If we tried to define talent, it would be difficult not to find ourselves associating the word "intelligence" with the ability to understand, and defining "aptitude or competence" as a special ability to perform a profession. Talent is present in all living beings, making them unique, and sometimes even serving as a tool for survival. Talented are those who have the combination of skills to achieve and display a superior performance in a particular occupation or subject. For many, this is a special gift that is given to us to develop and share in the benefit of ourselves and others.
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The story told in the video below, is a tribute to undermined talents. Ricochet was trained to be a service dog. Despite her great capacity to learn, she was excluded from the program because she could not control her instinct to chase birds, a real problem in a service dog. However Ricochet had a unique ability that would forever change her life as well as that of many others. The education system tends to establish homogeneous programs and standardized expectations, leaving no room for discovering and encouraging the development of our talents, which can sometimes results in the establishment of different barriers to learning. Sometimes, those who do not meet the expectations of homogenous programs are excluded from them. Ricochet would not be an ordinary service dog, the trainer put her own teaching talentto test in order to uncover that special ability which could make the dog achieve her maximum potential. Thanks to her trainer, she could combined her service dog training with the ability to surf to assist people with special needs in a different, non-standardized way. Ricochet's special talent gave many people the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful sport , overcoming limitations and making them know that anything is possible. Her work continues out of the water, since she participates in charitable events. For instance, she helped raise funds to support therapies and treatments for people with disabilities, such as Patrick Ivison a quadriplegic young surfer featured in the video below. This story shows that despite any technical analysis, theories and methods applied to teaching, talent remains largely disregarded by all standards, challenging us to find what ability makes any person unique and help them become who they are really meant to be. You are invited to enjoy this wonderful story. Warning, have box of tissues handy. You might need it.
