What do you think?
Rate this book
Coping With Being Gifted
A discussion of how to cope with some of the problems of being a teenager of special ability, including problems with friendships, family relationships, and how to use a gift for the best
Library Binding
First published December 12, 1992
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 4, 2013
I picked this up because I was a "gifted child," and I'm always eager to read books for and about gifted children. I was curious if this book would have been helpful to me in junior high school.
(I know that this book is old and obscure and that the audience for this review is small, if not nonexistent, but I wanted to write it for my own sanity.)
What I liked:
-Learning that my tendency towards needing time to think and the fact that I'm almost never bored are probably connected to giftedness (I'd never connected these dots before).
-Being reminded that it's OK to find things interesting that other (often less intelligent) people find "boring."
-The idea of "balcony people" and "basement people." "Balcony people sit in the balcony or stand in the wings and cheer you on. [...] Basement people [...] lie around at the lowest level of life and try to pull you down to it."
What I didn't like:
-Cultural references that were up-to-date when the book was published in 1992. Madonna, Gorbachev, Bart Simpson, etc.
-The constant repetition that gifted people generally have better lives and are more successful than non-gifted people. ("You are, all in all, going to have a better life than most people.") Seriously, the authors must have said this at least five times, and I don't think it's true. Success and happiness are defined by each person, and vary wildly based on so many factors beyond IQ.
-This book is written at too high of a reading level, in terms of both style and diction. I was quite verbally gifted as a kid, and I still probably wouldn't have been able to get full benefit out of this book until late high school.
-Bad/stupid advice: Telling gifted girls to "Be feminine. Put a little extra effort into the external trappings." Telling gifted kids who are lonely and want friends to "learn to laugh along with other people even if you don't find something particularly funny."
-Poorly researched assertions. Dumb jocks are rare? It's unheard-of for someone to be profoundly gifted in several areas (e.g. a doctor who could also be a professional ballet dancer)? Citation needed.
Want a good book for gifted kids? Try Judy Galbraith's "Gifted Kids' Survival Guide." Pass on this one.
(I know that this book is old and obscure and that the audience for this review is small, if not nonexistent, but I wanted to write it for my own sanity.)
What I liked:
-Learning that my tendency towards needing time to think and the fact that I'm almost never bored are probably connected to giftedness (I'd never connected these dots before).
-Being reminded that it's OK to find things interesting that other (often less intelligent) people find "boring."
-The idea of "balcony people" and "basement people." "Balcony people sit in the balcony or stand in the wings and cheer you on. [...] Basement people [...] lie around at the lowest level of life and try to pull you down to it."
What I didn't like:
-Cultural references that were up-to-date when the book was published in 1992. Madonna, Gorbachev, Bart Simpson, etc.
-The constant repetition that gifted people generally have better lives and are more successful than non-gifted people. ("You are, all in all, going to have a better life than most people.") Seriously, the authors must have said this at least five times, and I don't think it's true. Success and happiness are defined by each person, and vary wildly based on so many factors beyond IQ.
-This book is written at too high of a reading level, in terms of both style and diction. I was quite verbally gifted as a kid, and I still probably wouldn't have been able to get full benefit out of this book until late high school.
-Bad/stupid advice: Telling gifted girls to "Be feminine. Put a little extra effort into the external trappings." Telling gifted kids who are lonely and want friends to "learn to laugh along with other people even if you don't find something particularly funny."
-Poorly researched assertions. Dumb jocks are rare? It's unheard-of for someone to be profoundly gifted in several areas (e.g. a doctor who could also be a professional ballet dancer)? Citation needed.
Want a good book for gifted kids? Try Judy Galbraith's "Gifted Kids' Survival Guide." Pass on this one.
Displaying 1 of 1 review