Highly Gifted Students in Their School Years — Part 4 of 5
Level Two Longitudinal Study Results for two more Highly Gifted Youngsters
In case you didn’t read — or don’t quite remember — the Parts 1–3 of the Level Two highly gifted youngsters in the longitudinal study, I’ll repeat the background. Also, you might find a case study that really reminds you of someone in your own life or family and want to share just this post with them!
This group of 12 subjects are essentially at the same Level of Giftedness, Highly Gifted, Level Two, as everyone else in this section. At the same time, not everyone turns out the same by the time they grow up. In some cases it is because of lack of access to the higher tiered institutions; this can be due to lack of money, a background that doesn’t know how to guide the gifted youngster to the right fit where true peers are, or a person who has already been so psychologically hurt or damaged they don’t have the resilience or wherewithal to chart their own course anyway. Many people think an expert should be tell them what the right path is. It is almost always more complicated than that.
Background about my connection to the subjects and their families
I worked directly with most of the families and individuals in this study. I administered and interpreted intelligence and achievement tests to most of the subjects in this study. Sometimes someone else had already done the testing and the families came to me for further recommendations and support. My first book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009, was about the Five Levels of Gifted and their early milestones and the experiences of the families. You can find these subjects first in the book and then here in these longitudinal study results, as well as other books listed at the end.
Again, the presentation of subjects follows the order of their K-12 school fit from the categories where conditions are Unsatisfactory, Acceptable, Satisfactory to Excellent. This whole series of Level Two longitudinal study results’ posts adds to the concept of “fit” by including the family and social life.
Seth Cannon
Seth, who preferred INFP (Idealist) as a child and iNFP (Idealist), as a young adult, has two J-Judging parents: his mother prefers ENFJ (Giver) and father INTJ (Scientist). Remember, the use of a small letter in the type preference, like iNFP, means it is a very slight leaning toward that letter and could almost as easily be an “e” in different circumstances. He describes his mother’s parenting style as authoritative and his father’s style as authoritarian to authoritative. Seth is the eldest of three boys, and his younger brothers are six and 11 years younger than he is. “We all got quite a bit of individual attention. No direct competition really. Always pretty fine.”
Here is how he described his education, and his parents’ roles and views about it, through high school:
I was homeschooled until middle school. For a few years, it was a group co-op thing, with parents of the different kids in the co-op teaching. Then, for several more years I’d just go to work with one or other of my parents. Sitting in my mom’s classes, I could listen in or work on my own homeschool coursework. All in all, it was sort of an experimental elementary school. I took a semester of Mandarin Chinese when I was in fifth-sixth grade at the college my mom taught at. It was definitely not a conventional schooling. One day, Dad was dissecting a spine (as part of the medical device training — he’s a biomedical engineer and he sort of invents devices) and I put on my scrubs and hairnet and watched from the side of the room (still part of my homeschool years). When I went to a private Catholic school for seventh-eighth grades, I definitely was behind in some things, and I saw that it was my own fault. I was home alone a lot earlier with a list of things to do, and I would blow through it and spend the rest of my day doing whatever I wanted. I watched a lot of Food Network. I would have dinner ready for my parents when they got home.
I think what they (mostly Mom) did, was mostly good. I think homeschooled kids with parents who stayed home micromanaged their kids all day. My parents didn’t do that. I could have done better in high school if I wanted to. I knew grades weren’t the most important thing for me. This stressed out my dad because that’s not the way he works or thinks. I wouldn’t do busywork a teacher would assign, and it drove my parents (and a few teachers) crazy. They knew I could do better. I had so many other things I wanted to do and enjoyed. At some points, I gave in [just to please them].
Seth, like many of the gifted subjects in this study, had parents who gave him great flexibility to follow his interests in music, dancing, and theater acting. Although he and his father had frequent disagreements over school assignments and progress, there was no indication in any of the interviews that Seth’s self-confidence or self-image were ever damaged by this. When asked about his social skills and whether being unusually intelligent impacted his relationships with others, he responded:
I think my “social skills” are good. Honestly, that’s part of my profession, part of my schooling, and I have a lot of training in how to interact with people and feel strongly. Did I ever experience loneliness? Not really. The days of being home alone were good! I recharge by myself and have no problem spending the day alone or not talking to anyone. I took dance lessons almost every night and was with friends then. Four or five nights a week. I danced six or seven days a week. I was also a competitive dancer: tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, modern (lyrical), no ballroom or waltz or tango. I did deal with teasing over this when I was younger, and I always kind of ignored it — I never really had an of issue with it. I played baseball, too, and was good at it. That helped. Guys on my team didn’t get it. I’d get to spend 15 hours a week dancing with beautiful girls, and they’d be sitting at home playing Xbox, so who’s the winner here?
Seth’s parents divorced after he left for college. He said he was not surprised when his parents split up because there were many signs throughout his childhood that they were not on the same page about most things.
As to how Seth is doing socially and how he feels about himself and his life, he answered these questions during an early interview when he was 19 years old. He said he actively pursues reading, blogs, and experiences that will help him to grow. He is an active Searcher of personal growth. Later, as a recent college graduate, he went straight from a childhood of acting to being a full-time professional actor and absolutely loves his work and the friends he has all around him.
Glenn Richards
Glenn’s childhood personality result was between IUTP (Mechanic/Thinker). His mother preferred ENTJ (Executive) and his father, INTP (Thinker). Glenn’s mother’s parenting style was authoritarian while his father was permissive to uninvolved. His mother moved the entire family to the United Kingdom while the three boys were still school-aged because she feared they would eventually be drafted if they stayed in the United States. She was thrilled when they all qualified for the highest-level British schooling and frequently reported back to this book study on how they performed on different exams. She had great hopes for their futures, and yet it was clear their dreams were not aligned with her dreams.
None of them has finished any post- secondary programs nor become engaged in any careers. When Glenn’s mother died, he and his older brother no longer lived at home. The youngest one had just finished high school. The father continued his willingness to offer any financial support they needed, but the family did not remain close. The father moved back to the States within a year of his wife’s death, and after giving updates for the study, requested not to be further contacted.
Handy references from past posts:
Gifted Children and Their Personality Types
On Substack: https://deborahruf.substack.com/p/gifted-children-and-their-personality-e12?utm_source=publication-search
On Medium: https://medium.com/@deborahruf/gifted-children-and-their-personality-types-f875785c53f6
My current published books about the gifted:
The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023). https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-Children-Grown-Up/dp/B0C9SHFRLH or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-levels-of-gifted-children-grown-up-phd-deborah-l-ruf/1143719859?ean=9798988323709. This is an 18-year longitudinal study follow-up about the original gifted child subjects in 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005, 2009).
Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child (2023). On Amazon, Keys to Successfully Parenting Gifted Children (2022, 2023) Print and ebook. The Nook version is also now on B&N. This is a short book 80 pages including pictures — that is a great starter for parents just wanting some answers … fast! The content was originally from a PowerPoint I created for the parents of gifted children presentations around the country. The contents zero in on some of the most important things about raising gifted children want to know.
Losing Our Minds: Too Many Gifted Children Left Behind (Oct. 2024). The book provides a detailed analysis of the different levels of giftedness, the concept of "good fit" in educational settings, and the impact of various school environments on gifted children. It also includes personal stories and experiences of gifted children and adults, highlighting the challenges they face in finding appropriate educational and social environments. Available now on both Amazon and B&N. It is not the old purple book from 2005. Also, the Kindle and Nook versions are formatted so readers can click back and forth easily and find their place again. Follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL3BSC9X or this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/losing-our-minds-deborah-ruf/1146410968?ean=2940185888872
5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009. Here are links to the 5 Levels of Gifted book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/5-levels-of-gifted-deborah-ruf/1126358834 and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-School-Educational-Options/dp/0910707987 or directly from the publisher: https://www.giftedunlimitedllc.com/store/p12/5_Levels_of_Gifted.html
Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case Studies (D. Ruf, 1998) doctoral dissertation. Free PDF https://dabrowskicenter.org/ruf
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