I love watching students file into school at the beginning of every year. Beyond the glazed over looks and tired eyes sits a student excited for a new experience, a new opportunity, a new beginning. Quickly, the excitement of the first weeks begins to fade. The energy I once saw begins to die, much like the leaves on the trees, The fire begins to dim, no longer ignited by passion and promise. I begin to see students crumble under the weight of overwhelming loads of homework caused by frequent procrastination and teenage angst. This scenario is dangerous for any student, but especially so for gifted students. Often, gifted students have an intellectual ability that could outmatch many adults we know, but their executive functioning skills are not completely developed yet. It's easy to let work students deem "unimportant" sit in a folder past due dates. Soon that work turns into an overwhelming burden students don't know how to tackle. Our brains tell us it's impossible- they are wired for negative thinking. It's hard to get out of that cycle, so you continue to spiral into a dark abyss. How many of us can relate to feeling like we don't know how to address a difficult problem or situation? Perhaps we need to really look at everyday as a blank slate. Every day is the first day of school-- a new opportunity for us to reinvent who we are by making ourselves more like who we want to become. This Mel Robbins video really spoke to me. I hope it will speak to you!
2 Comments
Shana Remian
9/20/2017 03:29:03 pm
I love that our students have such a committed and dynamic resource teacher! Thank you for helping us all see the complexity of gifted learners!
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Angelyn
9/21/2017 03:20:28 pm
It is so interesting that brains are such a dynamic and complex character. These muscles are why we look to our gifted community for inspiration, problem solving, and invention. Yet at the same time these very systems undermine creativity, risk-taking, and courage due to being hard wired for negative thinking. I am thankful you are asking us all to outsmart our own brains. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...here we go!
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Mrs. LOI am a lover of English, Starbucks, and all things gifted!! My goal is to educate and empower gifted learners because they will be the leaders of the future. Archives
January 2019
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