What is a gifted child?

There can be several definitions, but the National Association of Gifted Children calls it “asynchronous development.”

Really? More simply said, it means a child’s intellectual, emotional and social growth does not always happen at the same pace. Thus, gifted programs use such conceptions in selecting children to move on to a higher level of classroom teachings regardless of their actual age.

When I started grade school, it became clear to me and most of the rest of the class that some kids were quicker with answers and seemed to be smarter than others. But back then, in a small class in a rural community, being gifted or struggling did not cause a separation of one student from the others.

All classes had the complete run of intelligence. In hindsight, there was no other choice in a small town with one class of first graders. In fact, sometimes two levels of classes were joined for lack of teachers and money. When I was in fourth grade, we joined my sister’s class of fifth graders.

As we developed, the smarter students were often bored with the pace of teaching. In fact, sometimes the brighter ones tutored the slower students, helping them with homework. If one student was far brighter than the class, he or she might be shunned by the other students. This sometimes led to that brilliant student pretending to be slower than he or she was just to fit in.

Today, most students are in larger groups, and such singling out may not occur as often. But who has the easier path? Well, that depends on the path chosen. College and higher degrees? Sure, the brightest have an easier time getting the grades necessary for admission to a college and earning a scholarship to help pay those costs, while dealing with the pressure of homework may be a lot easier to accomplish.

This higher intelligence as it transforms to adulthood often makes life easier, but psychologists point out that adults with above-average IQs often face unique challenges. While this higher intelligence can open doors in academics and careers, it doesn’t always guarantee balance in other aspects of life.

What that means is that this highly intelligent person can be great at problem-solving, creativity and decision-making, but also can experience personal struggles. It seems that high IQs often are joined with complications with love and intimacy. In fact, research has found that those with a score of 120 or less on the IQ table are found to be rather attractive to others, and their intelligence is not a problem with a companion.

On the other hand, those with IQs above 120, the upper 10% of intelligence, encounter hesitation from potential partners. This may come from fears of difficulty in communication, lifestyle alignment or emotional balance. This struggle may not be the fault of the high-IQ partner because of the intellect itself, but because of the way others interpret it.

Psychologists have found other issues with these adults with above-average IQs. There may be more mental health vulnerabilities, such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and mood disorders. There also seems to be a link between these people with impulse control. There is often a need for immediate action and reward in their lives. These people also have little fear of “winging it,” causing concerns for their companions.

This brings us to the children with high intellectual potential, sometimes abbreviated as HIP. What this means in a child is that they have a higher mental age than their chronological age. They can solve problems more easily. Our educational programs must meet their intellectual needs without forgetting the other parts of being a very young child.

Many school systems have gifted programs that move the child along at a different speed, and often with a more challenging problem approach. Being gifted is not necessarily a compliment but rather a description of how some children develop. Also, a 7-year-old who reads like a high schooler may well still have the emotions of a 7-year-old.

Recently, the New York City mayoral electee, Zohran Mamdani, suggested ending gifted education for young children. He wanted to eliminate these programs from the early years of grade school. Some of his reasoning was inequities in the students getting selected to be in this gifted group. The programs do have a ratio that does not reflect the ratio of Black and Hispanic students in the overall program.

If equity is removed, that means the ceiling of the classroom must be lowered so everyone can touch it. While ending a gifted program sounds like leveling the playing field, research has shown that when this occurs, even in the rural 15-student classroom, those gifted students often lose interest in education and become true underachievers.

There was quite a negative reaction to Mr. Mamdani’s ideas. Most believe that education is meeting each child’s needs where they are and helping them grow from there. Other cities already have shown that when schools use a more universal screening, more children from diverse backgrounds are identified as gifted. Each child should have an equal chance to be educated as best a school can provide – not too strenuous for some and not too boring for others.

We need the best and the brightest to get developed to the maximum. They will be the leaders and creators of the future. At the same time, we all need some overall higher education for students just to deal with today’s world. To cope with society, the necessary level of intellectual skills has continued to rise. Fewer and fewer jobs need nothing but strength and endurance. We need to protect both the gifted and the not so gifted.

· Dennis Marek can be reached at llamalaw23@gmail.com.