“It’s a tough time to raise, teach or be a highly gifted child… Schools are to extraordinarily intelligent children what zoos are to cheetahs… Every organism has an internal drive to fulfill its biological design. The same is true for unusually bright children. From time to time the bars need be removed, the enclosures broadened. Zoo Chow, easy and cheap as it is, must give way, at least some of the time, to lively, challenging mental prey.” – Stephanie Tolan, Is It A Cheetah?
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With exceptionally bright or gifted children, it is especially important to keep their young minds well occupied with learning. Usually, in the elementary years, learning takes off, and they are learning almost as fast as they can get their hands on books! They are a cheetah, free to run on the plains. By the time high school comes around, subjects become much more difficult to teach, which can sometimes lead to student burnout. When the brilliant mind is no longer challenged, suddenly nothing is interesting anymore. The cheetah has been caged, it’s prey easy to catch.
What Can We Do About This?
Here are some options for you to consider to keep your gifted kids challenged.
Building Thinking Skills Book 1– elementary
NCFCA: National Christian Forensics and Communications Association
www.ncfca.org
STOA: Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate
www.stoausa.org
