Many gifted children strive to be perfect.... in their school work, in their relationships, and in their life as a whole.  Most of us have heard that being a perfectionist is a bad thing, especially as it relates to gifted kids and their abilities to be successful in life. I recently read an article by James Bishop in NAGC that pushed my thinking on this.  Perfectionism, the striving for  achievement or production that is without flaw or error is only a psychological disorder when it is pathological.  That means when the seeking of "perfect" involves significant impairments in personal and interpersonal functioning. A person can seek to be perfect which remaining quite successful and healthy.
One would certainly want their doctor to aim for perfection in the operating or exam room.  My husband, as a dispatcher for a major airline, strives for perfection in al the flights he interacts with daily.  As a frequent passenger on this major airline, I would expect nothing less when it came to my safety in traveling. 
Healthy perfection seekers set high standards for themselves but understand the reality in the work they are doing.  A third grade student may strive for 100% on all math tests, but understands that 100% may not be attainable in all concepts that one learns in math.  Striving for excellence is a habit just as accepting one's errors along the way. Parents can best support perfectionistic students by modeling mistakes as teaching tools on the road to excellence. Aiming for perfection is always a good thing.

,In today's world, improving the ability to solve problems first comes with one's ability to see problems.  Students, no matter how young, can improve their abilities to see problems by focusing on improving the following skills:

• Staying Curious
  • Curious people are open to all evidence and activity around them. Curious kids do not ignore or discount new information.  Having kids read mysteries gives some good practice.
• Becoming Flexible
  • Good thinkers take "old" problems and look at them with "new" eyes. Is there another way the three little pigs could have remained safe from the wolf?  Have your students rewrite this age old tale.
• What's NOT Being Said
  • Teach kids to pay attention to the unspoken and overlooked. When reading, what is the author NOT telling you.
• Staying Persistent and Patient
  • Problem solving should be difficult and should require students to put forth effort.  Building a straw bridge that can support a can of golfballs with limited materials should be tricky to build.
• Defer Judgement
  • Give students TIME to solve problems.  Allow students to " sleep on it" when you can. as part of the problem solving process.
• Be Reflective
  • Once a problem has been solved, students should review what they did, how they did it, and in what ways the outcome might have been different.  This is a HUGE part of the problem solving process that is often left out.

Is everything a student makes creative?  Dr. Jonathan Plucker tells us for something to be considered creative it must be useful and novel.  Fairly ambiguous terms, but ones that help teachers ponder as they help students develop their creative thinking skills and thoughts. Parents can also inhibit or develop creativity in their sons and daughters by modeling some pretty simple constructs.  First model creative endeavors by asking for constructive criticisms from family members.  This helps students learn two things...HOW to give constructive criticism and to develop TOLERANCE...learning to be patient with the creative process.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about this!
​Pam