by GABRIELLE LENSCH PLASTRIK
I teach young teens who are gifted and talented. Just having a conversation with some of them would blow most people’s minds. (About two weeks ago, one stopped me in the hallway to discuss whether or not I believed in free will. By the end of last week, he had several members of the science department discussing the neurological limitations to free will.) My students are not perfect by any means, but they are exceptional. More importantly, they are motivated and imbued with a sense of social justice; they have the ability and desire to make the future world a better world.
This is all true and possible because they attend a school for gifted children where we teach to the top third of the class and where students frequently have the option to move at their own, accelerated pace. We have a wonderful guidance counselor who looks out for them and their individual needs. Our school is designed just for them. If it did not exist, some of my students would have been the gifted under-achiever stereotype, some of them would have been mocked, some would have been neglected, some would be doing next to nothing and still receiving high marks, some would be bored out of their minds. Most of them would probably be driving their teachers crazy.
Every single day, I hear about and think about the massive failures of our factory based educational system. Mostly, the people who talk about education talk about under-privileged urban youth who are not getting a chance. It is true that they are not, and it is an embarrassment to the whole country that more is not being done to fix both urban and rural education systems beginning at pre-K. I am ecstatic that people are trying to right those ships, but I am also appalled that so few researchers and politicians are willing to do or say anything about gifted education.
About a year ago, I applied to the University of Wisconsin’s Educational Policy Studies doctoral program. Even though it is a top tier program, I felt fairly confident with my application. When I was not admitted, one of my recommenders told me to contact them and ask why. The result: “No one here wants to work on anything related to what you want to study, otherwise you’d be in.” There was not a single professor in that program who was interested in gifted education. This seemed impossible, so I looked up what they do research. They almost universally study under-privileged urban and minority education. It is as though the opportunities for grant money are driving the academic community. Why are so few people and organizations willing to raise money for our nation’s best and brightest?
I am attending the National Council of Teachers of English convention in Philadelphia. When I searched for “gifted” and “accelerated learner” in their online program search, I had fewer than five results out of seven hundred possible panels and sessions. In every case, the positive results also included struggling learners, suggesting a focus on differentiation and the range of learners in a class. How can it be that no one presenting at such a large, national conference has nothing to say about educating gifted kids, especially middle school children. Choosing literature for students who can read Dostoyevsky and Faulkner that is developmentally appropriate and interesting can be an extremely challenging endeavor. It just baffles my mind that no one is talking about how we teach gifted children best.
From this point onward, I am demanding more for all of the gifted and talented children out there who do not have a school like mine, for all of the kids who do not want to go to school because they could learn more at home on their own, and for all of the kids who need more challenges than our educational system is willing to give them. We are most certainly leaving children behind—all over the place—but it seems like everyone who has a say is even forgetting to bring a discussion of gifted and talented students to the table. I will do research for my students, I will improve their education, and I will find ways to study and enrich gifted education, even if it is without the help of professors and politicians. I refuse to see a brighter and better future slip through the cracks because no one had time for the smart kids, thinking they would make it out okay on their own. What a tremendous shame that would be.
Gabrielle teaches English and Drama at a school for gifted students in Madison, WI.
I only wish that there were more teachers who felt the way you do. Too many are down right hostile to GATE. Others pay lip service to the idea of challenging gifted kids but in practice ignore them.
When the public schools do not provide adequate GATE, it is the gifted kids from low-to-moderate income families who most suffer. Affluent families can afford to put their kids in expensive private GATE schools or homeschool them. Yes, there are some scholarships to prep schools available, but not every poor-but-bright kid is going to receive one.
Kids at the opposite end of spectrum are legally guaranteed a “free and appropriate” education. Why aren’t gifted kids?
I agree wholeheartedly, as a matter of fact, a conversation has recently emerged at our school regarding the declining emphasis on academic excellence. It is little wonder though, with NCLB – districts are looking for ways to bring students who are performing in the below basic and basic ranges up to the mid-ranges as these increases yield the highest payoffs in district scores. I get Gabrielle’s frustration, however, there are many great resources available not mentioned in her post. What immediately comes to mind are the AP and IB programs; there she will find all is well in the world among peers facing the same unique challenges she does with her student population.
CLeavitt,
AP and IB programs are wonderful, but I teach middle school, and they don’t really influence middle school curricular choices that much. Several of my students are actually ready for AP English, even though they’re only 13.
Crimson Wife,
Most of my school’s students go to public high school after our private school. What you are saying sounds exactly like what I hear our parents saying. One Madison High School tried to eliminate all TAG programs a year or two ago. They said it was better for ALL students. Whoever said that education was about what was best for all?
It would be helpful if there was a better appreciation for the reality that all students are gifted. I’m tired of parents fighting tooth and nail to get their children labeled “gifted”, so their child can find refuge in a class with reasonably behaved fellow students and a few enriching activities.
Great things are offered kids who fit into a pigeon hole in our local public schools. If you can get the right label for your kid, doors swing open. Money flows, opportunities abound.
I’ve never encountered a child who wasn’t gifted in some manner. I’ve never met a kid who wouldn’t do better if his/her peers were well-behaved. I’ve never taught a class that didn’t long for more experiments, better literature, more field trips, and a host of other opportunities.
The wonderful thing about humanity is that every single person is gifted. Stop the pigeon-holing please. Offer every kid what s/he needs to meet his/her full potential.
Part of offering every kid what he or she needs is realizing that some students are more academically gifted than others and, therefore, need more academic challenges to continue growing and meet their full potential.
It never fails to amaze me that parents are totally okay with some kids being more “gifted” at sports, but as soon as someone says that a student other than their own child is “gifted” academically, there’s an uproar. Star athletes don’t get held back. Why hold back star pupils?
And, NO, all kids are not equally gifted. All kids certainly have gifts, but not all kids’ brains develop in the same way at the same pace. It is a fact of child development. There are not many eleven year olds whose brains are ready for calculus or thirteen year olds who are ready for Faulkner.
It is the school system’s job to educate all children, but not to force some to work slower just to keep from hurting some kids (and parents’) feelings.
“Best and Brightest”
Can you really use that term without cringing? I’m still shaking my head over this.
I’m sorry that you’re shaking your head. Perhaps you could elaborate a bit more.
The lack of attention paid to gifted children is horrific. I’m not quite sure how you can argue that it is fair to not provide all children with the opportunity to learn.
Many of the students who graduate from my school go to public high schools, where they take two to three steps back in writing instruction. After writing 6-8 page analytical essays that incorporate literary criticism, some find themselves spending a whole semester stuck in a class working on paragraph structure.
Clearly, you don’t know how boring that could be.
“Clearly, you don’t know how boring that could be.”
Why no, of course not. I’m dumb as a stump. After all, I disagree with you. How could that be possible, unless I was significantly less than “gifted”?
I majored in mathematics. My professors educated in the Vietnam era used to rant on and on about the “tragedy” of losing so many intellectuals in WWI and WWII. They thought only lesser mortals should have been sent to face the perils of war. As a veteran, I thought their paucity of moral character made them perfect candidates for cannon fodder. Why should people of good character fight and die while self-important cowards selfishloy took shelter in universities?
It was my privilege to teach children whom you would no doubt have considered far less than “gifted” principle of individuality one week, then lead them in the study of the Declaration of Independence the following week. If an ordinary 11 year old boy can explain how people can be both individuals and equal, then why can’t a clever lady like you?
If you are encountering children whom you don’t consider gifted, then it’s because you lack discernment. They’re all gifted, and they all deserve the very best.