CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            Background of the Study

Gifted and talented children are the hinges and future hopes of any human society. They are like precious metals, which need to be hold tenaciously and nurture carefully starting with parents at home at home to teachers in variant classrooms. In the Nigerian context, innumerable gifted and talented children have faded away unnoticed, several are still diminishing each day like a flower, and many more are yet to be spotted out and developed. To this effect, parents and teachers are indispensible in the discovering and developing many hidden gifts and talents of children.  This  research is a snapshot and attempt to reflect on how parents and teachers can help in the discovering and developing of  gifts and talents in so many Nigerian children.

In the perspective of the Nigeria’s philosophy of education, “every  child has a right equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined  disabilities each according to his or her ability.”  One of the roles of education is to help every child, notwithstanding his or her gender, background culture, religion, ability, etc., to develop his/her potential to its fullest. Hence, education in Nigeria should endeavor to engage children fully in the learning process and provide varieties of experiences and opportunities for  them to thrive. Therefore, every Nigerian child needs all round education in order to develop holistically especially the development of the innate  gift (s) each possesses and the acquisition of novel talents. For this reason, all children deserve the opportunities to learn, grow, unfold, and be challenged to strive for academic excellence at all levels of education, in order to become good citizens who are capable of taking right and good decision, able to manage themselves and others.

Within the four walls of schools, there exist varieties of exceptionalities among children such as “Giftedness,” “Telentedness,” Mentally challenged, Emotional and Behavioural Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and so on. However, children whether mentally challenged or with  exceptional gift and talents and learning potential require specific knowledge and attention from their parents, teachers, school authority and government, both state and federal. Giving them appropriate attention,  careful nurturing of their gifts, ambitions, suitable education, and support are of paramount importance because gifted and talented children have the potential to make a unique and terrific contribution to their various communities and to the society at large. But if they are ignored, they will use their gift and talents in a wrong way or become delinquent youths and the communities and society in which they live will lose their noble services. Therefore, one should be in accord with the Davis assertion that the consequence for neglecting the children with extraordinary gifts and talents include loss of academic growth, loss of creative potential, and sometimes loss of enthusiasm for educational success, and professional achievements, thereby loosing significant contributions each would have made to the society.