Roseann Wawira

Can you pronounce the weird looking word o n the post’s title? Is there any difference in meaning between the word ‘reality’ or ‘REALITY’ and 'rEaLIty'? Why does the word look weird? What should someone do when they come across such a word in a piece of writing? Omit the word and try to comprehend the meaning of the rest of the sentence? Or read it anyway, despite the asynchrony? For instance, assuming a reader decides to omit the word, the title will read, ‘this is’ and if the same reader decides to overlook the error, the title will read, ‘This is Reality’. Do you realize the significance of each decision? Apparently, this is how gifted individuals (GIs) appear in the eyes of the larger society – ‘weird’. And in absolute disregard of reality, they’re coldly shoved aside like some pieces of complex puzzles. Hey folks! embrace and celebrate uniqueness. However the amount of jitters they give you thanks to their monstrous strengths or despite how much they irritat...

Our society holds dear the principle of modesty. We really strive to abide by the virtue of humility, which is a good thing. However, we often cross the line and drift to unhealthy levels of modesty. ‘Is there such a thing as unhealthy modesty?’ – perhaps. You see, suppressing strengths and abilities to a point where they become rusty, so as to fit in and avoid being seen as lacking modesty is not right at all. Maybe someone is wondering, ‘who does that?’ As a matter of fact, most gifted individuals are guilty on this one. They often tone down their strengths/abilities so as not to appear overbearing on their peers or to avoid being labeled show-offs. With time they master their act and blend in; they settle for average performance. Our system of education is largely to blame for this due to its failure to provide differentiated learning for gifted students. From the onset, gifted learners are made to believe that what the system has availed is what is necessary. Howev...

A gifted individual is startling, just when you think you’ve comprehended their persona, they pull another brand new face and throw you into confusion. Expression of giftedness is a journey full of surprises; geniuses are the most unpredictable humans. This is partly because of their intense character traits (strengths and weaknesses alike), which give them extreme and rare personalities. No wonder most of them feel misunderstood by others; actually it’s not just a feeling, people misunderstand them. But the weirdest surprise is, sometimes they too don’t understand themselves. (Trouble!) Another aspect of giftedness that elicits confusion is asynchronous (unbalanced) development. Yes, unbalanced (mental, emotional, physical) development is a trouble most geniuses have to deal with up to some point in their life or worse still in their entire lifetime in the absence of nurturance. For instance, you may find some gifted individuals who have very advanced cognitive/mental abilit...

For a very good reason, I would like to split the mortals into two major groups; those with very high IQs and those with average IQs. And with the help of research, I’ll draw the cut line at 130.  Majority of the human population (approximately 98%) have average IQs; they fall under 130. This means that on estimate only a mere 2% would hit the 130 and above mark; these are the guys/gals we normally refer to as gifted or genius. So one would ask, does the Maker discriminate by endowing a few individuals with razor-sharp brains while majority are fitted in with average brains? The answer is no; though deliberate it’s not discriminative. Each group has its privileges and limits. And their privileges and limits are so distinct that each group responds to the world differently. As indicated, majority of the human population fall under one group and for this reason, world’s systems tend to address issues/needs of the masses. This leaves the unique minority out in the cold with li...

Fear of failure and humiliation is a common characteristic of gifted individuals. It’s a negative trait that develops gradually; you can call it the curse of the gift. It all begins when people start noticing their genius and praise starts flowing in from left, right and center. Parents, relatives, teachers etc. make it their business to remind these brainy tots that they’re super brilliant at every available opportunity.   Unfortunately, the frequent wows and praises work against them in the long-run as they resort to shunning activities and challenges, which they perceive difficult for fear of failing to meet the obvious expectations of everyone. As the negative trait of fear of failure and humiliation develops, it becomes like a thick dark cloud that hampers the brightness of a shining star. And if corrective measures are not employed to arrest the situation early enough, the cloud can linger indefinitely. As they grow older their brightness become duller and duller an...

As a matter of principle, everyone ought to submit to authority, may it be state, school, parental, workplace authority etc. When it comes to matters of authority, there is no other way, submission is the golden rule. However, most gifted individuals hold a permanent guilt card for failing to submit to authority. Whether it’s at home, in school, at the workplace etc. they always find themselves rubbing authorities the wrong way. Before we condemn and write them off as arrogant characters and criminals who need counseling, discipline and rehabilitation; it’s prudent to understand why they scorn authority. Perhaps counseling would be necessary but understanding must come first. In an article I wrote a while ago,  'Characteristics of Gifted Individuals' , I mentioned a number of common character traits of gifted individuals. I’ll analyze these traits in depth as we seek to understand why they scorn authority. By doing this, I’m not trying to justify their behavior but instead...

This article is part of a series on Giftedness . Before proceeding, read the preceding articles:- 1.        Understanding Gifted Individuals – Overview 2.        Characteristics of Gifted Individuals 3.        Harnessing Potential of Gifted Individuals  4.        Challenges of Gifted Individuals: Living With Giftedness  Challenges of Giftedness and Possible solutions Introduction Living with giftedness comes with its fair share of challenges. If not dealt with, these challenges can swallow up giftedness and subject the gifted individual to unending suffering. Below are some challenges of giftedness and suggested solutions. 1.        Ignorance of giftedness in kids One of the greatest challenges of giftedness is ignorance. Lack of information on the subject of giftedness imposes a huge burden on its carri...

This article is part of a series on Giftedness. Before proceeding, read the preceding articles:- 1.     Understanding Gifted Individuals – Overview 2.     Characteristics of Gifted Individuals 3.     Harnessing Potential of Gifted Individuals 4.     Challenges of Gifted Individuals:Living With Giftedness                                                                        Introduction  The gifted community forms about 2% of the population. Given their scarce numbers and unique  characteristics , one of their greatest challenges is gaining understan...