Full Title: Danger in a Can: Why Canned Social-Emotional Skill Programs in Schools Can Harm Gifted Students More
Educators are aware that the drive for achievement and standardized test success in the school system often does not provide enough individualized opportunities for important social-emotional skill building, so a market for “canned” social emotional skill building programs has sprouted up in the last couple decades.
This sounds like a great thing — our students need to learn social-emotional skills, and our teachers are so busy that programs that can be rolled out quickly and easily seem like a quick fix to the problem. However, in reviewing many of these programs (those referred to both as social-emotional skills programs or character building programs), it is apparent that these programs do not meet the needs of our gifted students for several reasons, and most could be downright dangerous for our most at-risk gifted children.
The programs I reviewed have many of the following characteristics and flaws that may negatively impact children who are gifted:
Overly sequential
Sequential lesson plans where kids have to discuss topics that are presented to them. This is problematic for gifted students who can move through curriculum quickly. It may seem boring and based on a lower comprehension skill level, as they often are connected to grade level curriculum assignments and are based on scripted lessons.
Not based on real life experiences
Most are not related to actual events that gifted students are dealing with in real time. The tasks are based on a set of problems an author created — not what’s going on now in that child’s life or what may seem relevant or useful. Gifted students have innate desires for connecting to the world around them and they react strongly to fairness issues. However they also can see through made-up scenarios and may see them as a waste of time when there are more interesting real-world issues to tackle.
Not created for gifted children’s needs
The research that is linked on the websites of most of the curriculum programs I reviewed did not show evidence of the programs being created by professionals who are trained in gifted education. The research that is being used to legitimize the programs are also not based specifically on gifted students, and do not even mention gifted children.
Forced partnering
Many social parts of the program include partner activities with students who often have nothing in common being paired up and forced to work together. Gifted kids have enough trouble finding strong peer relationships without being forced to work on remedial level activities with partners who may be difficult to communicate and interact with. This may create frustration and anxiety in all of the students, as research has shown that all children struggle to communicate effectively with people who are beyond 10 points of their own intelligence quotient. If a program truly has a team-building focus, the gifted children may benefit; however if it is merely pairing kids up to act out or discuss social situations it may be stressful and could increase risk of bullying. This type of activity should be approached with caution and guided by trained professionals.
Friendship issues
Units on friendship building in these programs do not seem to even crack the surface of what gifted kids need to make meaningful friendships. They emphasize skills for being polite and aim to make students aware of the need to include others who aren’t really their friends. Gifted kids have deeper needs and often feel uncomfortable and put on the spot when they are the children others are told to include.
Embarrassment
The activities can be silly and even embarrassing for students who feel different than their peers. Puppets, breathing activities and scripted group scenarios that make others laugh may seem silly to students who are uncomfortable in the peer group or who have a different sense of humor. Conversely, a gifted child may find humor in situations meant to be serious, which can lead to disciplinary issues.
Based on school pride
These programs often include conformist activities to promote school pride. Gifted kids often struggle with authoritarianism and can have behavioral issues due to mis-fitting educational experiences. If they feel teachers or the system aren’t understanding or working with their needs, they are likely to disengage.
Parent requirements
Parent-school connections are often expected, such as letters home with activities or conferences. Parents of gifted kids may be at odds with the school system and may need to advocate strongly for their children. They may not want the school sending condescending messages at a much lower level of need than what they are dealing with at home.
Assumed age level behaviors
Programs are often based on assumptions of age-appropriate behaviors. Gifted children are asynchronous and may not respond in typical ways to intense emotions and social needs. A program that emphasizes traits without addressing root causes may make children feel worse rather than better.
Characteristics tourism
Studying characteristics one at a time is like being a “cultural tourist”: programs ask kids to reflect on isolated traits (e.g., being kind) without examining how characteristics intertwine in real life. At month’s end the program moves on as if the issue is solved.
Limited teacher training
Often training for these programs consists of a day or two of instruction or a train-the-trainer session. Gifted children often have deeper interactions with emotions and complex life patterns, and brief teacher training is unlikely to prepare educators to support gifted students’ needs adequately. Many program goals include teaching students to regulate emotions, but teachers cannot effectively teach complex emotional responses with minimal training.
Supporting gifted students more
To meet the needs of gifted students, educators must be trained in gifted characteristics and provide contextualized social-emotional skill building throughout the day rather than relying on canned programs. Teaching skills in context, using real-life issues, and surrounding gifted students with understanding teachers and peers is more effective than scripted lessons.
There are rubrics and rating scales that can help gauge gifted children’s social-emotional development, but getting to know the children is best. Use professional development, conferences, and current research to design learning environments rich with challenges that keep gifted students engaged. Scrutinize programs to ensure they do no harm.
