Real World: Gifted Females

Activity

Sheila
When Sheila was 13 she was an outstanding violinist, a
talented writer, and a sensitive and perceptive young woman.
Because she was also tall, thin, beautiful, and wore highfashion clothes and make-up, she faced tremendous pressure
to date (especially older boys), to look into a modeling career,
and to be popular. If schoolwork was difficult or took a lot of
time, she frequently remarked of herself that she's "not smart"
When she succeeded, Sheila claimed the project was "easy" or
that she made "lucky guesses." Between her appearance and
her articulate and insightful conversation, many adults
commented that she was "a 21-year-old woman in disguise."
But she wasn't. She developed intense and problematic
stomachaches. Sheila struggled to find what she wanted to do
and be on her own.
How could she strike a balance between her beauty, her
talent, and her brains? .

HEIDI
Heidi was such an outstanding math student that in eighth grade,
she took both Honors Algebra and Honors Geometry so that she
could accelerate when she went from middle school to high
school. She was also a talented writer and a gifted artist. She
even starred on the softball team. Was there anything Heidi
couldn't do? Unfortunately, none of her accomplishments earned
her acceptance by the popular crowd of boys and girls. Although
respected, she was left out most of the time. She had a flair for
the unusual in clothing and preferred thrift shops to the mall.
Many other students seemed to be afraid of her intellect, her keen
perceptions, her unusual tastes, and her high standards for
herself and others. Her eyes sparkled and her ready wit was a
delight to anyone who took the time to listen. Most of her
admirers, however, were adults. Not by her own choice, she spent
a great deal of time lonely and an outsider.
How can Heidi balance her abilities and skills? What advice would you
give her? How can her parents or teachers help?

Emily
Emily's parents sat together, with the mother speaking as
her husband nodded. "Our daughter's in 1st grade but
goes to 2nd for math. The teacher was discussing the
commutative property of addition with the class, saying
that 3 plus 5 is the same as 5 plus 3. She then asked
about subtraction--was 5 minus 3 the same as 3 minus 5.
The other students all said 3 minus 5 was impossible, but
Emily said it was possible and that it would be 'a number
under zero. 2 under.' All by herself, she'd 'invented'
negative numbers.
What advice would you give to the parents to encourage
their child? What would you day to her parents if you
were Emilys teacher?

Samantha
"Just recently," reports 5-year-old Samantha's
mother, "she drew a very accurate
representation of the world on a napkin. In her
drawing she identified specifically Africa,
Europe and Asia, as well as individual
countries, like Italy and Turkey. In
kindergarten, they've looked over a map of the
United States.
Which characteristics are Samantha
displaying and why? How can they be
cultivated?