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ENGAGE . INSPIRE . CONNECT

Me & the GTC



In grade 3, I wanted to be in the GTC - the Gifted, Talented, and Creative group at school. My classmates and I were informed that they would be accepting new students, and I badly wanted to be chosen. When I was not chosen, I remember being surprised, shocked even, then, sad, terribly sad. I didn't tell a soul, not even my parents. I simply internalized in that moment something that would haunt me for years, namely the certainty that I was not smart, let alone creative, and far less worthy than my peers. From 8 until my early 20s the impact of this delusion was profound. I became defensive when questioned. The slightest note of criticism was taken to heart. I felt that I had to prove myself - relentlessly. No words of praise landed. I kept busy, always on the go, refusing to admit, even to myself, the depth of my self-abnegation. Everything I did was interpreted through the lens of what I wasn't - namely gifted, talented, and creative.

In advance of facilitating a Creatively engaging all learners session for the Teachers of Inclusive Education BC conference next week, I wanted to share this story. Being creative is not something someone else says you are. It is within each of us.



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© 2025 by Katy Bigsby / REiL Learning

 We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory we work and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

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