Teaching Gifted Students Reasoning, Resilience, and Responsibility

How many times have you heard stories about gifted students who either don’t get along socially or become frustrated and quit working on a project? There is much more our children/students need to learn than just academics. Reasoning, resilience, and responsibility (the other three R's) are among the important skills that are vital to young people.

Reasoning is defined as thinking that utilizes rules, whether they are implicit and/or explicit. What strategies would help me solve this problem?

Resilience is the ability to surmount challenges, both inside and outside of school. By teaching about resilience, we help young people to realize that

• Challenges and difficulties are a normal part of life.
• Persistence/determination is needed. If at first I don't succeed I will try again.
• Obstacles are challenges to be overcome. Keep things in perspective. Think of challenges as opportunities for learning.

Responsibility causes one to be accountable for his own actions and inactions and the resulting consequences. By teaching responsibility, we help students see their

• Academic responsibility—Good grades result from my efforts. If I want to learn it's up to me.
• Personal responsibility—It's up to me to make it happen. How I act matters.
• Social responsibility—I care about what is good for all of us, not just for me.
• Ability to give and seek help—Let’s help one another.

By teaching these skills, we will help our young people to do well academically, use good judgment, conduct themselves with appropriate behavior, get along with people, bounce back from the bumps of life, and be good citizens.