The Journal of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

was sticking to my body, my legs were trembling, my muscles stretched as in an extremely high energy
gymnastics session” [H.D.].
Being used to teaching larger groups of university students while at ease, this feeling, of
"being at the edge", was indeed new to the author.
The substantial amount of energy needed for teaching gifted students is one of the main
reasons many teachers would prefer not to have to do that. However, while being an expert in gifted
education requires the free will of the teacher, who either applies for a position in the gifted
education system, or volunteers to that task, most teachers, who teach in regular classrooms, must
teach the gifted students studying in these regular classrooms most, if not all the time. The feeling
that one must do something he or she has no way to refuse to do so makes it more difficult, and
increases the resistance towards doing that.
3. Be able to admit both to herself and to her students when having no answer to their
questions
Many teachers think that saying "I don’t know", "This is beyond my understanding" or "I
have not thought about this question or issue" would compromise their authority, cause disrespect
by their students; even ridicule them. Thus, they try either to avoid any questions from gifted
students, being afraid they would not be able to answer them, or even punish their students for
asking "difficult" questions. The gifted child learns not only that it is always better not to ask
questions, but also that he or she does not have the capacity to foresee the reactions of others, that
what might be understood as showing interest, paying attention to the material learnt, and sharing
thoughts with others might also be perceived as insulting, revealing of unpleasant truth and even
exposing of the teachers’ weaknesses.
The mistakes teachers make might cause a lot of trouble to the gifted child. Two real
examples, both from one third grade class illustrate mistakes made by teachers.
I. In a science exam the pupils were asked to define a "magnet". A gifted 8-year old student wrote:
"a piece of iron drawn to anything made of iron". The teacher "corrected’ him, writing: "an ironstone"
instead of "a piece of iron". The pupil knew his answer was right and hers was wrong,
but being very developed emotionally, he understood that there was no point telling her that,
because she would be very embarrassed and he might have lost her affection, so he got an "A–"
in the exam, rather than the straight "A" he deserved, but retained his teacher’s likeness.
II. In a geography class held by the same teacher, the subject learnt was Longitudes and Latitudes.
In order to illustrate the subject, the teacher took an orange, put it on her table, cut is at its
"equator" and said that the orange was cut at its longest longitude. A 9-year old gifted boy, who
knew she had been wrong, tried to correct her, but instead of admitting making a mistake, she
argued with him, saying he had not heard her correctly. It was almost impossible to mishear
what had been said regarding longitudes and latitudes in Hebrew, as the Hebrew term for
longitude is "KAV ORECH" and for latitude: "KAV RO’CHAV". In addition to her mistake, the
pupil had to deal with his teacher’s denial, and with her future suspicious attitude toward him,
resulting from her fear that her student "is out there, waiting for her to make another mistake".
4. Have a strong tendency to study, develop and enrich herself academically and personally
The teacher of the gifted must have a high professional or educational level in the field
taught, or, if teaching the arts, be a good artist. This characteristic is essential in order to achieve the
next stage: "be an expert in the subject matter taught”, but not just. For being a high level
professional, one needs:
• To wish to learn, to get a satisfaction from "learning for the sake of learning" – or "Torah
Li’Shma", as has been valued in Jewish tradition and culture for about 2000 years. The Rambam
(Maimonides, 1138-1204) cites the Sifre (1550), that one should not learn Torah in order to be
called wise, in order to sit in yeshiva, or for some other reward, but rather one should learn for its
own sake. It seems according to Rambam that the concept of "lishma" is not an order or a
specific commandment, but rather is part of the general obligation. We do not expect the
teacher to work without getting paid; but he or she should learn because they enjoy the learning.
Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011. 77