It seems like half the people in the world (if not more) adore Harry Potter and his friends, and love reading about their adventures. However, while gifted children certain enjoy the books for the same reasons others do, they may enjoy the books for an additional reason: they see reflections of themselves and their lives in the characters and themes of the stories.
The three main characters -- Harry, Ron, and Hermione -- represent the three most common profiles of gifted children. Hermione is the classic gifted child, that is, what most people think of when they think of gifted children. She is studious, concerned with grades, always top of the class. She is an achiever. Ron, however, is an underachiever. Although he is clearly intelligent (he's an exceptional chess player), he is not interested in studying. Mrs. Weasley is always comparing Ron to them and Ron always seems to come up wanting. Like many gifted children who are compared to older siblings, Ron copes with the negative comparisons by acting as though he doesn't care. The Mirror of Erised, however, gives him away as he sees himself as Quidditch Captain and Head Boy.
And then there is Harry. Harry is the gifted child who is different, who stands out from everyone else. Although he is not terribly concerned with grades, he does well in school. His primary concern, however, is fighting the evil Lord Voldemort. He is concerned with good and evil, right and wrong, with fairness and justice, common characteristics of gifted children. He struggles to do the right thing, putting the well-being and safety of others above his own. In this way he displays an advanced moral development. In addition, Harry has natural talent, both as an athlete (Quidditch) and as a defender against the dark arts.
Gifted children (and adults) certainly recognize the reflections of giftedness in Harry Potter, but our non-gifted friends may gain some understanding about gifted issues through these books!
The three main characters -- Harry, Ron, and Hermione -- represent the three most common profiles of gifted children. Hermione is the classic gifted child, that is, what most people think of when they think of gifted children. She is studious, concerned with grades, always top of the class. She is an achiever. Ron, however, is an underachiever. Although he is clearly intelligent (he's an exceptional chess player), he is not interested in studying. Mrs. Weasley is always comparing Ron to them and Ron always seems to come up wanting. Like many gifted children who are compared to older siblings, Ron copes with the negative comparisons by acting as though he doesn't care. The Mirror of Erised, however, gives him away as he sees himself as Quidditch Captain and Head Boy.
And then there is Harry. Harry is the gifted child who is different, who stands out from everyone else. Although he is not terribly concerned with grades, he does well in school. His primary concern, however, is fighting the evil Lord Voldemort. He is concerned with good and evil, right and wrong, with fairness and justice, common characteristics of gifted children. He struggles to do the right thing, putting the well-being and safety of others above his own. In this way he displays an advanced moral development. In addition, Harry has natural talent, both as an athlete (Quidditch) and as a defender against the dark arts.
Gifted children (and adults) certainly recognize the reflections of giftedness in Harry Potter, but our non-gifted friends may gain some understanding about gifted issues through these books!
Interesting. I confess I never think about the different kinds of giftedness in children nor did I pay special attention to the archetypes in the HP characters.
I love HP, my kids love HP. I knew I identified with the characters but never analysed it. I went to w wildlife park the other day and my eldest (9) who loves animals said at nearly every animal…’I read a book about * and it says they are…’ It was like walking around with Hermoine.
I have thought about the different types of giftedness because my boys were underachieving in school and miserable. I had them tested and the child they wanted to repeat was 2 years ahead in work and had an IQ in the 99th percentile. No wodner he hated school. While my other son who never fitted in in school and always had behaviour problems was in the 98th percentile.
They were moved to a school with a full time gifted class (we are so lucky I know) and for the first time both boys acted adjusted, fitted in and loved school.
I hope other parents out there don’t do what I did and wait so long to have their kids tested – I think parents know, even if they don’t fit into the norms of doing really well in school.
My son with the 99th percentile IQ – his teacher told me he showed no signs of being gifted. I this this wholly stems from his messy writing. My other son had eye problems with tracking etc and was not an early reader – again he didn’ty fit into the norm but his verbal skills were so far ahead of the other kids he just didn’t fit in.
Mums, trust your own judgement. I could have saved so many tears.