What is Giftedness? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Maria, a friend of my mothers, once complained to our family about the public discipline system in Florida. She claimed Peter, her six-year-old child, is extremely intelligent and not only could he hightail it the violin and chess, but he could also read upper-level books. Despite all this, he did not make it into the gifted program at school - a program that she believed he rightfully deserved to be a member of. Why was she so upset over the outcome, and what deciding factors do heap consider that could lead to the child being selected against an accelerated program? In recent years there have been a strong resurgence in the study of giftedness in children- many people have attempted to explain the phenomena and why there are so few who are endowed with the asset. search has promised new insights on the identification and subsequent proper handling for gifted individuals. What factors may influence innate(p) talent in certain people - is it ground on genetic, neurophysiologica l, or psychological factors? In my last paper, I had discussed the various research projects that have attempted to link giftedness to the brain - with interesting results that are hitherto yet to be firmly established. This paper will attempt to show how giftedness as a concept has been misrepresented in general, and how it presently cannot be utilize to directly identify individuals but can be used as an inference tool only. Nevertheless, finding a basis or correlates for the concept is nighthing guild finds important, because of the believed implications it will have for the gifted children in the future. The age-old issue of what makes giftedness has been debated in the academic world for many years. Before recent studies, it was widely believed that giftedness merely relates to the savvy only. Now many scientists believe that the term correlates not only to intelligence but also to creativity, memory, motivation, physical dexterity, and aesthetic sensitivity (1). It is wit hout doubt that there is some basis to the fact that a few people learn faster than others, or have an accelerated sensitivity to art, music, or mathematics. But is this due to an innate ability of the particular person? Or are there several complex factors involved not involved with the individuals body? Is genius a coordinated brain phenomena, or is it a term used to describe different phenomena in different persons? Many believe that giftedness is due to some innate offshoot independent, for example, from the environment the individual is raised in.