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An Introduction to Education for Gifted
Youth
By. Elizabeth Hoadley
A simple perspective for parents, students, and
educators…..
Some school districts in the United States have
within themselves clearly defined, highly focused, and annually
funded programs aimed at the gifted child. Some schools exist
as institutions for only the gifted. Some schools simply cannot
afford any “special programming” aimed at the gifted.
The types and kinds of education for the gifted run the entire
gamut. The truth is, however, that virtually every school, knowingly
or unknowingly, provides education for the gifted.
How does that happen? One might maintain that
any school district that provides art instruction, a mathematics
team, an orchestra, a computer club, music instruction, a softball
team, a wrestling team, a drama club, or a community service squad
is providing education for the gifted child.
An academic examination which identifies the
types of gifts and talents that children exhibit would surely
include the following: athletic talents, artistic talents, talents
involving quantitative analysis, talents involving speaking and
writing, talents of personal leadership, talents involving spatial
relationships, abilities to create new forms, abilities to create
new solutions, and so on. Most educators would agree that every
child has one or more gifts and talents, or at the very least,
would agree that every child has gifts or talents that stand out
from his/her other abilities.
Funding education for the gifted and talented
student has some serious barriers for most school districts. First
of all, this funding is not mandated by federal law like that
of special education (as it is commonly known). In these times
of tight budgets, funding for all kinds of education is under
the highest scrutiny. So expanding programs for the gifted and
talented may be rare, and starting programs may be equally difficult.
Secondly, truths and myths abound about programs which are intended
to serve the gifted Developing programs for the gifted is difficult.
Selecting students for the programs is under great scrutiny. All
too often tests designed for identifying the talented and even
teacher recommendations do not always uncover some fine candidates.
Some programs are seen as only furthering the education of the
already advantaged without enough identification and selection
of those other equally talented students who “are diamonds
in the rough.” A host of situations may mask their gifts
and talents.
If one agrees that both funding programs and
satisfying the communities that programs are really finding, choosing
and serving the talented is truly difficult, then what is a community
to do? Are the cards stacked against education for the gifted
and talented students? Is this a losing battle? Are there any
doable solutions? |
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Introduction to Education for Gifted Youth |
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(continued)
[ Gifted Youth Articles ]
Go back and re-read the second paragraph. Aren’t
interscholastic sports programs really programs for the athletically
gifted? Aren’t high school math teams really programs for
the mathematically talented? Aren’t school drama performances,
musicals, and holiday art and music celebrations really showcasing
talents? Further, these latter performances often uncover talent!
But is that all? No, think about the after school programming
that exists in many districts. These, too, engage the interests
of students and often uncover or develop talents in students……..elementary
school jump rope clubs, middle school chess clubs and high school
year book teams are examples of this kind of offering.
These are not enough, though. There are other
ways for classroom teachers to get to the core of responding to
the “special needs” of the gifted and talented student.
Differentiated instruction is one solution. Differentiated instruction
may have several definitions, but here it will be presented as
a method of teaching which develops tiers of student assignments
intended to tap a very wide range of capabilities and interests
within a single classroom. Teachers who understand that they cannot
“teach and assign” to the middle have carefully crafted
core concepts which will be taught to all students - regardless
of their capabilities and interests. Then the personal learning
that takes place in the form of student assignments is both wide
and deep, hopefully engaging and challenging every member of the
class. If a teacher is not already familiar with the concepts
connected with differentiated instruction, this is a perfect time
to learn and achieve the satisfaction of engaging every student
in a way that he/she can manage. A class taught to the middle
leaves two groups shortchanged and in this day of accountability,
that is simply not acceptable.
Finally, the kind of higher order thinking and
problem solving that abounds in classrooms reserved for only the
gifted and talented can just as well exist in every classroom.
One of the best ways to expand teaching of the gifted and talented
is to equip the classroom teacher, every classroom teacher, with
the methods and means to guide this higher order thinking and
problem solving. And, like the vitamin pill that is taken every
day, instruction every day of some kind of challenging thinking
and doing will bear fruits in virtually every student in the classroom.
Again school districts that cannot afford to set aside special
classes, rooms or buildings for the gifted and talented can take
the program to all students through the professional development
of this kind of expertise in all its teachers.
In summary, do not despair if your district does
not have some “classy” classroom for the talented
students. Virtually every school district is already serving many
gifted and talented students through their existing co-curricular
activities. Further, teacher who are “gifted” in presenting
the diversity of differentiated instructional activities and/or
using the teaching techniques found in classrooms for the gifted
and talented are providing a compelling case that teaching of
the gifted and talented can go on every day in every classroom.
Further, who knows how many more gifted and talented students
will develop from these very special procedures? |
