The American school system is designed to support school-fitting and, ultimately career-fitting children who represent ninety to ninety-five percent of the population. This part of the population is left-brain dominant. They think linearly. They learn in steps one at a time, building to a learned conclusion. The characteristics for success in this system are compliance, linear learning and attention to detail; other ways of learning and there are other ways of learning, are not recognized nor encouraged.

Than there is the other five to ten percent of the population, those that are right-brain dominant. They see in pictures and learn in gulps as in gestalt. They are far more selective in their interests, global in their thinking, yet relatively indifferent to details. They hunt for a greater comprehensive understanding of the material and in this way of learning the details are unnecessary. What is necessary is interests and passion to learn what is to be learned..

As I said before, in their way of learning, details are not necessary, so these children have a devil of a time in the left-brain focused school systems, failing tests that focus on details and memorization. This kind of learning teaches compliance. At the same time, it’s interesting to note that in prehistoric times these children were the communal hunter-hero’s. This connection was first made by Thom Hartmann, a recognized authority on ADD and ADHD.

In the present system, all children are required to read and memorize the material to be learned unquestioningly. That’s OK for the majority, but not for the gifted. In this case the gifted are ironically saddled with heightened powers of intuition, critical thinking, and even creative genius. Typically, they avoid details, hunting for breakthroughs to a greater understanding of the material to be learned. Since the exams, like everything else in this system is based on compliance and memorization, the children are required to memorize all the details, interested or not. Whereas, the children who hunt for insights and entrances to what is to be learned fail, falling through the cracks. How to be successful in this system for the gifted child is bewildering.

The key to success in this system for the gifted children is for the system to recognize and encourage these gifts and to not give up on these kids. Actually, they really need a more challenging school system to awaken and energize them. It’s as simple as that.

Examples of the gifted that didn’t go into the closet or turn off on themselves are as follows: Winston Churchill was last in his class at Harrow. Charles Darwin dropped out of medical school; Shelley was expelled from Oxford, James Whistler and Edgar Allen Poe from West Point. Gibbon considered his education a waste of time. Einstein found grammar school boring. All through his life he was considered a terrible student by many if not most of his teachers. Thomas Edison was castigated as inattentive, even addle-brained by teachers who couldn’t stand him. Eventually he ran away from school. Robert Frost was tossed out of school for day dreaming. The question that comes to mind is, why should gifted children experience difficulties with ordinary school curricular? Evidently because it is ordinary.

The gifted need to be challenged otherwise their interests and passion is compromised and their wellness, both mental an physiological is threatened. According to Dr. Harold C. Lyon Jr., an authority on giftedness, “Education is a mass enterprise geared to the abilities of the majority. That nails it! Just as a child of less-than-average ability has trouble keeping up with the class, a child with above-average-ability will have trouble staying behind with the class. Further complicating this mess, the system demands of the students compliance, respect for authority and unquestioned obedience to orders. The underlying belief is that for an American success story as determined by the controlling interests, we need these characteristics in place in the work force, the consumer population and in the military. This model of education came from an Old Prussian school system at a time when the Prussian soldier was considered the worlds best.

There are three paths open to gifted children stifled by boredom and endless waiting. Some will conceal their abilities, afraid of sticking out and in effect go into the closet. Others, those we now label ADD drift into a state of lethargy and complete apathy and a third group, those we call hyperactive, turn their restlessness outward becoming discipline problems. Then there are those like the Donald, those that tough it out, becoming familiar with failure, learning from failure, recognizing their gifts, never giving up and become the great success stories of their later years We can all learn something from the “Donald”.