Did They Learn Anything This Year?

It’s been a busy year planning and coordinating many projects and events over the course of the year as part of my role in offering pull-in programming for students identified as gifted. There are days as I am prying hot glue off another table that I wonder if all this hands on STEAM learning that we do through Destination Imagination is really transferring into learning? While the activities are fun and the students are actively engaged, just what is it they’re getting from the paint, the power tools, the hot glue, the script writing, the arguments and sometimes tears? And so I asked my students about the learning they will remember from this year and now I remember why I don’t mind the chaos so much. It’s worth it!

Though I organized the poster, the statements belong to them! (So many virtues in the language they use: confidence, courage, forgiveness, trust, flexibility, patience, determination. So many virtues implied: cooperation, humility, responsibility,  joyfulness, optimism, diligence, purposefulness, discernment, reliability, excellence, tolerance and determination. WOW!)

Letting Go of Perfect: A Book Review

One of my “go to” books when I get questions about how to support students with perfectionism is Letting Go of Perfect by Jill Adelson, PhD., and Hope Wilson, PhD., (2009). In addition to discriminating between healthy and unhealthy perfectionism, they also explore the myths about perfectionism before going into detail into the types of perfectionism and strategies for working with each type. Now while I typically don’t ascribe to thinking that tries to categorize individuals, mostly because people rarely fit neatly into boxes, I have found that these categories have been helpful in understanding the nuances of perfectionism, and offer a great starting point for discussing potential strategies for students who may be struggling.  The book is well laid out for easy access to different themes and includes strategies for both home and school, making it very accessible to both teachers and parents.

Categorically speaking, the names and identifiers of each perfectionist are good at helping us find a place to begin:

1. The Academic Achiever: “Must Achieve 100%”
2. The Aggravated Accuracy Assessor: “Exactness and Fixation on “Redos”
3. The Risk Evader: “All or Nothing”
4. The Controlling Image Manager: “I Could Have If I Wanted to”
5. The Procrastinating Perfectionist: “If It Stays in My Mind, Then I Can’t Fail”

As I review each, I can think of several students, who fit into the various categories, often more than one. Indeed, many of us could probably look at the list and see reflections of ourselves throughout. But again, as Adelson & Hope note, “the focus should not be on labeling a child as a certain type of perfectionist, but on finding appropriate strategies to help the child use perfectionism in a healthy way” (p. 106). As a quick easy reference, with strategies that range from de-emphasizing grades to being an example in your mistakes (p. 144), the book reflects ways in which schooling and curriculum are shifting from product to process as well as the meeting individual goals being prioritized over achievement, perhaps highlighting the relationship between the “problem” the systems that we find ourselves in.

One aspect to perfectionism that is missing for me in this book, and perhaps that is because it could be a book in itself, is a discussion of Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration and how some of the neurosis that is described in the book as unhealthy perfectionism might be reframed through the theory as the necessary work in personality development. How do we support risk-takers in searching for ways to live in the classroom and still honour their ideals which may come at a cost? How do we support the aggravated accuracy assessors in understanding that their hierarchy of values is best shared through example and not imposition? These are much bigger questions, and perhaps, another book.

For more perspectives and wisdom on perfectionism, you can jump onto Hoagies Gifted Blog Hop here or click on the icon below:

 

Underachievement: A Story in Process

One of the great conundrums in gifted education, and in education in general, is the case of the underachiever. Why would an individual with so much potential choose not to achieve in school? They are certainly bright enough to see the advantages of achievement: social inclusion and acceptance, academic recognition, enhanced opportunities and eventual economic success. For those of us in education who regularly bear witness to the positive effects of school achievement, what appears to be the flagrant disregard of this by those who are capable can be perplexing. Research has us exploring many  possibilities. Could it be a learning disability? Poverty? Gender? Cultural differences? Racism? Bad teachers? Without discounting any of these possibilities, I would like to explore underachievement as a story.

In a paper that I wrote earlier this year for a graduate course in issues in special education, I explored  underachievement as a definitive characteristic in the story we tell ourselves about who we are, or conversely, who we would like to become when it lies in opposition to what is “expected”. Much of this post is drawn from that paper (Picard, 2018).

In schools, the convergence of diverse student experiences with  standard educational practices and expected outcomes means that we, teachers and students, can get stuck in  circular arguments that leave one blaming the other for the situation that we are in. Teachers get blamed for not making school relevant, while students are labelled as lazy or irresponsible. But to what extent are we trapped inside our own stories, incapable of seeing other possibilities?  Dabrowski (1967) writes that “there are very few among us who are consciously independent of the external environment and of the lower layer of their internal environments” and that “to make oneself independent of both these environments one must go through the process of disintegration” (p. 12). Disintegration begins with considering the possibility that there might be a different story and should we accept that this other story might have value, the difficult choice of re-evaluating our own story and with it ourselves.

These stories can take many forms .”I’m just not good at school” to “I never have to study and I always pass.” They can be as straightforward as “I’ll probably do what my [parent] does when I finish school” or “”There’s faster ways to make lots of money than going to university.” But they can also be complicated. “School is full of mindless people trying to impress people who are even more mindless.”  Or so complex that we only see fragments at a time. “I’ve got bigger things to worry about than an assignment that isn’t relevant.”

Separating ourselves from the story that has shaped us as individuals can produce high levels of anxiety as one begins the “process of making oneself independent of the superficial estimates of other people” while the conscious development of our own personalities makes us “increasingly more sensitive to the various external and internal stimuli” (p. 13) that would like to point us in a particular direction. While most have a tendency to forego the anxiety of disintegration by returning to their original stories, Dabrowski believed that for those who could not return, disintegration could have a positive or a negative result. A positive disintegration leads us to forging our own path true to our own values which may or may not include school achievement, while a negative disintegration could lead to various forms of mental health struggles.

Through a Dabrowskian lens, underachievement could mean maintaining subscription in the story that has shaped you or choosing your own path and rejecting a story that does not reflect your own set of values. So perhaps to understand underachievement, we might also need to consider what shapes our story of achievement. What aspects of the journey might be considered unimportant or overvalued and what values might be compromised in its attainment? Gently exploring these questions through a non-judgmental lens might lead both teacher and student to new possibilities. To explore other stories about underachievement, follow this link or click on the icon below.

Reference:

Dabrowski, K. (1967). Personality-shaping through positive disintegration. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

Picard, S. (2018), Final Paper, EDUC 5456: Nipissing University.

Relationships in Inclusive Spaces

In the revised Teacher Quality Standard due to be introduced in September of 2019, the fourth competency required for teacher certification in the province of Alberta focuses on establishing inclusive learning environments. “A teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning environments where diversity is embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe” (p. 6). Given the rapidly changing demographics in our schools alongside a growing awareness of how our education system needs to address many of the inequities that continue to exist with respect to what knowledge has been valued and shared as well as an eye to a world that has the appearance of becoming increasingly polarized, establishing an inclusive learning environment would appear to be a necessary competency as we move forward. But what would a classroom like this look and feel like?

For my students who are gifted, and some of whom are highly sensitive, I endeavour to make my classroom a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning space that embraces the diversity that each student brings to it. And while I admit to occasionally playing Vivaldi in low lighting while the students enter the classroom in the morning and was described by one student as the most zen person they know, I believe that the work toward inclusivity that goes on in this space was best summed up by a group of students who had been working on a creative problem solving project together. When asked to reflect on the learning that occurred this year that they want to carry forward, these three observations blew me away:

1. Disagreements help you learn.
2. Arguments can lead to the right answer.
3. Sometimes it’s someone else’s turn to be right.

As soon as I read the list I was reminded of  the many heated, tense, tearful, uncomfortable moments we experienced this past year as we worked together.  Relationships are difficult. When they matter, they challenge us to examine who we are and what we believe in a way that influences who we are going to become. When they are authentic they allow us to “treat ourselves as both subjects and objects and to treat others primarily as subjects, i.e. sensitive, reflective beings who aspire to higher levels of values, who suffer in the present from internal and external conflicts, and who have their own individual aspirations, problems, abilities and experiences” (Dabrowski, 1975, p. 2). When they are ethical we “step out of our allegiances, to detach from the cages of our mental worlds and assume a position where human-to-human dialogue can occur” (Ermine 2007, p. 193).  Caring, safe and respectful spaces do not materialize without discomfort. Saying “this is an inclusive space” and prescribing what the behavior in that space “looks like” carries the danger of becoming a hegemonic enterprise that never allows our authentic selves to see the light of day.

Inclusive spaces are inherently difficult as in them we need to not only create a safe space for discord but a means of navigating that discord to a “destination” that is established by those who are in the process of rattling those mental cages and challenging those allegiances in order to authentically see and be seen on our journey  of becoming. Finding a compass that everyone trusts is crucial, (I find that respect makes for a pretty solid north star), and daily reorientation through reflection and triangulation with compass points that include understanding and forgiveness (for starters) is essential. My hope is that when my students leave this space that they have the compass and navigational skills to authentically and ethically work on fostering strong relationships and inclusiveness wherever they go.

Dabrowski, K. (1975). On authentic education. Unpublished document.

Ermine, W. (2007). The ethical space of engagement. Indigenous Law Journal, 6(1), 193-203. Retrieved from https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/17129

Looking for more insights on relationships? Click on this link or the icon below:

The One Thing I Wish I Had Known Before I Began This Crazy Journey

On one of the whiteboards in my classroom I have a schedule for the day. It keeps me on track and helps my some of my more anxious students prepare for what’s coming next. Aspects of the agenda change but some are constant, like the second to last item which is the time in the day that I set aside to “Honor the Spirit” where I acknowledge each of my students (and sometimes collectively) for the virtues that I saw in them that day. It used to be the last thing on the agenda but on some of those crazy days that end with a boisterous activity or intense game, it would get lost somewhere between cleaning up and getting out of the door on time. It has become too important to forget.

I wish I had known years ago how important it is to honor the spirit in my students every single day. These are the moments when the wounds and successes of the day are mediated through a lens that looks beyond the failures and accomplishments to the spirit of the student who in an act of courage, comes to school each day. While it is preferable to honor the spirit in those teachable moments, opening a space near the end of the day means it doesn’t get forgotten. It is an opportunity to let them know that no matter what has happened over the course of the day, that they have been seen in a meaningful way and that their presence matters and is valued. It is especially important on those days when it is the hardest to do as it opens the door to forgiveness and hope and in that process invites courage to accompany us on to new possibilities in the coming days.

My heart aches for the years that passed when I did not fully appreciate the importance of the practice of honoring the spirit. In as much as I wish I acknowledged far more students much more regularly for their gifts of character, I am saddened by how I didn’t know how the practice would enrich me, my view of the world and my own spirit. You see, when you authentically honor the spirit in others each day, you finish the day with an overwhelming sense of gratitude which allows you to appreciate and celebrate life as it unfolds whether through trials or small graces. I have taken to telling people I have the best job in the world and it is not only those moments when I take the time to see and acknowledge the virtues in my students that make it so, it is also the sense of belonging and community that emerge out of making it a daily practice.

To gather more wisdom from other “gifted” bloggers, click on the graphic below or follow this link.

Dark Nights and Sleeplessness: A Shadow Side of Giftedness

I have had a number of  students who are gifted identify that a lack of sleep has impacted their ability to cope emotionally to the stress of the classroom, reporting having thoughts that would not let them drift off. My heart aches for those whose imagination and emotional sensitivities render them particularly vulnerable when the hurts of the day run away the dark side of the imagination at night. Are gifted students more prone to this struggle? A study completed by Harrison and van Haneghan (2011) utilized a Likert scale to measure insomnia and the OEII questionaire to measure overexcitabilities in two different populations of students, one identified as gifted. In the study, “the imaginational overexcitability and emotional overexcitability were significantly related to insomnia” and that “giftedness had a significant relationship to insomnia”(p.686). Although the study recognized many limitations in that there were many factors that were not considered in what might be responsible for the anxiety the students were experiencing, it does offer insight into my own observations.

There are several strategies that I have used to support these intensely emotional and highly imaginative individuals. The first is to never downplay the emotions, even if the incident that created it appears insignificant. I have had conversations around the idea that not everyone experiences emotions to the same degree and that the intensity can take us to very positive realms as well so learning to accept and understand them as part of ourselves is important. Understanding that not everyone shares the intensity can also assist in mediating what might be seen as harmful intent on the part of others. The second is to focus on the virtue that might be driving the emotion. Sometimes it is our sense excellence, compassion or justice that can in part be responsible for intense reaction to something that does not honour that aspect of ourselves. Calling on virtues like flexibility, detachment and mercy can help us move beyond being stuck in that emotion. A third strategy has been to let the imagination go wild. Dream up fantastic tales about ways our super-hero alter-ego deals with the problem in another realm. Amazingly enough, they often help us find solutions in this one.

Are these cures for insomnia? The study itself recommends that in addition to individuals gaining better insight into their giftedness that “relaxation techniques and mediation could address the actual physiological aspects involved in insomnia” as well as afternoon exercise and ” having a ritual of reading at night right before bedtime have proven to be quick solutions for insomnia for some gifted students” (p. 690). To explore more issues around sleep, please check out more posts on Hoagies Gifted Blog Hop by clicking here or on the graphic below.

HARRISON, GE; VAN HANEGHAN, JP. The Gifted and the Shadow of the Night: Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities and Their Correlation to Insomnia, Death Anxiety, and Fear of the Unknown. Journal for the Education of the Gifted. 34, 4, 669-697, June 1, 2011. ISSN: 0162-3532.

The Gift of Stories and The Gift of Listening To Them

Every day I learn so much from children. It can be very humbling to get down on the floor beside them and get a small glimpse into their worlds. This week, in a kindergarten classroom, a young five year old reminded me of the many stories that children bring to our classrooms that impact their ability to demonstrate their learning.

They were working on learning to write the number of the day, the number seven. “Across the sky and down from heaven, that is how you make a seven,” the teacher chanted as she demonstrated it for the class. As I walked around the classroom seeing how they were doing, I noticed one little boy refusing to make the number. When he saw me watching him, his brow furrowed in defiance.

“Do you need help?” I asked. He frowned at me again before saying, “I hate seven!” I was surprised. “You hate seven?” I said, “I thought seven was everybody’s lucky number.”

“I hate it! My sister is seven and she gets everything and I am only five and I get nothing!” At this point the tears started to form.

“What do you mean?” I asked, “Does she get all the toys?” He nodded. “Does she get to do things that you don’t get to?” He nodded again. “I was the youngest child too,” I told him, “and sometimes I hated waiting to do all the things that my older siblings got to do. Do you think when you turn seven that it will be your turn?”

“It won’t,” he shouted, “because she will always be two years older than me. When I am six she will be eight and when I am eight, she will be ten!” He slid under his chair in frustration.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked. He nodded as he peeked out at me from under the chair. “Now that I am so old, it’s kind of nice to be the youngest. All of my siblings wish they were young like me.” I finally saw the shadow of a smile. “I have an idea,” I said, “what if you went home tonight and showed her that even though she’s seven and you’re five, you know how to make a seven?”

“I can’t,” he said, tearing up again. “She doesn’t live with me anymore.” It was a heartbreaking moment.

Brene Brown (2017) in her book Braving the Wilderness writes that “pain will only subside when we acknowledge it and care for it” (p.66) and if left unattended has the potential to become anger and over time, rage. As I sat on the floor of that classroom, surrounded by young children, each bearing their own stories and worries, I wondered about acts of defiance, their connections to deeper stories and how easy it can be to make assumptions each step of the way as we try to figure it out. Because on the other side of the defiance are those looming agendas, things that need to get done, like learning how to write a number.

Later in the book, Brene Brown interviews actor Viola Davis who tells her “There’s an unspoken message that the only stories worth telling are the stories that end up in history books” (p. 86). I know that I am swimming in stories and I don’t always take the time or have the opportunity to listen and truly pay attention. Viola goes on to say, “We are all worthy of telling our stories and having them heard. We all need to be seen and honored in the same way that we all need to breathe.” I am drawn back to thinking about acts of defiance, the stories behind them, and wonder how they would look differently if we saw them as fighting for breath? Am I listening now?

One of my all time favorite books is The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative written by Thomas King. In it he wonders whether Sir Isaac Newton’s quote “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction” might have been better scribed as “To every action there is a story” (pp. 28-29). I know I will hold the story of the number seven in my heart for many reasons, one of which is the need to share it. If you’ve taken the time to read it, thank-you for that gift. I would like to leave you with my favorite quote from King’s book, one that shows up in various forms at the end of each chapter.

Take [this] story for instance. It’s yours. Do with it what you will. Tell it to friends. Turn it into a television movie. Forget it. But don’t say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story.      You’ve heard it now. (King, p. 29).

I hope you have many opportunities to share and listen to stories this holiday season.

Brown, B. (2017). Braving the wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone. New York: Random House.

King, T. (2003). The truth about stories. Toronto, ON: Anansi.

Anxious about the future? Exploring the past might help.

I have always loved stories about Robin Hood. I watched every movie that came out, read every version of the book I could find; even took up archery. I don’t know what I loved more, the humour in the stories or the clever ways with which Robin always managed to get the best of Sheriff of Nottingham. Either way, the underlying theme of justice and fairness in the various versions of these folktales spoke to me and have very likely permeated my worldview with respect to how I view wealth, power and oppression.

So it was quite a pleasant surprise this summer when hiking up to the Trifels castle above Durnstein, Austria, I discovered that this was the place where Richard the Lionheart was held for ransom by King Leopold V around 1193-94, the era from which the Robin Hood stories emerge. The view of the Danube from the top of the hill was beautiful and for a moment I was able to transport myself back in time and imagine I was seeing the world through King Richard’s eyes. Would captivity have made him immune to the beauty of the place? A song he wrote at the time might give us the impression that he was.

As I made my descent back down the worn steps on the steep face of the hill, I was struck by the permanence of the rock and the fleetingness of life and wondered how many people had made their way up and down the pathway over the centuries: royalty, clergy, soldiers, peasants, merchants, slaves…tourists? Did their breath catch in their chest as the trees parted to expose another extraordinary view? Or were their eyes cast down, under the weight of some burden? Did they see the castle as an amazing feat of architecture? Strategic military installation? A monument to oppression? Could they have imagined how much the world would change around it or what meaning would still cling to it (or not) 900 years later?

These questions surfaced at many of the other museums, cathedrals, castles, galleries and bridges that we explored as we journeyed through in Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia. Many of the sites were hundreds of years old, others much less, yet each chronicled perspectives on what mattered- power, wealth, art, people- carved into stone, captured on canvas or cast in iron.  These tributes to bygone eras left us wondering about both the accomplishments and the suffering: “Did they matter and what do they mean now?”

As a reading companion on this journey I took the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Austrian neurologist, psychologist and holocaust survivor, Viktor E. Frankl. Having been held in four different concentration camps during WW II, his reflections come with insights that can only be acquired by someone who has experienced life with less than the bare essentials required for survival after being stripped of all the credentials and belongings that shaped his identify before his imprisonment. Seeing history through his lens of “transitoriness” challenges us to locate ourselves not in a deterministic past where things cannot be undone, but in the full potential of a future in which we can decide who we will aspire to be as quickly as our very next action. To that end he lays bare both the degree of man’s inhumanity to man as well as the power of hope to transform suffering into something meaningful.

It was hard not to be impressed by the amazing architecture, art and engineering that was present at every turn on our journey and at the same time feel the weight of the many who died in the creation and defence of not only these monuments but the philosophy and religion that flourished within and around them. Whose life had more meaning? The ones captured in the portraits hung in the galleries of the fortresses or the ones who carried the stones to build those same fortresses? We can speculate all we would like, but I believe Viktor Frankl would tell us that it would depend on the individual and the meaning they found in how they faced their challenges.

In the forward to Man’s Search for Meaning, Harold Kushner writes that Frankl’s most enduring insight is that “forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you” (p.11). Maybe that’s why I loved the Robin Hood stories so much- he didn’t give up after losing his land, title and wealth. While I would not advocate taking the law into your own hands, his response to stand up for fairness, justice and mercy continues to resonate centuries later.

Every era is rife with challenges and this point in history is no different. If we are not anxious about whether we can do better that our predecessors, knowing what we now know, then perhaps we don’t understand that who we are and how we respond to the world around us matters. Embracing that anxiety as part of the challenge of finding our life purpose and making meaning is important. While the future may judge us harshly as we fumble with trying to make the right or best decision, I think Viktor Frankl would tell us to aim high and to accept bravely the challenges that come with that. This video of him speaking in 1972 speaks to that point.

For  great perspectives on philosophical and spiritual anxiety, check out Hoagie’s Blog Hop by clicking here or on the icon below.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mans-search-for-meaning/id476023633?mt=11 Retrieved, August 27, 2017.

Multipotentiality is not the problem.

In a world where specializations are revered, multipotentiality can be perceived as much a burden as a gift. This paradox is reflected in the old adage “Jack of all trades, master of none…” that has dodged many a multipotentialite.  Apparently the full version includes a second part “…is sometimes better than one” which only reinforces the mixed blessing of having many talents.  One would think that having many venues/opportunities through which to experience life would be optimum, so what stands in the way?

TIME

“She wants to do everything,” a mother tells me, “but now that she’s in the higher grades there just isn’t enough time for her to do everything the way she wants to do it.” This is a worry that has been shared with me more than once by concerned parents. Fitting it all into a busy schedule can be a source of considerable stress. As a teacher I’ve been able to support students with this by helping them learn how to be creative in a smaller space with the use of clear expectations and parameters. “Show me you understand this concept by only using…” rather than leaving it so open-ended that they feel compelled to show you everything they know on the topic. I have also had to meet with other teachers to coordinate assignments and homework so as to not overburden a student who has  extra-curricular obligations that are important to them.

HAVING TO CHOOSE

It begins in junior high. If you take music or French you have fewer options because they are full year courses. If you take both, you don’t get to take any other options. Once you get to high school, there are only so many spots in your schedule and if you want to go on to university you need to make sure you’ve focused on your academic courses. “Why not let them explore Foods and Computer Sciences and Drama?” I asked one parent. “Who said that you have to finish high school in three years?” Or a student might need to take fewer high school courses each year so they can continue to perform/compete in music or sports. They don’t have to cut things out…they might just need more time. Having a chance to explore all your options while still in high school only makes sense.

EXCELLENCE

Many believe that pursuing excellence requires our undivided attention. Whether it’s the ten thousand hours that Malcolm Gladwell speaks of in his book Outliers or the number of pages you have in your CV, there is no doubt that commitment plays an instrumental role in achieving excellence. “I feel that as I am committing myself to a particular field of studies, I am losing other parts of myself,” one former student shared with me, worried that diving into a specialized science program would preclude her from fully participating in her passion for politics, social justice and the arts. But is this truly the case? If we dive deep enough, with our eyes open, eventually we see that all things are connected. Excellence in a particular area gives us a unique lens with which to observe and interact with other aspects of the world and can sometimes serve up unexpected opportunities. The path you’re on can change and will likely change and if you keep your eyes open things can get REALLY interesting.

MONEY

“But if he pursues the arts, he’ll always be poor and I know what that’s like and I don’t want that for him,” one parent tells me, “he’s got so many other talents.”  My parents had the same worry for me. “Have something to fall back on,” they said, and for many years I wondered how my life would have been different if I had thrown caution to the wind. Money can govern many of our choices whether it be “What can I afford to study?” or “How much money will I make when I am done?” or “I’ve got the marks to apply this scholarship…” I sometimes wonder if our focus with our students and children was on who they want to be as people versus what they want to do, how that would influence their choices.  When education focuses on how the system can serve the economy, our multipotentialites can lose their greatest gift, insight into the importance of all talents and the importance of valuing them all.

For more insights into multipotentiality check out Hoagies’ Blog Hop by following the link below.

Why Do We All Need to Know More About Executive Functions?

Executive functions consist of those mental processes that allow us to participate fully in a variety of roles and relationships through planning, focusing and remembering while controlling our impulses and working systematically to achieve goals. There is an expectation that students arrive at school with a number of these skills already developed, enabling them to participate in a group learning environment. While children generally begin developing these skills at a very young age in their homes with their families, the development of these functions continues through adolescence.

The relationship between giftedness and executive functioning is an interesting one. Some studies have shown that math abilities correlate significantly with executive functioning with some variances. (Rebecca Bull and Gaia Scerif, 2010.) Other studies find a correlation between executive functioning and achievement. (St. Clair-Thompson and Gathercole, 2010.) In gifted education we know that cognitive abilities do not guarantee academic achievement and underachieving gifted students-could this be related to struggles with executive functions in some cases? In his work, Re-examining the Role of Gifted Education and Talent Development for the 21st Century, Joseph Renzulli speaks to the necessity of talent and cognitive development going hand in hand with what he calls the “character strengths” of executive functions. These are developed through addressing novel situations that require children to draw on and develop these skills for success. But what does this look like in practice?

A week ago I was working with three gifted 8 year olds on one of the Destination Imagination challenges. Designed to foster curiosity, courage and creativity, I use this program not only as a means to challenge my students to solve novel and complex problems, but to create scenarios where I can help them cultivate their virtues (gifts of character) as they learn project management skills and collaboration. They were trying to solve an instant challenge that involved building a tower within specific parameters when things fell apart. Two of the students took over the task while the third withdrew with tears streaming down his face. I quietly acknowledged that I saw his tears and sat with him while we waited for the other two students to complete the task.

After measuring the height of their structure we began debriefing the teamwork part of the challenge at which point they acknowledged that it had not gone well and that there had been some conflict. I spoke to them about conflict arising when there is a difference in  the individual interests in carrying out a task and asked each of them what had been important to them as they were working on the challenge.

“To do it right,” the boy with tears responded.

“That would be the virtue of excellence,” I said, writing the word on the board.

“To work on it together,” responded the girl who had taken the structure away from the boy.

“That sounds like the cooperation virtue is important to you,” I said, writing it on the board beside excellence.

The third student responded that they were frustrated because the boy had not explained to them what he was doing before starting to build the solution.

“You needed understanding,” I said, writing that virtue on the board. “Now look at the things causing your conflict. They are all virtues. Are they important virtues to nurture on your team?” All three nodded. “So how can we get these virtues working together?” I asked.

After some discussion they agreed that communication was important and also came to understand that communicating with words was sometimes difficult for the boy. After we agreed that this was something we would work on together they were ready to move on. We had an incredibly productive morning and this new understanding continued the next time we met.

What really touched me about this incident was the ability of these children to see the virtues in each others actions despite the fact that they had really struggled. It empowered them to understand themselves and each other better as they moved forward to complete more tasks successfully.

“Children aren’t born with these skills[executive functions]—they are born with the potential to develop them.” -Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University

This statement reflects the premise guiding the Virtues Project as well-that children are born in potential and as with anything that is “in potential”-seeds, executive functions, virtues, habits… require certain conditions to grow and develop. Those of us privileged to work with and parent children need to understand our role in creating those conditions and not give up when we don’t see in some children what may seem innate in others as it is an opportunity to play our part in their development.

“Providing the support that children need to build these skills at home, in early care and education programs, and in other settings they experience regularly is one of society’s most important responsibilities.” -Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University

For more insight on this topic check out the overview video at the Centre on the Developing Child-Harvard University  which does a brilliant job of explaining executive functioning and self regulation. The website itself highlights the relationship between working memory, mental flexibility and self-control and stresses the importance of children having opportunities to apply these skills in coordination with others. You can also learn more about executive functions at Hoagies Blog Hop by clicking here or on the icon below: