Everybody knows that all people in the world differ in their abilities and potential. It is often the case that what is easy for one person, may turn out to be extremely difficult for another, which can be vividly traced in the learning experience of different students. Some students find it hard to solve problems in Mathematics whereas others solve them without even thinking them over and come to the right conclusion. People with ordinary abilities or potential have, as a rule, usual jobs, but those with outstanding abilities grow into scholars and scientists. People with extreme abilities in certain areas of human activities are referred to as “gifted”, or “talented”. Similar at the first sight, the concepts of “giftedness” and “talent” are absolutely different. To find out whether a person is gifted or talented one has to have a better look at his or her capabilities since a person is considered to be gifted when his or her outstanding performance is a result of potential, while a person who tries hard to develop certain skills and achieves success in this can be called talented.
Giftedness is a potential of a person used to display outstanding performance in different areas of human activities. There are five of these areas, namely, “general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative thinking, leadership ability, (and) visual or performing arts” (Webb J., Amend, and Webb N. 1) A person is considered to be gifted “when he or she has made an outstanding and new contribution to society” (Coleman and Cross 7). It is easy to find out whether the child is gifted since most gifted children display their outstanding potential far earlier than starting school. As a rule, they already know half of the school program before they are six or seven years old; moreover, they are interested in more spheres of human activities than ordinary children. Gifted children are curious about everything and persistent in finding out new information. In general, it is difficult to find out exactly who can be considered a gifted person since the definitions of this concept change all the time, and “someone can be gifted… one day and not the next, simply because an arbitrary definition has changed” (Macht 152).
However, gifted people should be distinguished from talented ones for these two concepts are not the same. Unlike giftedness, talent derives from ability and from a brilliant performance of a person in a separate field of human activities. When it comes to studies, talent emerges from the learning experience of the student and develops as a result of hard work and persistence. A gifted person does not have to try hard, especially in studies whereas it will still take some time and effort for a talented person to assimilate the experience. “Talent is indistinguishable from its effects. One cannot see that talent exists until after its effects become obvious” (Newman and O’Brien 34). Therefore, the talent never lies on the surface and it will not be enough to simply hope that it will display itself someday. It always takes a lot of time to discover the talent; no less time is required to learn how to use the talent and to develop it with time. Talent is just like experience; it is growing with time and practice.
Works Cited
Coleman, Lawrence. J., and Cross, Tracy. L. Being Gifted in School: An Introduction to Development, Guidance, and Teaching. Prufrock Press Inc., 2005.
Macht, Joel. Special education’s failed system: a question of eligibility. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.
Newman, David M. and O’Brien, Jodi. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Pine Forge Press, 2006.
Webb, James. T, Amend, Edward R., and Webb, Nadia. Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders. Great Potential Press, Inc., 2005.