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Years ago, I learned about the term “redshirting” in relation to sports. Redshirting is the practice of holding a child back for an extra year before the start of kindergarten. It is named for the red jersey worn in intra-team scrimmages by college athletes who have been kept out of competition for a year at the inception of their career. The original logic of this year-long delay was that athletes who were bigger and stronger tended to perform better, so why not bench the younger, smaller ones for a year, allowing them a chance to grow and mature, thus giving them a competitive edge? Though initially redshirting was common in sports, many parents began to consider it to give their child an academic edge as well; they chose to hold back younger kindergarteners an extra year. And now, apparently, redshirting is increasingly prevalent among parents of would-be kindergartners, especially those who are in the highest socioeconomic group. So does it work? What are the positives and negatives? And what implications does this have for gifted education?
As I pondered this phenomenon, curiously, I came upon this article, Youngest Kid, Smartest Kid?, by Maria Konnikova in the New Yorker. Much research has been devoted to the rapid brain development of young children; it is also true that maturity can often influence a child’s performance at school. So, is it better to be “older” in kindergarten, or “younger,” or doesn’t it matter? This is where the current research got “curiouser and curiouser”. Konnikova asserts that, “The data, however, belies this assumption (that older is better). While earlier studies have argued that redshirted children do better both socially and academically—citing data on school evaluations, leadership positions, and test scores—more recent analyses suggest that the opposite may well be the case: the youngest kids, who barely make the age cutoff but are enrolled anyway, ultimately end up on top—not their older classmates.” In examining the most recent research, it was noted that the younger children do very well in classrooms with older children. This can be true for both traditional classrooms and multi-grade level classrooms. Younger children learn from their “elders” - and also strive to be like them. Though younger children may be less mature and less competitive in the early grades, this advantage seems to even out by middle school, and by college, these younger children often outperform their older counterparts. If you’d like to read more about this phenomenon, check out this article. The theory is that older, more capable students may be more likely to be bored and to “check out” of learning. Younger students may initially need to work harder, thus becoming more resourceful and more competitive; these are qualities that will serve them well in the long run. So what does this mean for gifted students and gifted education? First of all, I believe that this research clearly goes hand in hand with the research on acceleration. When properly done, in combination with tools such as the Iowa Acceleration Scale with its Integrated Acceleration System, we can be relatively sure that being the youngest student in a classroom is not harmful for a gifted student. For gifted children, acceleration (which will definitely make them the youngest in their classroom) is probably the most beneficial option to further their development. Gifted children are often resilient, resourceful, curious, and exceptionally eager to learn; why would we want to hold them back? When the challenge is appropriate, children will rise to meet it. Of course, the decision to redshirt a child is totally up to the parents/caregivers, but as more research emerges, my hope is that parents will consider both the benefits and the challenges when they make their decision. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. Together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.)
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In months past we have devoted several columns in our newsletters to the promotion of the arts for all children - specifically music and the visual arts. It seems appropriate to devote time to the dramatic arts as well - theater, plays, musicals, forensics, debate, improv, pantomime, puppetry, etc.
Though some classify television and film as the dramatic arts, most often people think of the dramatic arts as arts that are performed live. All these arts tell stories in their own ways, and many are performed in a specific venue, such as a theater. (Interestingly the word theatre, or theater, derives from the ancient Greek word, theatron, which means “seeing place.”) In this sense, drama helps us “to see” life and experience it in many different ways. It also is a huge opportunity to showcase talent and to build life skills. It is no secret that many gifted children, adolescents, and adults love drama. Many have a flair for the flamboyant, a love of make-believe or an extension of reality, a penchant for self-expression, and a willingness to put themselves “in the spotlight” for their enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. Dramatic people often seem “larger than life,” and are a delight to behold. Though some children embrace drama early on, others grow into it with exposure and encouragement, and sadly, some never learn to experience its charms. But for all, drama can be highly beneficial. Some major benefits include these:
In a recent article in the Washington Post entitled, How Theater Can Teach Our Kids to be More Empathetic, author Alexandra Moe proposes that the communication skills and empathy often developed by dramatic activities “are the most essential skills for navigating American adult life.” She cites articles about happiness in relationships and marriage, ascendancy to leadership positions, higher self-esteem, and a correlation between academic and professional success. Additionally, dramatic learning is indeed active learning, and is beneficial for all students. So how do we encourage it in our children and students? Ideas for the home include:
For educators:
Above all, enjoy the gifts of the arts and share those gifts with children. As always, I welcome your ideas. Together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) Happy New Year, everyone! By now, many of you have probably made (and broken) some New Year’s resolutions 😂. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to continue to question the way things have always been done in my life and beyond, and so it was with great interest that I began reading this book, Talent Development as a Framework for Gifted Education: Implications for Best Practice and Implementations in Schools. Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Ph.D., Rena F. Subotnik, Ph.D., and Frank C. Worrell, Ph.D are the editors, with numerous highly acclaimed contributing authors.
This book examines how we have traditionally approached gifted and talented education, and how it is probably time to shift our thinking. The authors propose shifting our thinking to supporting a talent development model. Coincidentally, Dr. Mark Schwingle, our Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Gifted and Talented Consultant, has been exploring the concept of talent development in his series of “Transforming G/T Teaching and Learning” meetings, and introduced this book to the group in December. I was immediately fascinated, because I have been increasingly sensing the need to change my thinking about gifted education. To give you a little background about the book, editor Olsewski-Kubilius has been designing, studying, and implementing out-of-school programs for gifted students for decades. Subotnik’s foci have been on talent development in specific domains and the role that the development of psychosocial skills plays in talent development. Worrell’s expertise is in the areas of cognitive, psychological, and cultural factors that contribute to talent development. Together these editors and many contributing authors have compiled a compelling case for talent development as the most promising emergent model for gifted education. While many states currently still have laws on their books that refer to high-ability/high-potential learners as gifted and talented students, and services for them as gifted and talented programs, I have been detecting a growing movement away from this terminology. Instead, much more emphasis has been placed on defining our work as talent development, and in my estimation, this makes a lot of sense. First, the words gifted and talented have been fraught with negative connotations; the term talent development is much more acceptable, and, in many cultures, talent development is highly revered. Talent development is supported in sports and in the arts, and very few question the premise that people have inherent talents that need to be developed in those areas. In fact, many countries devote enormous resources to promote talent development and to celebrate its existence. If we could extend the conversation about talent development to our field (and to academic and intellectual talents), perhaps discussions would be more productive and the results more promising for our students. Talent development also has great potential to be much more inclusive than typical gifted programming; traditionally overlooked students could reap the benefits of a talent prospecting and talent development model. Finally, an argument for talent development is that it promises benefits to society and, especially, to individuals. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theater director, and critic once said that “People born with talents they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using them.” Talent development is key to self-fulfillment. So, what is talent development? How does it look like traditional gifted programming, and how does it differ from it? How can we question our thinking, shift our thinking, and get others to consider shifting their thinking…to question the way we have always done things, and to move into new possibilities? Here are some of the major points made in this book, which are worth considering on our journey: · Abilities (talents) are domain specific and must be supported. This means specific programming, specific resourcing, and specific mentoring is imperative. We can no longer support generic gifted and talented programs. · Domains of talent have different trajectories; some begin early, some later, some peak earlier, some peak later. This must be understood and supported. Using domain specific research to guide us, programming will be more efficacious. · Opportunities must be offered AND opportunities must be taken. These opportunities must be equitable, and special attention should be paid to students and families who will need help with access, encouragement, and support. · Talent development is the development of important mental skills. · Talent development is also the development of important psychosocial skills; to fully develop talent, attention must be paid to the whole person, both cognitively and affectively. · Talent development requires long-term planning. While we are providing services in the present, we must also “future plan”. What does talent development look for this child as he/she develops? How can we best provide systematic and continuous support along the way? · The true measure of successful talent development is achievement. Some of our students will be high-ability; others will be high-potential, but all will demonstrate the development of their talent through achievement over time. To really understand the paradigm shifts suggested, you need to read the whole book and then sit with your thoughts for a while. How could you move your current thinking and programming to a talent development model? What would need to change? A new year always suggests new possibilities; here is a new model for us to consider. I look forward to continued discussions on this topic in the future, and as always, I welcome your ideas because together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor, WATG (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) It is no secret that many gifted kids find school tasks easy. They learn quickly and sail through assignments, homework, and new learning with ease. That is…until they “meet their Waterloo.” Because learning has always been easy, many gifted kids have not learned the skills necessary to tackle difficult work, persevere, work through failure, organize themselves and their material, and cope with frustration when the learning no longer comes easily. Seth Perler, an authority on the topic of executive functioning, calls these skills (and others) executive functioning skills. In its simplest terms, Perler asserts that executive functioning is simply “the ability to get stuff done” (homework, writing a paper or cleaning a bedroom, etc.) In other words, executive functioning is the ability to “execute” complex tasks from inception to completion.
For many adults who have spent a lifetime honing their executive functioning skills, it seems that these skills should be relatively easy to master, especially by gifted kids, but as Cole Porter once said, “it ain’t necessarily so…” Things that sound simple to adults can require more executive functioning skills than some kids have. So often when kids fail, adults label this as a “won’t” problem, when it could also be a “can’t” problem. For example, when many children fail to turn in their homework, it is easy to assume that they don’t want to do it, they procrastinate, or they simply didn’t find it worthwhile…a “won’t” problem. What if, instead, this was framed as a “can’t…” problem -- they can’t remember that they even have homework, they didn’t remember to pack the necessary supplies from school, they began the assignment and got distracted, they began the assignment again and ran out of time, they forgot to put it in their backpack, or forgot to put their name on it, or completely forgot to turn it in? All these steps require executive functioning skills – planning, having a system, writing things down, judging how much time something will take to accomplish, finishing a task to completion and checking for detail, etc. And all these skills can be taught. Many experts on executive function have broken it down into various categories, and the ones most often mentioned are:
It is not surprising that the transition to middle school often exacerbates problems with executive functioning skills in students. There is an increasingly heavy demand on executive functions associated with transition to middle school, e.g., more changing of classes, more demands for organizational skills, study skills, and planning. Additionally, different teachers often have differing expectations, and many teachers no longer focus on organizational skills as was more common in elementary school. Some students may hold it together in middle school and begin to experience more difficulty in high school as they try to juggle homework, co-curriculars and extra-curriculars, home responsibilities, jobs, free time, and friendships. Still others meet their greatest challenges when they begin college or enter the military or workforce, and this is often a time when they do not have as much support nearby. So how can we help our kids? How can we discover the skills that our kids “can’t” do and support them as they learn how to master these skills? Though this article does not provide enough space to fully examine all the things that we can do, here are some resources that many parents, counselors, and therapists have shared. Two of them, Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary “Executive Skills” Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential and Smart but Scattered Teens: The "Executive Skills" Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential are most frequently mentioned. There are even books and articles that support adults who struggle with executive functioning skills! Using a search engine will give you many ideas, and be sure to check out the work of Seth Perler, a leading authority on this topic. Here is an article to get you started; it talks about the emotional components affecting executive functioning as well as the obvious difficulties that students may have executing tasks. It also gives ways to support students and families, and when and how to ask for help. Above all, let’s try not to label kids as “won’ts” when it is entirely possible that they are “can’ts” (remember: the messages that we inadvertently send to kids become their inner perceptions) – and then let’s provide the skills and practice that will help them become “cans” and “wills”. The payoff will be great! As always, I welcome your thoughts. Together we grow! Jackie Drummer, WATG Past President and Current Board Advisor (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) During this last month, I have had the great fortune to be in Guatemala City awaiting the birth of our seventh grandchild. Several times each week, we watch our 2 year old granddaughter (and her Papa) at swimming lessons at the outdoor aquatic center. This center, Waterproof Swim Academy, Academia de Natación, serves thousands of children and adults each week. It has a huge heated pool, and is staffed by many talented instructors.
While observing children, adolescents, and adults learning to swim, I was struck by how successfully the Academy’s instructors differentiate. It is both natural and expected. As a retired K-12 and college instructor, I have helped many teachers learn to differentiate with skill, and I found myself watching the Academy’s swim lessons through that lens. First of all, when students begin a series of lessons, they are immediately pre-tested to determine their level of placement in classes. This is not dependent on age, size, grade level, or any other factor, except for readiness. Swimmers are flexibly grouped. As they master fundamental skills in each level, they are quickly moved to the next level of challenge in a different part of the pool. Some children are moved quickly; their learning time is compacted. Others may have difficulty mastering a skill, and then steps are taken to remediate. For example, with the littlest of swimmers, I saw some students quickly move through activities and into more complex ones – from sitting at the edge of the pool, to blowing bubbles, to jumping off of a floating mat into the arms of an adult, to diving for pool rings. It amazed me. No one had to wait for others to master a skill in order to move on to a new skill. I also watched older children learn to jump off of a swimmer’s podium for the first time. Some students were ready and willing – they did not need assistance or huge amounts of encouragement. Others needed an adult waiting in the water for them as they sat on the edge of the podium, shaking. Still others jumped in with the instructor, hand in hand for security, and a tiny group of swimmers simply watched until their courage, curiosity, and skill became synchronized. As students finished their jumps, everyone cheered, and students moved on to other activities. It was clear that each session had a defined set of goals, and many interest and learning opportunities, almost like centers in a classroom. I watched young children learning to dive. Some children made spectacular belly flops, and were given specific steps, tools, and encouragement to help them improve. Others were “on their way” and needed help to get more “lift and arch” into their dives; they jumped over outstretched paddle boards and through hula hoops. For advanced divers, the instructors tiered the assignment even more fully; they gave specific tips and feedback – “keep your elbows closer to your ears,” or “keep your heels touching,” for example. It was fantastic to analyze the work of the instructors, and the progress of the students. Finally I turned my attention to the adolescent swimmers and the adult swimmers. Though most of them were competent swimmers, they too needed coaching and differentiation. At the end of laps, these swimmers often conferred with their coaches. I saw questioning at work; though I was too far away to overhear conversations, it was clear that the questions (and answers) were directed at improving skills. With this excellent, just-in-time feedback, swimmers were motivated to improve their prowess. Differentiation can and should happen wherever learning takes place. Sometimes seeing excellent differentiation in a different context can provide us with tools to try in our own context. I hope this “deep dive” into differentiation went “swimmingly'' for you; I hope I “floated” some ideas that you will think about and try. As always, I welcome your ideas. Together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor WATG P.S. Our grandson, Nico, was born on November 4th! (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) It is no secret that students who are gifted intellectually and/or in various academic areas are served most frequently in our schools. Many have postulated why this is so, and most often the reason given is that these areas are most easily quantified, and this is probably true. In previous newsletter articles, much attention has been paid to the academic and intellectual needs of gifted students, and to the benefits of challenges in these areas for them. Likewise, we have focused on creativity, leadership, and the visual arts in recent publications, but have not focused on the benefits of challenge and support in music education.
Disclaimer: As I began to research this topic, my heart was filled with gratitude for the joys and challenges that music has brought into my life, so I have a special place for music in my heart. As a choral musician with 42 years performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Milwaukee Master Singers, various area chamber groups, as a soloist, and as a church musician, music has been a constant source of challenge, inspiration, and comfort in my life. It has “soothed the savage beast,” “opened many of life’s doors,” and given me a glimpse of heaven on earth. It has also frustrated me, taught me patience and perseverance, humbled me, and helped me become a better educator. Music has also afforded me countless hours of “flow,” that space where we are so engrossed that we are oblivious to time and place. If you’d like to know about the concept of “flow,” check out this TED Talk by the indomitable Mihaly Cziksentmihaly, Flow: The Secret to Happiness”. Flow can occur in many different areas of human endeavor, and provides fuel for our passions and perseverance. For many of us, however, flow occurs when we are making music and/or listening to music. So what other challenges and benefits does music provide? In a recent SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of Gifted, sengifted.org publication, Gail Post, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist examines this very topic. Her article is entitled, Supporting Musically Talented Children: Challenging Social and Emotional Roadblocks to Success.” The article is mostly devoted to the challenges that advanced music education can bring to gifted and talented students. She speaks of the boredom that can occur, especially during repetitive practice, the necessary match between attention span and practice, the competition from other temptations in modern-day life (phones, online distractions, friendships), and the necessity and difficulty of mastering music theory by students who “just want to make music.” Coupled with boredom, some gifted musicians may also be crippled by anxiety and perfectionism. Musically gifted children often have an internalized understanding of what something should sound like. They may have listened to recordings of famous musicians, or watched older students perform at recitals; they compare themselves to these others, and become paralyzed with their own imperfections. They may worry about performance, freezing under pressure, or being the center of attention. They may need counseling to employ tools to help them visualize, calm down, and deal with stress. If they are making music competitively, they may need tools to help them deal with the ever-increasing levels of competition, the ebb and flow of personal motivation over time, and the inevitable feelings of rejection and loss. Deep involvement in musical activities may also preclude a rich social life. Though band, orchestra, and choral activities foster community, individualized music trajectories usually require hours of solitary practice and lessons. Some students may miss social activities with peers, and may sacrifice one for the other. They may need help to weigh the pros and cons of their decisions. Finally, many young gifted musicians have concerns about entering musical fields as a career. As one climbs the talent ladder, opportunities become more scarce. Parents/caregivers and educators may either encourage or discourage the aspiring musician. Students themselves may have doubts about their ability to compete in the adult arena. However, whether they decide to choose music as a career, or to pursue music as a hobby, they will inevitably benefit from their musical training. Below are some of the many benefits of music education, according to this article, Evidence-Based Benefits of Music Education, along with the key study papers supporting each benefit. Music education:
These benefits greatly enhance success in many areas of life. It is my great hope that all children and adults experience the joys that music can bring, and that some follow their talent, passion, and dreams to high levels of achievement. As always, I welcome your thoughts. Together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President WI Association for Talented and Gifted (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) Lately much attention is being paid to the idea of a “Great Resignation” – people leaving their jobs in great numbers, and for a wide variety of reasons. The most often cited, according to this article, include retirement, relocation, reconsideration, reshuffling, and reluctance. The first two, retirement and relocation are self-explanatory. Reconsideration includes re-prioritizing balance in one’s life, and reconsidering the role and importance of work in one’s life. Many experts believe that the pandemic exacerbated this phenomenon, especially as people experienced different joys and challenges during the pandemic, forcing them to reconsider their options. Reshuffling refers to moving to different jobs in the same field or sector, or between sectors, and is often precipitated by a desire for better wages and/or working conditions. These are always a factor considered when people resign and move on. Finally, reluctance is offered as a contributing factor to the great resignation. Many people were/are reluctant to return to working in person. They have grown to appreciate the virtual environment, which can afford more autonomy, and less time commuting; they also felt safer at home during the pandemic. Reluctance led to some resignations.
Of these five reasons, the one I’d like to focus on more fully in this article is reconsideration, and its relationship to gifted individuals. I was recently browsing my Twitter feed when this article, Bore-Out: A Challenge for Unchallenged Gifted (Young) Adults caught my eye. Authored by Dr. Ellen Fiedler, Past President of the Michigan Association for Talented and Gifted, and Noks Nauta, an author who writes about topics pertaining to gifted adults and seniors, the article offered some insight into the great resignation from a gifted person’s point of view. Fiedler and Nauta describe “bore-out” (in the workplace) in this way: “When gifted adults enter the workplace, either for the first time or when changing jobs, they are often confronted with material they already know and a pace that’s too slow for them. Boredom can afflict gifted adults at work but also at home, in college classes, and even in social situations. When they trudge through life day after day without sufficient challenges, this can result in gifted adults suffering from bore-out. We also recognize it in gifted seniors. Bore-out is a condition that has only recently begun to be understood and may actually be the flip side of burnout, a well-known result of ongoing pressure and too much going on in their lives all at once.” Though we have all probably read a great deal about burn-out, very little has been studied and written about bore-out, a condition which some believe afflicts many gifted individuals who crave variety, challenge, novelty, difficulty, and stimulation in their daily lives. Many who study Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development understand that we do our best work when we are in “the zone,” the area where the work is not too difficult to cause great stress, and not too easy to allow boredom to occur. (When working with students, I often dubbed this The Goldilocks Zone - not too easy and not too hard - but just right). When we are in the “zone”, we are neither liable to burn-out nor bore-out. Fiedler and Nauto describe burnout and bore-out as opposite ends of the stimulation spectrum, and postulate that many gifted young adults bore-out of unchallenging jobs and situations. They describe the symptoms of bore-out in this way: “Rather than pressure and stress from overstimulation, bore-out is related to understimulation. Two Swiss consultants, Rothlin and Werder (2008), were the first to publish a book, Bore-Out!: Overcoming Workplace Demotivation, about this condition. Ironically, the symptoms of bore-out surprisingly resemble those of burnout—exhaustion and a depressive mood—and so are often not recognized as coming from ongoing boredom.” Could it be that some gifted adults chose to join the great resignation as a result of bore-out, especially during a pandemic which limited other opportunities for creative outlets and self-fulfillment? In her book, The Gifted Adult, Mary-Elaine Jacobsen (2000) talked to gifted adults about managing themselves on three specific dimensions related to giftedness: a need for intensity, complexity, and drive. These are characteristics which are highly associated with gifted adults. The word boredom also entered her research, as adults shared their need for satisfying their extreme curiosity and burning desire for information, their high energy levels, and their need for intensity, complexity, and drive in their lives and their work. Lacking it, many moved on. Reading all of these articles got me thinking about the great resignation in a whole different way. Maybe reconsideration was a major factor, especially for gifted adults. Maybe many people were/are resigning from their jobs because of bore-out, and are reconsidering different ways to meet their unique needs. Maybe we educators and parents/caregivers need to help our young people learn to advocate for themselves and for their intellectual and social emotional needs, beginning as children and extending into adulthood. Probably the time to begin is NOW. Reconsidering how we help our young people may help them avoid a future personal resignation. As always, I look forward to your thoughts. Together we grow. Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor WI Association for Talented and Gifted (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) Wisconsin’s state statutes, ss118.35 and ss121.02(t) mandate that gifted students be identified in the areas of intellectual, specific academic, creativity, the visual and performing arts, and leadership. Though many districts do a good job of identifying students in the intellectual and academic areas, and often provide “stretch” opportunities (e.g., contests, art shows, various ensembles, solo and ensemble competitions, theater productions) in the visual and performing arts, students are often vastly underidentified and served in the areas of creativity and leadership.
Keeping this in mind, one of our goals at this year’s SOAR camp, a traditional summer camp for gifted youth, was to program for leadership. Using provocative questioning, and then taking a leadership inventory, discussing the components of leadership, putting leadership skills into practice, and then reflecting on progress, our campers were able to grow in their leadership prowess. Guided by research on leadership development, we used the Roets Rating Scale for Leadership as a starting point for our group discussions. Students analyzed their current leadership skills using the inventory, which provided insight into the many components of leadership. These included:
We then moved on to an activity which required precision in communication, a highly important quality of effective leadership. Working in pairs, campers designed something with Legos behind a screen. Then they communicated how to build an exact replica to their partner (who had the exact same Legos). In the first iteration, partners were NOT allowed to ask clarifying questions. The results were quite interesting :) For the second round, the person receiving instructions WAS allowed to ask clarifying questions. Our goal was to show how important it was to be precise, to give exact directions, and to receive feedback and questioning graciously. In this iteration, the results were dramatically better. Finally, campers asked if they could design their own rules for the third iteration. Most chose to do the entire challenge non-verbally! The willingness to challenge themselves was astounding, and the techniques that they used were both hilarious and inventive. After debriefing this activity, we challenged campers to use their newly found and newly polished leadership skills; activities at camp, such as the low ropes course, games and initiatives, canoeing, group work, and team-building would require this. Our hope was that they would transfer their learning immediately, and they did. Finally, we challenged our campers to take all that they had learned home with them, and into their schools and communities. We emphasized that leadership skill takes practice; leaders must be patient, flexible, and willing to grow. Our hope was that these lessons in leadership provided a foundation for future leadership endeavors for our campers; we wish them much success on their journey! Jackie Drummer, Past President and Current Board Advisor Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Martha Aracely Lopez of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can be found in our website blogs.) |
Gifted in PerspectiveA column designed to link the gifted perspective to other perspectives, and to make you think.
Jackie Drummer
Past WATG President,
SENG Certified Trainer
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