Gifted Children
There is a misperception in the general population of what realistically can be expected of the gifted children in our midst. We readily accept the concept that these children are quick to learn and may even seem to have an uncanny ability to grasp knowledge. The misperception comes from assuming a particularly smart child is also ahead of the norm in respects to all phases of his or her life.
Unfortunately, it's very rare indeed to find gifted children who are as well developed in all phases of life. An inclination toward academic development doesn't necessarily mean emotional maturity, too. Accelerated academic development also does not mean the gifted child of 8 who functions academically as a 12-year-old will also be as physically developed as a 12-year-old child might be.
When gifted children excel at tasks of an academic, intellectual, or artistic nature but seem to lag behind, or maintain the level of the average child of the same age, in other aspects of development, the growth is said to be asynchronous, or not in complete balance throughout all aspects of the child's life.
One prime example of asynchronicity that is often used to illustrate the concept in gifted children is that of Albert Einstein. Almost everyone everywhere understands that Albert Einstein was a genius among geniuses. What many people are unaware of, or find hard to believe, is that Einstein got off to a very slow start as a child.
Reports vary a bit, but Mr. Einstein didn't begin life in the ranks of gifted children, as many might expect. Instead, he might have been classified as a child with learning disorders, according to today's standards of educational evaluation. He didn't even speak until he was 2, according to some sources, or even 4, according to others.
Why Einstein wasn't a member of the ranks of gifted children during his own childhood is a subject of debate. Some theorists of childhood development say there is little connection between Einstein, the child slow to accomplish speech, and Einstein, the adult who gained worldwide fame putting some of the most abstract ideas known to man into words so eloquent that many people could understand.
Other theorists feel Einstein's delayed ability to speak as a child and his later genius in the theoretical sciences were intricately interwoven, one dependent upon the other.
We'll never know which theory is true or if there is still another reason why a person as intellectually advanced as Einstein during his adult life could also be someone who seemed so cognitively delayed as a child. Regardless of the reason why, however, it is much more important that parents and educators today learn from his life's experiences.
Gifted children are truly gifted but they are children, too. They need an educational curriculum that addresses all the needs of a child. When all aspects of a child's life are integrated into the learning experience, the child's true gifts will shine the brightest.