It helps them tolerate their boredom in regular classes. The boys in my follow-up study were just as gifted as the girls, but I think society generally permits boys to be somewhat more aggressive and, perhaps, as a result, made to feel less different and alienated. It doesn't matter how well the parents are educated as long as they give their children the proper encouragement and support. You can't say if it's heredity or experience. Inescapably, I think, it's a combination of the two.
Gifted students meet with visiting scholars in new North Carolina program.
A The latest legislation passed by Congress stipulates that a certain percentage of federal funding for research be used for identifying gifted but disadvantaged youngsters. In the past, it hasn't been a very popular topic for research, so not much of it has been done. As a result. I know of one girl from a public-housing project, a highly creative first grader with an IQ estimated at 177. Her teachers and parents were disturbed because she still had an imaginary play-mate and they worked to get that out of her.