I'm Unique. Just like everyone else.

Fingerprints. Everyone has them, but no two are quite the same.

It's like that with people too.
 

We come in all shapes and sizes. In general we have two arms, legs, eyes and ears, and a bunch of other common features. We move in a similar fashion regardless of cultural background. We all love, laugh and cry. 

Within these similarities there are, however, many differences. We have different features, hair colour, preferences and personalities. We respond differently to the same stimulus. Some of the differences are subtle, like the differences between the fingerprints of individuals. Some are more obvious. Some vary across cultural groups.  The diversity adds richness to our life. 

Gifted children are no different, they also come in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of intensity and passion and a wide variety of interests. There is no one size fits all description of a gifted individual. 

In writing this, my 100th post on this blog, I have been thinking about the ways we are similar and different, and the importance of those differences, while I have been spending time in a different culture. Attempting to make yourself understood in a different language takes effort and energy. It is not always quick and it is not always convenient. Sometimes you don't succeed. Not everyone, even with the same inputs, makes the same progress. Some leap in and learn on the fly, others need to stand back, listen and observe before they are ready to make the leap. Some need to use their hands to learn, and even to talk. Some need to see it written down before the sounds they hear can make sense. Each of us is just as unique in our approach to learning as we are in looks and temperament.
 

It occurred to me that my own unique pattern of strengths, weaknesses, sensitivities, personality and features is actually just like everyone else's. It is our uniqueness that is our common bond.

It is a shame, I think, that our schools don't capitalise more on the differences. By not doing so I think we miss opportunities for richness in communication and learning,  the deepening of perspectives and the chance to develop an acceptance of the benefits of difference. 

But that requires that we don't take the most convenient path.

There are enough people who speak English in the village where we are staying that I would barely need to use my (slowly acquired and hesitantly practiced) Italian. But if I did not, I would only learn half as much, gain half the perspective I could. 

Imagine what could happen in schools if we embraced difference and capitalised on it. I might not just be our gifted children who would fly. 

"Diversity it not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness."   Ola Joseph

Marble pebbles on the beach at Varenna, Lake Como, Italy.
Every one is different, every one formed by unique experiences.

Photo Derrin Cramer 2012