THE FUTURE FOR GIFTED KIDS:
PANIC? PROBLEMS? POSSIBILITIES? POTENTIAL? PREPARATION?
EMPOWERMENT.
By Victoria Gardner Placker, B.A. Ed., M.S., Fall, 1989
"We want to talk about the Exxon oil spill", my students announced as they entered our classroom. My initial thought was of the hours I spent slaving over my lesson plans for this Psychology class for gifted sixth through eighth graders. But remembering "the teachable moment", I reminded myself that the lesson could wait and responded, "Go for it." And they did. For over an hour we discussed their concerns, fears, and frustrations with world problems and the way the "older generation" (could that be me?) was messing things up. One young man summarized it very well when he said, "Between the deteriorating ozone layer, the endangered wildlife and rain forests, and now oil all over the oceans and beaches, the planet will soon be a total mess, and we're the ones who are going to have to clean it up. And since half the kids I know are on drugs and their brains are burned out, they won't be able to help. The few of us will probably have to take care of them as well as all the old people when social security runs out of money. It's just not fair!"
"Well, I'm not going to worry about it," another student responded, "The way I figure, someone will probably push THE BUTTON and the whole planet will be disintegrated before we have to do anything."
A new version of the song, "Don't worry, be happy!" flashed through my mind as I came away from that class; "Don't worry, it's hopeless!" Fortunately, I also got the inspiration for this article (something good can come from every situation!). The next week, I asked all my Psychology students to write a paper on "The Future: Problems and Possible Solutions". Here is what these Gifted 10-14 year old youngsters wrote.
"THE FUTURE: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS"
Excerpts from students' papers
"Where will we put the nuclear waste and garbage? Wherever it goes, it's going to be contaminating something or someone. The adults are making a mess of our world and we kids are the ones who must fix it. That's a big responsibility. I'm pretty sure there won't be a nuclear war, so why do we need all those missiles? We've got enough to blow the world up many times, as if once weren't enough! All the money spent on Star Wars could be used for needed things like education, homelessness, and the elderly." Mikylah, Grade 8.
"Nuclear waste should be disposed where it is made. Nuclear war should be stopped by having smart leaders. We should recycle so we won't have that much waste. Hunger and homelessness should get funds from the budget instead of the war machine." Sam, Grade 8.
"I'm afraid life as we know it will no longer exist. Pollutions, endangered wildlife, crime, and medical problems will dominate our lives and our children's lives." Tracey, Grade 8.
"At the rate things are going, one little screw up, like the oil spill, is going to make a big difference. . . We've screwed up the world a lot for the short time we've been on it." Seventh grade boy.
"I'm worried about the rain forests being chopped down. The government doesn't seem to be taking any action to stop it, and isn't the government supposed to be concerned about the welfare of the world? If the rain forests continue to be destroyed, in 60 or 70 years we won't be here anymore and neither will the government." Eighth grade girl.
"I'm afraid in 15 or 20 years the pesticides might get so out of hand my children will be afraid to eat the fruit I so enjoy. Already people are scared of eating grapes. The use of styrofoam harms the environment, and the excessive use of hairspray and household cleaners in aerosol cans is seriously damaging our ozone layer. It's the only protection we have against harmful ultra-violet rays, and we need to preserve it as much as possible." Caren, Grade 7.
"The future to me looks both good and bad. For instance, the Exxon oil spill will cause lots of disturbance to nature, but the new ways of treating disease will help us. . . There may not be a future 30 years from now. It scares me to think I may die before I get to do everything in life I want to do. People seem to be a lot more self-centered than any other life form. We think we need things like nuclear energy, but in the future the waste could kill us. I think if we want to develop things we must think of ALL the consequences. . . The best solution I can think of for the Exxon oil spill is to develop a boat that would go over the water filtering the oil and letting the water out." Carolyn, Grade 6.
"That spot in Alaska will never be the same. Some animals in that area might go extinct. It will take maybe a hundred years for the river to clean itself. . . When we grow up we'll have to pay off the national debt. Where will we get the money?" 8th grade boy
"I'm worried the budget deficit will get too severe and the U.S. will be poor. We can cope with this by spending money wisely." Frank, Grade 8.
"Overpopulation is going to become a major problem in the third world. Drought and hunger are quickly beginning to spread as poverty does too. I feel we need to endorse birth control and contraceptives. Soon all poverty will be related to overpopulation." Orion, Grade 7.
"Countless problems arise from a high population. I have seen estimates that by the time I am 80 years old there will be 15 billion people in the world. That scares me!" Emett, Grade 8.
"Problems: The growing of neo-fascist groups; hatred and violence getting out of control; drugs; big business and corporations because as soon as they take over, people have no more say about their lives. Solution: We need a better system." Eighth grade girl.
"Parents tell children not to be violent when their generation is the violent one." Eric, Grade 7.
"I see the future as problems with solutions not yet found. Hopefully our generation can shape up before it's too late." Jade, Grade 8.
"I saw a tv show that said by the end of 1992, 500,000 Americans would be sick with AIDS, and that many of them would be children. I wonder why the government didn't do something about the problem sooner, instead of waiting until the disease spread so much." Seventh grade boy.
"I worry about my family because they're not Christains. What if my grandparents die before they get saved? I'm worried about war between the U.S. and Iran, and all the hijackings and violence in the world. There was even a hostage situation at Mall 205 the other day. Sometimes I don't even
want to grow up. I'm not afraid of dying, but I'm afraid of all the
responsibilities of getting older. . . I'm going to have my own talk show like Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey. I want to be able to tell what I think about a subject." Jamie, Grade 6.
"I feel the future is now up to the children because the adults have made so many mistakes. If they would let us run the world for awhile, maybe things would change for the better." Emily, Grade 7.
"Parents, love your kids, give them confidence, and set proper examples." Jade, grade 8.
"The way I see the future, it could be a very wonderful place to live. That depends on what we do now. I have no miracle solution to offer, but if we all put our heads together, I'm sure we could find one." Angela, Grade 7.
WOW!!! ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, ENDANGERED RAINFORESTS AND WILDLIFE, DRUGS, VIOLENCE, NEONAZIS, DESTRUCTION OF THE OZONE LAYER, THE NATIONAL DEBT, POVERTY, HUNGER, HOMELESSNESS, AIDS, OVERPOPULATION, NUCLEAR WAR . . . Boggles your mind, doesn't it? We adults feel helpless, overwhelmed, and frustrated by these problems; our gifted kids feel even more so. They see not only the problems we do, they often see far beyond. Elizabeth Meckstroth, co-author of Guiding the Gifted Child , said, "they see the world as if through a microscope." I'm glad these kids are concerned about world problems; the only thing worse would be their apathy. But it troubles me that, although I asked for problems and possible solutions, they tended to see more problems. It breaks my heart to know they spend time that could be used to enjoy life and deal with their own education and personal problems worrying about the future of our world. And most of all, I'm furious that we adults have made such a mess of things!
So what can we as parents and educators of these youngsters do? Of course, you already know that first we need to get off our duffs and do something about these problems so our kids don't have to waste their childhoods worrying about them! The good news is, just as gifted kids see problems others do not see, they also can see possibilities and solutions when given the opportunity.
I asked my Creative Problem Solving class of gifted 2nd through 4th graders to brainstorm possibilities for the problems created by the Exxon oil spill. In less than two hours, the children came up with many wonderful solutions.
(1) To clean up the spill, they designed giant sponges, paper towels, and cotton balls to absorb the oil, vacuum cleaners and pipe systems to "suck it up", nontoxic chemicals to dissove the oil, and nets and filtering systems to separate the oil from the water. One young man suggested taking a big fire hose to forcefully spray the oil off the beaches. The children decided that the unemployed and the homeless would be paid by Exxon to do the clean up work, thus solving two other problems at the same time.
(2) To rescue the animals, the children created giant nets to "scoop them up" and an "adopt an animal" campaign, whereby each animal would be cared for by a family until it was well enough to be returned to its natural habitat. They decided that people with swimming pools could take care of the sea otters.
(3) To prevent future disasters, the children created a pad "like a big diaper" to go under oil tankers to absorb future spills, and multi-layered tankers so if one layer broke the oil would still be contained. They decided on mandatory drug/alcohol testing for crew members and created a campaign for using other forms of energy so we wouldn't need so much oil.
Our gifted kids have no trouble seeing the world's problems, nor do they have difficulty thinking of possible solutions when given the opportunity. What they appear to have trouble with is seeing their ability to implement those solutions; that what they do and have the potential to do can and will make a difference. They have trouble believing in themselves.
EMPOWERMENT: BECOMING A WIZARD
A line from a popular song in the 70's by America went, "Oz didn't give nothin' to the Tin Man that he didn't already have," inspired me to begin using "Wizard of Oz" techniques in my counseling. Remember in "The Wizard of Oz", the scarecrow thought he didn't have a brain, the tinman thought he didn't have a heart, and the lion thought he didn't have courage? However, during the course of the movie, the scarecrow showed intelligence and cleverness, the tinman showed sensitivity and compassion, and the lion showed great courage; each really did have what he thought he didn't. However, it took the Wizard to point out and help them realize their abilities and potential. We need to be like the Wizard and help our kids realize their capacity to deal with the world's problems, to build their confidence and to empower them. We need to instill in them "self-efficacy", the belief that one can accomplish something. How can we do all this? Jade, grade 8, summarized it well, "Parents, love your kids, give them confidence, and set proper examples." I would like to also recommend the following:
(1) Take their concerns seriously. Accept and understand their feelings. Never tell them, "don't worry about that." (When was the last time someone told you not to worry about something and you actually stopped worrying?) Really listen to their problems and ideas.
(2) Be thankful they care! Remember the alternative is apathy. Praise them for caring about the future, world problems, and other people. Let them know how much you respect their empathy, compassion, and concern.
(3) Encourage and help them to do something about the problem, no matter how small. Never say, "There's nothing you can do about it?" Instead ask, "What could you do?" They'll usually come up with lots of ideas. If they don't, suggest they write to their congressperson, write letters to the editor of newspapers and magazines, join an action group such as "Save the Whales", make "awareness" posters, plant trees, work on the campaign of a politician who believes in the issue, etc. You can even work together on some of these activities.
(4) Help them prepare for the future with courses and activities such as "Creative Problem Solving", "Future Problem Solvers", "Odyssey of the Mind", and other thinking, decision making, and problem solving courses.
(5) Help them see their POTENTIAL, what they are capable of doing in the future. Remember the young lady who wanted to have a talk show like Barbara Walters or Oprah Winfrey? Help your youngster find and pursue a goal or dream. "When you're a biochemist, you can work on a cure for AIDS." And don't say, "maybe someday". Be specific. Let your children know you believe they can and will do it.
(6) Believe in them and help them believe in themselves. A line from one of the songs in "The Wiz" (the 1980's version of The Wizard of Oz) goes, "Believe in yourself as I believe in you." Help them be like the bumblebee who flies because he doesn't know he can't.
Yes, the future is certainly frightening, more so for our children, and especially for our highly sensitive and aware gifted children. We need to be Wizards, and help our gifted kids see their capabilities and potential as well as the problems and possibilities. We need to help them be prepared for the future so they don't have to panic. We need to empower and help them believe in themselves. As Angela, Grade 7, wrote, "The way I see the future, it could be a very wonderful place to live. That depends on what we do now. I have no miracle solution to offer, but if we all put our heads together, I'm sure we could find one."
This article was written for and printed in “A Different Drummer”, the Journal of the Oregon
Association for the Talented And Gifted the Fall of 1989 . Thank you for taking the time to read it. If you are interested in obtaining copies of any of the numerous articles I have written, please contact me.
Email: DrVickie@att.net
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