Unraveling gifted minds | Sameena Manasawala | TEDxPune

For gifted individuals the highest level of happiness is when they can contribute to the lives of others, to the society. Infact it is these very kids who have the potential to be our future leaders, innovators, social change agents. And for that to happen, we need to mine these diamonds out, give them that cut and polish so that the light within shines through.
Her journey at the Kaveri Group of Institutes began as a School Counselor and culminated in designing programs to address needs of gifted children. Her passion to address this issue has furthered her education by being awarded a Fellowship to attend a five-day residential course in gifted education from Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education at University of Iowa, USA. She has also been associated with Mensa India working with tribal gifted students.
Sameena has been working as a Facilitator specifically in the area of giftedness for about 10 years. She has a keen interest in supporting the socio-emotional needs of these children and does so through designing workshops, facilitating parent support groups, organizing mentorship opportunities for the children and counselling families of the gifted. She has presented research papers in both National and International conferences. She is currently pursuing her doctoral research on self-concept of underprivileged gifted children. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@user-bl1sp2qm5u]

"Intelligent but had the emotional sensitivity of a five y old. " this sentence describes so much that I felt she was talking specifically about me.

[@johng6639]

The worst experience is when your teacher accuses you of cheating to the point of making you cry just because her own mind limitations. Well, you, as a gifted individual, will never forget such event.

[@AP-oy5ff]

I was challenged in school for cheating in homework, but I fighted back.

[@bluberrykush3912]

It is so true that we need to Start teaching every Student to find and develop their unique strengths in stead of cutting off those who doesn't fit in. So many potentially great minds never unfold because they where told they aren't gold if they don't fit in

[@Hello-zw5xo]

Good point however it comes at the cost of formative reform which people in government offices find uncomfortable and hard to micro-manage, if it acted formalistic it is different.

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

In one year of Elementary school, I got in trouble for filling out the first few pages of the workbook within a few minutes of receiving it. In another year of Elementary school, I was told 'parasol' wasn't a word even though I knew better. Eventually, I was identified as a gifted individual. The best two years of my life followed, filled with great field trips and unique opportunities. But after elementary school, it was as if giftedness 'wasn't a thing'. I was no longer the special one in class whom the teachers knew they could rely on to help with the other kids. I was no longer the one who was allowed free time to read what I wanted to. Instead, I was the troublemaker kid. I was the 'smart, but just doesn't show it' kid. I was at the end of my rope. It took two years after dropping out of that torturer's funhouse that is high school to find out the true source of my struggles. The American education system is an extremely anti-gifted environment. Only the lucky few of us who have supportive parents make it through. And even then, it's typically through alternative or non-traditional schooling.

[@JJ-kb4ry]

HauntedShadowsLegacy it’s not just America. I feel your pain. I felt your pain.

[@satsukynolife4094]

Greetings from Belgium It feels like we all go through the same thing

[@LandonAshworthDirects]

Wacha doin now?

[@Andrei-yv8fz]

This has also been my experience. However, I didn't drop out of high school because I still believed that University would paradise. That turned out to be false. I've spent my entire life trying to find a path that accommodates both my intelligence and invisible physical disabilities. Right now, I'm dropping out of med school after 2.5 years due to boredom, frustration, a complete disregard for ethics by my peers and professors, not to mention the preference of personal biases over science-based thinking. One of the most important things I've learned is that everyone hates the person who actually thinks and comes up with the right answer. The world is full of people who, in all honesty, just want to feel good about themselves, whether or not they're actually doing good. Frustration is the best word for my experience. I miss the gifted program from elementary school.

[@Hello-zw5xo]

@@JJ-kb4ry Western Europa has less emphasis on enforced mass-education which does slightly help, and less tricks up their sleeve to humiliate alternative thinking.

[@shettypratik77]

Brilliant speech I wish I was fortunate enough to have such a wonderful person in my life

[@mb7626]

I've been unravelling my gifted mind since my 20s

[@victoriaryan23]

Thank you for posting.

[@liyahhlii]

In grade school I would finish my work within minutes waiting for my classmates to catch up I often found myself bored and already aware of the knowledge they were trying to teach me, I thought it was a normal thing until I got myself in trouble on purpose one day and I got sent to detention. While I was there I was talking to my teacher and she started asking me a lot of questions & I was very happy to be talking to her because she seemed to understand me. After that day she called my mom and told me I should be put into a gifted class. I was like girl why do I need to be put in gifted & she just explained that my mind was very intelligent for a 7 year old. Even to this day I’m 19 people often mistaken me for being in my late 20’s based off of the way I talk and have wisdom. Still to this day I’m not sure as to how I became gifted but my mom even moved me to a different state to try to help train my mind and grow my giftedness. I played sports played instruments learned a different language, etc. but I still never found what I loved to do until I turned 18 and started doing KZbin

[@liyahhlii]

I also struggle with being in the real world. I’ve worked jobs with older people who often times looked down on me due to my age, but was very shocked of how fast I caught on to things that they felt intimidated and has cost me a lot of jobs, I can’t help it though I don’t know how to be “normal”

[@Hello-zw5xo]

Little bit touching, most canny orientated; desk-ed in front of un-cogitating knowledge gets bored eventually, suggestively terming it was not your intellectual age category: could have been build on by placing progressive fluency in your school system, you also indicate misplacement of environment: agonized by increase in Intel. which is common, it's story as interpreted as is; KZbin is more suited on punchy elements of stories, wish you the best and good luck trying to make the best out of expelling conditions.

[@FlyingMonkies325]

The problem is when you're A LOT more Creative it's hard for ppl to define it even as "Gifted" cos Creativity is hard to measure i'm one of those people and even if i'm not as smart as my dad who understands more complex math and physics (i see him watching video lecturers on things like Quantum Physics and Einstein's theory of relativity) or some other people i've always been good at singing and music, i love Arts and Crafts although i wish i could do harder stuff i probs could if i put in more practise, i'm a great Creative and Critical Thinker and feel strongly that everyone should be able to use Creative and Critical Thinking even in Math but schools don't allow it even if it ABSOLUTELY requires it to help Problem Solve and create workarounds that work FOR YOU not the teachers... It's more difficult being Creative cos ppl think you might NOT be more intelligent or "Gifted" and it CAN mask it all people ever thought my whole life is i was just Creative and so did i understand the past 2 weeks where i started looking into all of this and i've never had anything make more sense, all the pieces are coming together and i don't feel like i'm being annoying with other intelligent people despite the fact i haven't ever learned how to cope with my Excitabilities, although i still tend to get the feeling i might be if i start commenting a lot on posts on Facebook so i try to not post first as to not scare anyone away or make them anxious i give them the chance to speak first cos i can be super opinionated LOL. I feel like i get too imposing even for other intelligent ppl so i don't want to be dominating even over them, plus i'm scared of being banned from the page for doing that cos i have before from other pages who thought me too much, i have to make sure it's not fueled by anxiety either it's really difficult :( I think all the focus is on these prodigies though that nobody has taken more time to figure out Creatively intelligent and "Gifted" people which i think should be someone's next focus to figure this out cos we end up becoming underachieving and laying about at home depressed not even understanding themselves but we have the same Excitabilities and problems are those who are more clearly "Gifted".

[@lionelnietzsche3917]

I'm both. I play guitar and make films for a living, but I do academic level research in my spare time for fun. I love both creativity and learning equally. My dad's a professional musician too, but we have almost the exact opposite dynamic that you and your dad have. As a creative, highly sensitive, and idealistic person, I can relate to absolutely everything people like you and my dad deal with. I'm also a highly rational, logical, and hyper intellectual person. Because I'm mostly surrounded by artists, I rarely get to exercise that side of myself with other people. My left and right brain feel so perfectly balanced that I can't fully relate to anyone - which feels very unbalanced. Lol I agree 1,000% that creativity is its own form of intelligence and giftedness. My brother was a child prodigy on guitar and I've worked with a lot of highly talented artists. I've seen creative giftedness up close. I know you wrote this a year ago, but if you're still exploring this subject, I'd recommend checking out Jung's work on creativity, artists, and the muse. It's fascinating!!! Jordan Peterson has a few lectures on both Jung and the highly creative. They serve as pretty great intros. Joseph Renzulli is another guy worth checking out.

[@Hello-zw5xo]

You're right; creative is hard to measure but not hard to test however flawed: a good out of the box thinking test or question sometimes gets productive creative to express itself and for constructive creativity: put elements tasked to something forward and let them fuse or combine them to achieve something abnormal or greater, this all works for AI as well. For other inner thought quoting, you created a nice structure for people to think about and feel inclined to respond with their own inhibitions and express their inner ropes.

[@paryanindoeur]

Being "gifted" is like making a down payment on a house, then paying the mortgage for 30 years, and only *after* that you *_might_* be allowed to live in the house... but then again you might not. You have to pay either way, and there is no opting out. Unfortunately, my parents *never* accepted I was gifted, and still don't. There is some personality conflict there: they tend toward conformist thinking, and are terrified of being exceptional. (Probably an effect of 12 years of pre-Vatican II Catholic School education.) Also, I suspect some pathological attachment (being a first-born son) leading to infantilizing parenting and an unwillingness to allow my personal individuation. (And it does not apply to my siblings.) I paid a high price up front, and continue to pay for my differentness, and I have yet to find a way to make it work for me, outside university.

[@Hello-zw5xo]

That's hard, you've pointed out a common(differentiates somewhat per region) harsh lives exercise, really wish you the best, and hope there won't be pitfalls.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals." (Albert Einstein)

[@Dan-ud8hz]

@julialeite63 Let's weigh mathematical credibility: One of the most brilliant physicists who's ever lived, or some whiny anonymous troll in a random KZbin comment thread?

[@asimian8500]

No.

[@mmmghool]

I was expecting her to bring up capitalism any second lol. great talk still

[@satsukynolife4094]

3:57 - 4:05 That's it,that's the story of my life That girl described my existence in a few words The things with gifted people is that so many people have this stereotype of the genius anime kid but in reality there are so many different types of gifted people. I met a bunch of them and we all look so similar and different at the same time Knowing that some gifted people are indeed little know it all with good grades,I really wish I was that type of gifted kid instead of an hyperactive mess who SHOULD BE STUDYING AT THE MOMENT INSTEAD OF WRITING THIS ALXKFKCOKZKCOZKPCVKALS ................ ................ ................. ................... ................ ................. Yeah your just losing your time by reading this

[@PradeepBahenwal]

SHE’S MY MENTOR AND SHE IS EXCELLENT

[@stazang]

All children are talented its all about water them correctly @ the right season to get them to bloom. As long as they are born healthy there is no reason they can not be great.

[@cherryRedStilettos]

correct... hoowever gifted brains are measurable different and work differently.

[@wordart_guian]

All kids might be talented but only 2% are gifted (gifted is a relatively rare neural condition that induces a more intense processing of information). And not every gifted kid is wealthy, they are everywhere.

[@FlyingMonkies325]

yes... but no... more intelligent and "Gifted" ppl are truly different if you can't understand THAT then you can't understand what it's like.

[@ninanickel3103]

Brandi Law you are correct

[@johntrapani1594]

The piquant celery premenstrually desert because rice relatively call for a young lumber. reminiscent, careless child

[@pizzaboynizza1]

I loved her speech...but those hips...multi-talented, lol. Luckily guy that’s catches her...don’t let her go!!!

[@TheAlia1996]

Men can be such simpletons lmao

[@FlyingMonkies325]

wtf dude? you can't even see anything, you been on da dope bro.

[@nimisha6584]

Ew, stop sexualising people! How would you feel if someone said that to you with a leer?

[@Hello-zw5xo]

Funny and I agree however be little bit careful the impression is not always favorable.