How All Middle-Schoolers Can Be "Gifted".
Students are going to compare themselves with their peers regardless if it is healthy for their identities or not. There are ways of allowing them to do so in a healthy manner by increasing their responsibility as a student, increase the recognition of the individual, family, cultural values, and interests.
Participation in a gifted programs can lead to healthy identity recognition. Distinction and affiliation with other peers provides a positive identity messages. Unfortunately some distinctions that are positive for many children can be negative for others. Sometimes an identification of a gift may cause confusion or underachievement. A parent or teacher can also misuse the distinction of being "gifted" and label a child as superior to the rest of the class. Many programs that are designed for the gifted student treat every one the same and do no concentrate on their individual strengths or weaknesses.
If an educator increases the recognition a student receives at something they are good at, it can only provide a healthy stimulus toward their identity. Gifted students can also benefit, by any differentiation of their curriculum even outside the school setting. Any student can feel recognized based on their expertise they are developing. To develop and recognize some individual characteristic of a student, the school may have to widen what is recognized.
Middle schools are able to help adolescents develop healthy identities by helping achieve success in at least one area of the curriculum. By promoting individual expertise the school can produce a healthy identity for the young adolescent.