School Reports from Exceptional Talents

The following school reports are all from students who grew up to be people with exceptional talents.  Some even went on to change the world because they believed in freedom to such an extent that they made the world a freer place.

Can you match the comment to the student?

1. “He is so regular in his irregularity that I really don’t know what to do. He had such good abilities but these would be made useless by habitual negligence. Constantly late for school, losing his books and papers and various other things.”
2.  “Certainly on the road to failure… hopeless . . . rather a clown in class…wasting other pupils’ time.”
3. “We’re all for a bit of jollity and mild eye-flashing, but he must not try to get away altogether with this slightly facile manner.”
4. “The boy is every inch a fool, but luckily for him he’s not very tall.”
5. “…would be a very good pupil if she lived in this world.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-507221/Churchill-A-troublemaker-Lennon-A-useless-clown-And-girl-Thatcher-.html#ixzz1pskth267

(see bottom of the page for answers)

Would they have been this negative …

…if the students were given activities that met their learning needs?

…if they were provided with tools that allowed them to express themselves freely?

…if they were uncaged?

I have asked myself how I would meet the needs of these students if they were in my class.  What types of activities would meet the need of John?  Would he have been labelled a failure if he had been allowed to express himself using poetry?  Indeed, Smutny (2003) discussed how creativity can become the venue for creative thinking that leads to unique learning by children.  Would a teacher with a deep love of literature and understanding of a gifted child’s needs have referred to Churchill as lacking ambition?

Please post more school reports if you have access to any.

Next, let’s look at how we can uncage gifted children in “Hey Teacher!  Release those Children!”

 

Answers:  

1:e   2:d   3:b   4:c   5:a

 

Professional Goal:  Discuss with the students their feelings about tools of expression provided.

Goal for Students:  Discuss with the teacher frustrations with tools of expression provided.

 

Question:  If you were to choose one student from your class who was going to do something exceptional in their life, who would it be?  What was her/his report like?