talking it over Answers by Dr. Clyde M. Narramore
Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, graduate of Columbia Uni versity, New York City, is a psychologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in America.
mentally s u p e r i o r children are small and puny is based on the fact that, being youngest in their classes, they are small in comparison with older classmates and with older playmates whom they prefer. On the whole, gifted children are slightly better physical specimens than others as indicated by body measurements, health histories and medical examinations. Personality — In general, gifted children are likely to have an agree able combination of personality traits such as honesty, faithfulness and cheerfulness although there are numerous exceptions. Their most common faults are laziness, impa tience and loquaciousness. They may be restless, inattentive and troublesome at school as a result of being graded too low and their schoolwork may even be inferior. They are not infrequently argu mentative, bold and overconfident. As a group, however, they show few faults compared with children at large. Mental Retardation Q. How can one tell whether a child is retarded or just not inter ested in school work? A. The best way is to have the child examined by a qualified psy chologist. A psychologist has the professional training to give indi vidual intellectual examinations to determine not only the child’s intellectual level but also his intel lectual profile. After you have had the test given and have had an interpretation by the psychologist you will no longer be working in the dark. Adult Sunday School Class Q. In teaching an adult Sunday
High I.Q. Q. What is a mentally gifted per son? Is he usually maladjusted? A. In t h e i r b o o k on c l i n i c a l management, Bakwin and Bakwin present interesting information on intellectual giftedness. Children with I.Q.’s of 120 or over, making up about 5 per cent of the population, are considered to have superior intelligence. Only 1 per cent of children have I.Q.’s of 130 or over and only 0.1 per cent have I.Q.’s of 150 or over. Children with an I.Q. of 140 or better are commonly referred to by psycholo gists and educators as “ gifted.” The intellectually “ gifted child” is to be distinguished from the child with a special talent such as for music, drawing and the like. Mental Characteristics — Charac teristic of the gifted child is exact ness in all mental performances and a keen desire to acquire accu rate information. Related to these traits is the perception of things in their multitudinous re la tion sh ip s with frequent use of the phrase, “Well, that depends.” Use of this phrase by a child is, according to Hollingworth, highly indicative of mental superiority. Another activity of the gifted child is an interest in time, and a child of six or seven years who pays understanding attention to clock, calendar and almanac is likely to test high. Physical Traits —- Gifted children are, as a group, taller, heavier and stronger than unselected children of the same age, sex and nationality or race, and their physical health is better. They start to walk and talk at an earlier age and they also reach puberty sooner. Popular belief that
school class should the teacher lec ture or should he have discussion with the class? A. A ll teachers should use a vari ety of presentations. One of the dullest types of teaching of course is lecturing. Clever teachers use many approaches such as questions !and answers, visual presentations, panel presentations and other in teresting methods. Divorce Q. If there are children in the fam ily does this mean there is less chance for divorce? A. Children actually do not have much bearing upon keeping a fam ily from getting a divorce. Children usually accentuate the conditions that already exist in a home. If a couple is happy then having chil dren usually makes them happier. But if a couple is basically unhappy children will usually only make the matter worse. Poor Memory Q. I have a friend who has failed yery much in memory. She seems to be normal but she cannot re member. For example, after she has a meal all planned, she will ask, “ What shall we have for dinner?” A. From your brief description it would seem to me that this person may need professional diagnosis. I suggest that you get her out to a physician or a psychiatrist.
Readers are invited to submit questions to both Dr. Narramore and Dr. Talbot. Address questions to them c/o The King's Business, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
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