Peter, 7 years old, spends most of his time playing with his stick alone. After several unsuccessful attempts to get Peter to join his cousins, his aunt asks the boy's parents if they have considered having him evaluated by a psychologist. Peter's parents are not as concerned about the stick behavior as is his aunt. Although the attachment to his stick can be inconvenient at times, they see a highly imaginative and sensitive child with a wonderful attention span for the activities that he enjoys. In school, several of the teachers who had worked with Peter in preschool and kindergarten were concerned about his poor attention span and lack of motivation. He always turns to his stick to play. After talking to Peter, his teacher saw him in a completely different light. She now could see high levels of creativity and humor. Peter's teacher referred him for testing for the gifted program. The "gifted" label was a huge boost to Peter's self-esteem. Teachers need to make sure that they look carefully for each child's strengths and interests. When they understand these and are able to tap them and connect to the curriculum, their students feel appreciated for who they are and for what they can do, and they are more likely to be motivated to work hard and achieve.