If there is one thing gifted people cannot keep to themselves, it’s how we see other people! Unfortunately, often we find ourselves echoing Scar from Disney’s Lion King. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”
Much of our teaching time at LAAS goes into teaching gifted kids how to work with others. You’ve heard the phrase “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth.”? Imagine, if you will, an entire student body of “cooks.” Needless to say, there are often times when we have all leaders and no followers!
It is important that we teach our gifted kids how not to reveal everything they are thinking. So many of us family members of gifted have been on the receiving end of a remark about not knowing anything. Teaching our kids how much it hurts to be on the receiving end is a key factor to helping our kids be good leaders.
There are two maxims I teach kids regarding how they see and treat others.
The first is: the way you treat a person is how you see that person. If you are treating him like he’s stupid, you actually think he’s stupid. Don’t fool yourself into believing you just have a patience problem. You have to look for the intelligence, and then make sure you allow that person to shine in that area.
The second is: we often hate in others what we hate in our own lives. For instance, I cannot stand it when people talk too much. Guess who talks too much, too? Yep, me. I actually got spanked for it in school! I lost a boyfriend in junior high because I never shut up!
The reason we hate this in others is because we know how painful it is to do this. We know the downside to the attribute. It’s just much easier to fix someone else than it is to fix ourselves.
Do not be afraid to point out when your gifted child is being too hard on someone, including on you. We have got to teach our gifted kids empathy. Otherwise, they will be a Godzilla in the work place, crushing all those who dare block their path. I have my Godzilla days. I know several of you do, as well. Let’s help our kids rise above this behavior.
- Michelle