While gifted children have been on the agenda in recent days, it is of great importance that these children are guided correctly. While Üsküdar University Special Talented Children Application and Research Center (ÖYEMER) conducts pioneering studies in this field in our country, Halide İncekara, Director of the Center, draws attention to the importance of how gifted children should be raised rather than how they should be educated.
Underlining the importance of family, environment and peer relations, İncekara said, "These children should be introduced to nature. They should communicate well with their friends and environment. They should be curious and talk a lot. A child who does not get up from the desk has a low IQ. Let's not burden them with the heaviest burden by pretending they are different."
Halide İncekara, Advisor to the Rector of Üsküdar University and Director of the Special Talented Children Application and Research Center (ÖYEMER), gave information about the activities of the center.
Gifted children were always talked about
Halide İncekara pointed out that the issue of gifted children did not start with Atakan Kayalar, and that they have been working on this issue for many years, and said, "This awareness has emerged because this issue has already been discussed and practiced for a long time. Everybody is trying to make an Atakan out of these definitions. Instead of commemorating Atakan as a philosopher, what you can understand now is that he was an abused child. Our only definition of Atakan right now is that he was abused. Atakan has been violated by the press, by the interviewer, by his family. The issue of special talent and genius is not something that can be done by spreading or spreading on social media. It is an educator's job, he has teachers at school, they are his interlocutors, so unfortunately I only watch with sadness. In the end, he heard absurd speeches and insults from child traffickers. And they unfortunately destroyed our Atakan in the emotion of a child."
ÖYEMER cooperates with state institutions
Halide İncekara noted that studies on gifted children started as a subject of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the state, and that most universities have these departments, and said that ÖYEMER, which operates within Üsküdar University, conducts valuable studies. "Since our university focuses on behavioral sciences, it is a very important center in terms of putting these studies into action in terms of departments. Here, we act in cooperation with state institutions, public institutions, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Family and local governments. We are working on how we can make different innovations in the lives of children, what we can do to realize their talents and fulfill themselves. We organize conferences, projects, cooperate with schools and families." Halide İncekara stated that they prepare a radio program called "Çocuk Dediğin" every week on Üsküdar University Radio (ÜÜ Radio).
Families should focus on how the child should be raised
Emphasizing that there is a need for how gifted children should be raised rather than how they should be educated, Halide İncekara said that the child's social relations such as family, relatives and peer relations should be given importance. Halide İncekara said the following:
"Everyone has a definition of talent in their own minds. For one thing, we have not used the 'gifted' part for a long time. Instead, the concept of giftedness is more predominant. How these children will be educated, those with artistic and motor skills are more about raising them rather than educating them. We recommend the master-apprentice relationship. If we are talking about intelligence training, we need to train with teachers who have higher IQ tests than the child. We say that intelligence is not trained, it is stimulated, it is brought together with problems and we support our young people in solving them. Anyway, intelligence and talent is not something we can limit only to children. The child's teachers and parents have an obligation to think about how each family should raise their own child, instead of saying, 'My child should be trained by someone else'. The main point that families should think about is 'How should I raise my child'. It is healthier to support the child in this regard. We attach great importance to situations such as playgrounds, relatives and peer relations."
"Pretending to be different is the heaviest burden"
Emphasizing the importance of approaching gifted children and not treating them differently, Halide İncekara said, "These children are not extraordinary creatures. They have two eyes and two eyebrows like each of us. They look like you and me. We will leave gifted children alone, they are on their own path. We will not take roles from them, there is no need to do anything for them. They are doing something for themselves, we will not shadow them, that is enough. The problems of special children start with their families and then with their environment. The society shows different reflexes to these children, just as they show their reflexes to those who look and think differently. However, you will not do anything extraordinary for these children. Let's not burden these children with extraordinary reactions, pretending that they are different. Let's not take these children and expose them left and right with exaggerated exaggerations. Instead, let's fulfill their needs. What I mean by needs is not feeding or clothing them."
"There should be a master-apprentice relationship"
Stating that what gifted children need is to focus on their curiosity and interests, Halide İncekara said, "Let's respond to the curiosity of these children. Let's bring them together in their areas of interest. Let's not impose bans at home because the house is dirty, let's not punish the child for asking too many questions at school, they find their own way. This was already one of the things we did at ÖYEMER. Here, we applied the master-apprentice relationship, that is, the mentor-mentor relationship model. It is important to direct the child to what he is interested in. Of course, we should not confuse enthusiasm with talent."
"Do not test children constantly!"
Halide İncekara, who also warned families not to have intelligence tests done all the time, noted that it would be enough to be in constant communication with the children's teachers. Halide İncekara listed her advice to families as follows:
"The family says 'My child is wonderful', but every child is wonderful. IQ tests are done to see how to help the child. Everyone will receive their normal education at a normal age. They will meet their teachers and people they idolize and try to follow them. Children who are overwhelmed with homework do not have time to deal with flowers and insects. No one should expect too much in terms of IQ from children who see flowers in pots at home. Our advice to parents is to bring their children together with nature, even if the IQ of a child who does not see a bird flying and flapping its wings is 180, that child cannot make an airplane, in short, he needs to see it. They will see nature, wonder about nature, imitate nature and research. The child will listen a lot, talk a lot, communicate a lot with his/her environment and peers. The children we raise by handing them milk and telling them not to get up from the table will have a low IQ."