By the time a gifted person is physically mature, many of the problems herein outlined automatically disappear as problems. What after-effects there may be of the poor solution of these childish problems we do not know. Apparently these superior organisms tolerate well the strains put upon them by reason of their deviation from the average. However, that an organism stands strain well is no reason for putting or leaving strain unnecessarily upon it.
As the gifted individual grows to maturity, he or she can achieve control of his or her own life, and can dispense to a relatively great extent with inadvertent cruelties and mistaken efforts of uninformed official guardians. It is _during childhood_ that the gifted boy or girl is at the mercy of guardians whose duty it is to know his nature and his needs much more fully than they now do.
[1] Reprinted from _Mental Hygiene_: Vol. XI, No. 1, pages 3-16 (January, 1931). Read by Leta. S. Hollingworth at the First International Congress of Mental Hygiene, Washington, D. C., May 8, 1930.
[2] Terman, Lewis M. _Genetic Studies of Genius_: Vol. I. Stanford University Press, Stanford University, California; 1925.
[3] Hartshorne, H., and May, M. A. _Studies in Deceit_. The Macmillan Company, New York; 1927.
[4] Burt, C. _The Young Delinquent_. D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc., New York; 1924.
[5] Healy, W., and Bronner, A. F. _Criminals and Delinquents: Their Making and Unmaking_. The Macmillan Company, New York; 1928.
[6] The intelligence quotient is the ratio between the [chronological age] status achieved on tests by an individual and that achieved by the generality [of the same chronological age].
[7] Hollingworth, Leta S. _Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture_. The Macmillan Company, New York; 1926.
[8] Yoder, G. F. "A Study of the Boyhood of Great Men." _Pedagogical Seminary_ (1894).
[9] This child attended a private school where a number of the pupils tested above 140 IQ.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLING OF VERY BRIGHT CHILDREN
In this chapter are presented selected relevant paragraphs from two of the later papers by the author: "An Enrichment Curriculum for Rapid Learners" [1] and "What We Know about the Early Selection and Training of Leaders." [2]