Five TOP questions on how to discover and educate gifted children in Lithuania – AINA

Four years ago, an international program dedicated to the education of gifted children was launched in Lithuania, initiated by Vytautas the Great University (VDU) together with partners from Israel, and successfully continues its activities in Kaunas, Vilnius and Taurage. With the start of admissions for the next academic year, we are interviewing Dileta Tindžulienė, head of the “Gifted” education center for gifted children at the VMU Education Academy.

Tell us about the gifted education center “Gifted”.

The center will start its fifth year of operation in the autumn. in 2020 opened at VDU Education Academy in Kaunas, a year later we started in Vilnius, and this year in Taurage. It is a center where gifted children from 4 to 18 years old gather. There are hundreds of definitions of what a gifted child is, but to summarize, I will say that gifted children are usually considered to be those who are ahead of their peers in terms of more mature thinking, creativity, speed of assimilation of new knowledge, and often, but not necessarily, higher achievements. These are children who will be able to establish themselves in the uncertain labor market in the future, will be able to think critically, and solve problems creatively. These are the children who, when they grow up, lead forward, discover, invent, research, etc. Today, while they are still growing and developing, we have to help them, because talent is like a muscle – it needs to be trained. These children are often more sensitive to the environment around them, so they may experience certain challenges when learning, such as loss of motivation due to uninteresting lessons, more anxiety due to high expectations around them, greater feelings of loneliness due to their exceptional abilities, and so on. Such a child’s abilities need a supportive environment where teachers know how to nurture their curiosity and adapt learning methods to the children’s needs. We invite those who want to study at our center to take a test, by the way, students in Israel also take the same test, and based on the test results, in which we see the child’s generalized strengths and general level of abilities, we invite them to attend classes. Program participants work with 5-6 different module teachers, educators, and experts during the academic year. There are also psychological consultations, seminars for parents of children in our center, camps, and training for teachers.

What are the myths about gifted children?

Perhaps the most common is that most people think that a gifted child is simply born gifted and can achieve a lot without the help of adults. Teachers often say so. However, this is not entirely true. Gifted children, as well as, by the way, other children with special needs assigned by law, need the help of educational support specialists, teachers, and parents. It is necessary to help the child to realize his potential.

I also often hear that if a child is gifted, he is gifted in all areas and is ahead of his peers. Not necessarily. It is also very important for a gifted child how he feels in his environment, what others think about him. He will feel good where his talents will not prevent him from making friends. The coordinator of our center’s psychologist team, Dr. Jurga Misiūniene. Bullying due to high achievements, unwillingness to make friends – these are natural reasons why gifted students, especially teenagers, give priority not to studies, but to friends.

What specialists and teachers work at the center?

About 50 teachers and 12 psychologists work in the center. These are teachers, educators, experts in their field – doctors, financiers, artists, marketers, lawyers, etc. Of course, discovering them is not easy. You need to constantly search, encourage, support. The most important criterion for choosing colleagues is their motivation and desire to learn continuously. If we meet a person who claims to know everything, has a lot of pedagogical experience, this is already a signal to us that we are probably not on the right path. Because working with gifted children requires constant learning, the desire to “jazz” together with them, the courage to not be afraid to admit that I don’t know the answer to the question asked by the child today, but we can try to find it together… Even though we organize training for teachers, even though we have ready the introductions for a new employee instructions and recommendations, but the most important thing is that the teacher’s eyes burn, I want to delve into the specifics of the education of these children, they want to delve into their experiences and share them with others. This is the most important thing for us. And we can be happy that we manage to assemble an interesting, competent team working with children from 4 to 18 years old.

Tell us about a child starting Giftedin the center during the day. How’s she?

A child or young person who has successfully passed the test and is invited to study in the “Gifted” program will actively work for 3 academic hours each week of the school year in the center of Vilnius, Kaunas or Tauragė. During the academic year, he will meet with 5-6 teachers who, after preparing modules of different subjects (one module in 21 academic hours), try to respond to the strengths of the participants. In addition, each child also participates in classes led by psychologists, aimed at increasing their self-esteem, strengthening their confidence, etc. The classes are conducted not only by Lithuanian teachers, but also by the teachers of the Ron Vardi gifted children’s education center of Rišonas Lezione. Gifted children are also taught at the Gifted Center by VMU teachers, who are also interested in passing on their scientific and practical experience to young talents.

What are your tips for parents?

Parents are, without a doubt, particularly important in the process of children’s education. It is regrettable that, unfortunately, in our country, the identification and education of gifted children is still very often the concern of parents. Especially the younger ones. I would like parents to notice and encourage the child’s curiosity, especially the curiosity for intellectual activities (that is what distinguishes gifted children), support the children’s determination to undertake various activities. Parents see this quite early. Therefore, even at an early age, parents can help the child enter an environment that would encourage further interest. Such a diverse environment where a child can explore, touch and try many things. The more diverse knowledge he acquires, the easier it will be for him to discover the areas where his strengths lie. Parents very often do this – they look for clubs, additional education programs, tools that are necessary for the child.