Intellectually or Artistically Gifted Seniors?

S

scollins

New Member
Location
Chicago
Hi there!

I was wondering if any of the members out there consider themselves to be Gifted and Talented? (Intellectually/Artistically/Athletically)

I teach gifted and talented children near Chicago and was wondering about the experience of growing older as a gifted person? We know so much about gifted children, but next to NOTHING about gifted seniors.

Any thoughts? Insights? Wisdom to share with gifted young people?

Thank you,
Sharon
 

Oh, yes! I am both gifted and talented. Unfortunately, after almost 70 years, my gifts and talents continue to go unnoticed. But as they say... genius is not appreciated in its time. This is simply another cross I have had to bear. :(

As for sharing my wisdom, I never did have enough of that to share. Just the gifted and talented stuff that nobody noticed.
 
You definitely have the humor of the gifted! :highly_amused: Do you wish your giftedness was noticed by others? Or, are you fine to know it yourself? I wonder because I see many young people still going unnoticed or unappreciated.
 

If you have survived 70 years, FishWisher, you do have many talents such as adaptablity and flexibility! I have several skills and talents like logicical thinking and playing musical instruments/writing music.
 
If my true genius and ability were to be revealed to the world societies everywhere would fall, knowing they could never equal my awesomeness.

So, I usually just keep it to myself. ;)

Interesting thread, though ... ARE there any associations for gifted seniors, or does all that talent just go to waste? I would think with the emphasis on youth here in the West discovering elder gifted folk would be a hit-or-miss proposition. Once in a while you'll see an article about a geriatric athlete or a 100-year-old rock guitarist or something along those lines, but the story is soon buried by what the bimbos in Hollywood are wearing to the SAG Awards ...
 
Here, here sifuphil! You're right about that. Western societies value intellect little and fame absolutely. Sad comment. The only association I know of that is not focused on children is SENG- serving the emotional needs of the gifted- although they do have a lot about children at their yearly conference, there are always workshops for and about gifted adults. I've never been to anything specifically about "seniors" though. Seems to me to be off. If there are gifted kids and adults, then it is logical to conclude that 5-8% of seniors are gifted as well.

R.Zimm- how long have you been playing instruments and writing music? It's a talented I am definitely missing. Were you encouraged to follow your gifts? Were they acknowledged as such? So many of my students lack support for their intelligence. ( probably goes back to what sifuphil was saying)
 
I started playing drums in 1967 and guitar in 1970. Got a BA in Music Theory in 1977 but ended up in the computer business and in the 80's music was on hold for a while. Got back into playing in the 90's and played drums and guitar in church for a dozen years. Picked up the ukulele about three years ago and the bass guitar about a year ago. I'd still like to play keyboard but even though I have a small one I just don't have the time. Latest project is a jazz guitar duo with a Brazilian dude.
 
scollins said:
Here, here sifuphil! You're right about that. Western societies value intellect little and fame absolutely. Sad comment. The only association I know of that is not focused on children is SENG- serving the emotional needs of the gifted- although they do have a lot about children at their yearly conference, there are always workshops for and about gifted adults. I've never been to anything specifically about "seniors" though. Seems to me to be off. If there are gifted kids and adults, then it is logical to conclude that 5-8% of seniors are gifted as well ...
Click to expand...

It just seems a shame to me because for about 10 years I was a daily visitor to NYC's Chinatown. There were some "old-school" families still living in the area during that time that I became friendly with and their treatment of their elders was breathtaking: they were venerated, respected, honored and consulted for every decision made by the family. They would no more place them in a nursing home than toss them in the East River.

The children, although they were well-disciplined at home, were beginning to show signs of a more Western attitude due to their fraternization with native-born American students.
 
Gifted is by whose definition, IMO.

I have worked for extremely gifted engineers that couldn't cross a back country road without getting run over by the only Amish buggy that traveled it, that day.

Anyone who has made it this far, isn't comatose in a nursing home, doesn't suffer from any of the mental maladies that require they be kept under lock and key, should be considered Gifted. IMO, that word does not hold nearly same meaning for a senior as a six year old; we have had an entire lifetime to build upon our brain power (a/k/a logic) or just flat out show the rest of the world how stupid we are, after all.

My tested IQ is in the 96th percentile but I certainly am not gifted in Things Mental or artistic; I never could balance my checkbook and painting or music efforts were a complete disaster.

I do possess an uncanny/natural ability to communicate with/train horses; there's only a very small percent of the world's population who appreciate that genious quirk. The Gift has developed 100-fold with time but I've never been able to pay one electric bill from it:)
 
Gifted is certainly a narrowly-useful thing. Yo Yo Ma is gifted cellist, but he might not be able to nail two pieces of wood together. Norm Abrams is a master carpenter, but don't ask him to rip off a few bars of Beethoven's Symphony #5 on the piano.

Myself, I'm sort of an idiot savant like Rainman - I know a lot about a few things but I have trouble tying my shoes.

Especially when they're boots.
 
Okay, gonna set myself up for ridicule . . . but, what the heck... I was a gifted child and the schools wanted me to skip 1st and 2nd grade. Luckily, my mom said no way. Thank God! I feel so sorry for those kids thrown in with a bunch of older kids (who probably ain't so bright, neither...). Anyway, was enrolled in advanced placement classes in junior high which was at least interesting. THEN, as I became a miserable teenager . . . was actual going to fail all my classes and not graduate! The district shrink gave me an IQ test and said I measured at genius . . . So . . .

I just wanted to go surfin'...
 

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