brain?
