DYS Homeroom

Concerning the mini-lesson, this week we focused on common “maddening myths” about gifted education (see below). Students were presented with a myth and asked to break it down from their own perspective while being exposed to the “fact” in the Gifted Teen Survival Guide (sometimes I borrow from this excellent book in addition to the Gifted Kids Survival Guide). We used myth number four (“gifted kids are good at everything they do”) to segue into a discussion about twice-exceptionality. I let students know, even if they don’t identify as twice-exceptional themselves, they will encounter many students on their educational journey who do, and it’s beneficial to be aware of this definition and the specific challenges involved (see images below). We also discussed Famous 2e people in history (a brief list) and analyzed corresponding quotes. Hans Christian Andersen  Simone Weil  Mozart  Beethoven  Archimedes  Vincent van Gogh  Isaac Newton  Nikola Tesla  Einstein  Henry Cavendish In addition

Guiding Quotes: “Listening is an art that requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, others over self.” – Dean Jackson "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." – Stephen R. Covey "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." – Ernest Hemingway “Speaking is only valuable when it offers something better than silence.” - Someone who really liked silence Surprising Facts: In a study that analyzed adult conversations nine minutes long, in the segments recorded, the average length of silences varied from an average of .04 to .09 seconds. Most people are uncomfortable with silence. Most people make it less than 10 seconds before asking a question or saying something. The average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words during the course of a 24-hour period People are distracted while listening about 75% of the time. An estimated 85% of what we have learne

Because gifted students often feel things more intensely, they can experience sadness (and happiness!) on levels that are sometimes difficult for others to interpret. This week we touched on mental health as it relates to giftedness. We also touched on how mental health is just as important as physical health. Most of us have a "monster hall of fame” - a list of words we hold on to or negative events that happened that repeat in our heads (and give us a sneaky excuse to hold ourselves back). Human brain 101: Generally, in our day to day lives, everything we experience or see is subject to labeling, categorization, evaluation, and comparison. This is a process that unfolds automatically, and it is facilitated by our cognitive analysis functions. These processes happen without us being aware, which is very useful when it comes to problem solving. However, a problem arises when these mental processes that facilitate comparison and pass judgment are directed inwards. This typically

Emotions are connected to thinking. You are feeling an emotion at every point in time throughout your life. Of course, emotions such as “rage” will get our attention quicker than emotions such as “contentment,” but it’s important to acknowledge emotions are always there. That’s why learning to recognize and handle them can make a big difference regarding the quality of our life. When we work on improving in this area, we are working on what is known as emotional intelligence. EQ “Test” Questions: Do your feelings lead to actions that disrupt your relationships on a frequent basis? Can you adapt to change? Do your feelings interfere with your ideal self and cause you to hide (debilitating stage fright or avoidance of conflict would be an example of this)? Do you use intuition or do you ignore your gut? Can you name a wide range of feelings? Can you identify when they take place in you? People with high emotional intelligence understand themselves and their emotions. They understand how

From a high-performance perspective, alter-egos are proven to increase confidence (and performance) for writers, musicians, athletes, business owners, actors, and students. Why? This week we explored some studies behind "self-distancing" and put some thought into constructing our own "alter-egos" for various situations.  Study to illustrate the power of alter-egos: “A recent University of Minnesota of Minnesota study of four and six year old children found that to teach kids perseverance, parents should teach children to pretend to be like Batman or another favorite character because it creates psychological distance… The study split kids into three groups. The researchers put a toy in a locked glass box and gave the kids a ring of keys. The catch? No key worked. The researchers wanted to see how to improve the children’s executive functioning skills and were interested in seeing how long they would try to unlock the box and what they would try. To help the kids,