Practice makes perfect, right?
We’ve all heard this for years. Many of us take it to heart, sit with it, love it and carry it around with us. Many further believe that it takes 10,000 hours or more of practice for something to become an autonomous habit - perfection! Personally, I have never liked this phrase and avoid it when working with students and staff. Let me explain….
Often, our curious little wonderkids find fault with this way of thinking. They will see through this - because for many of our gifted learners, practice makes frustration. Why practice something that they can already do well? Many a teacher of gifted teacher has battled the “Why am I doing this?” or “I already know this.” or..the dreaded “This is boring.” And while this may be true on some level, it is the responsibility of teachers and parents to work together to create a learning environment that will help our students to develop perseverance in the face of non-preferred and preferred tasks. Another caution with this phrase: crippling perfectionism can manifest and will stunt the academic and emotional growth of any student. A gifted learner will reach this plateau earlier and more aggressively than their peers. Suddenly, our wonderkid is not achieving in their normal areas of strength and passion - often avoiding new learning opportunities on purpose. Self-sabotage is real, even with our youngest students. This shocks many parents and teachers, who are left wondering how to help. More on this topic later…Teachers of gifted, collaborating with parents, must find ways to help our students focus on their strengths, passions, and interests - especially when that means practice. And failure.
Throughout my years working with students who are gifted, I have found several things to be true:
Routine is necessary for students who are gifted. They seek out patterns and will hold you to it. If not provided with routines, they will create their own. Help students create a routine so that they know what to expect and when. Practice the routine….every time. I assure you that, eventually, if you miss a schedule or an event, your bright child will begin to step in - reminding you of the routine. This is a great time to talk about mistakes, failure, and the need for collaboration and teamwork!
Structure is the sister of routine. A highly gifted mind will easily get distracted and create its own sense of structure if not provided, distracting or delaying the goal. Structure is the why and how of the set routine. Work with gifted learners to design how they will flow from each part of their day or tasks. Talk it over, make charts or checklists that are visible to the child. Refer to this every day - as often as needed.
A gifted child requires novelty. How is this possible if they also need routine and structure? Many of our gifted students have somewhat rigid thinking and need assistance to embrace flexibility - whether it be in daily expectations or schedules. As children develop and grow through the repeated practice of routines and structures, teachers of gifted and parents can shift routines and intentionally throw some curve balls. Change it up. Allow children to transfer their skills and knowledge to the new situation. Guide and facilitate them through any frustration they experience. In fact, expect some frustration. You know what will stump them and where they will face a wall. Plan for it. If we have learned anything over that past few years, it is the need for increased adaptability and openness to change.
Practice is imperative for everyone to learn new skills. By working on routines and structures, you will help develop needed executive function skills, while also promoting flexibility of thinking. We are really looking for growth, resilience, and perseverance…..not perfection.
Disclaimer!!! Avoid this mistake I have experienced many times….NOT practicing with gifted learners. Too often, our gifted learners realize way too late in their educational career that they lack necessary skills and stamina to persist with non-preferred tasks. We’ll talk about this in a later post.