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A humorous website, Stuff White People Like.com has a post about gifted children…

This is important if you ever find yourself needing to gain white person acceptance. If you see their kid playing peacefully, you say “oh, he/she seems very focused, are they in a gifted program?” at which point the parent will say “yes.” Or if the kid is lighting a dog on fire while screaming at their mother, you say “my he/she is a creative one. Is he/she gifted?” To which the parent will reply “oh, yes, he’s too creative and smart for school. We just don’t know what to do.” Either situation will put a white person in a better mood and make them like you more.

But NEVER under any circumstance imply that their child is less than a genius. The idea that something could come from them and be less than greatness is too much for them to bear.

I did a post about Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. Just to say, “hey look! book coming your way!” but somehow it turned into a discussion of what “Gifted” children should read. First of all let me say this. This is really just a place for me to blab about whatever books or book related things have thrilled me lately but I really enjoyed that people were commenting about this topic. It is a good discussion.

I feel that even if a child is gifted, they should still try to read books that are aimed for their age. Yes they need to be challenged to grow, but I think it is important to still read books that are written for where the kid is physically if not “mentally.” Books written for 6th graders are written for kids… (get this?) IN SIXTH GRADE… not just kids reading at a 6th grade level. Saying a ten year old can read all seven Harry Potters… well that is great, but how much of book seven did they really UNDERSTAND?

Same thing with the Eragon series. It is written for the young adult crowd. To me at my bookstore that is basically 9th grade and up, with 8th grade being on the cusp. A lot of the young adult books are taking place IN high school with fairly nasty girls (think Clique, Gossip Girls, A-list, etc) and I think that you should be IN that situation before you are reading it. Think “sexualization of our youths” but that is a WAY different conversation.
Back to point, when I was in 3rd grade I read Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson.

Now, I was a kid that LOVED reading, I read as much as I could as often as I could. My local librarian knew me by name and there were entire shelves that I had ready everything on. But, I still had to read JHIL twice because I just did not feel that I understood it. Well, even now, reading Paterson’s other stuff, there is a LOT going on. You could reread Bridge to Terabithia every year and get something different out of it. Just because I read this long book, did not mean I “got” it. It is more important to understand and comprehend what you are reading than it is to say “look at this list of books that I have read.”

Yes it is important for all kids to be challenged, but here is my list of grievances.

1. You should not get special treatment because you are in an accelerated program.
2. You should make sure you are still reading books that deal with people in your age group.
3. You MUST make sure you understand what you are reading. What is the point without that?
4. Make sure you are doing this because you ENJOY it. Without the enjoyment of learning and the challenges that it can bring, what is the point?

So…. any replies? I welcome your thoughts, though please, keep it pleasant

Tags: a-list, brisingr, clique, eldest, eragon, gifted, gifted programs, gossip girls, handicaps, harry potter, mentally handicapped, reading levels, smart kids, stuff white people like