Spotting Calibre
The Times of India
Visualise this: A mathematics class in progress and the teacher explaining the concept of length and breadth. When it comes to describing a 'point,' which has neither, a student raises his hand from the last bench arguing that it has both, but just a miniscule of it. The entire class is in splits but the teacher is left with a big question, as the child made sense. Similarly, a question is thrown to the class to measure the rate of evaporation of a swimming pool if everyday it evaporates at a constant rate. And there comes an unexpected question - what if it rains? Most teachers encounter loads of such questions everyday and often ignore them, as their job is to finish the syllabi. As a result, these children are often neglected. Few teachers would also describe such students as those with 'behavioural problems.' This is the biggest myth, feels Usha Pandit, an educational consultant, Mindsprings. She explains: "These children are the gifted children, who are not easily identified in a class and hence, often get ignored." Read Full Article.
Baby Einsteins have needs too
India.
At the start of the academic year, educational consultant Usha Pandit sends out a circular to every child from the 2nd to the 9th grades inviting them to join her after-school ‘mind gym'. Naturally, a slew of over-ambitious parents thrust their Baby Einsteins into the special program. But by the end of the year, only a handful stay on. You see, not everyone has a beautiful mind. Welcome to the world of gifted children. "When teachers were first asked to nominate children, they went by grades. But they didn't really tally with the program, because being gifted has nothing to do with performance," says Pandit, a specialist in gifted education, trained in TEFLA, London, who has taught in Auckland, New Zealand and Hong Kong. The gifted child may be the class clown, the day-dreamer, the one that always asks the messy questions or the quiet kid in the corner. Read Full Article.
It is okay again to excel!
The Netherlands.
Ahead of Budget Day, the city of The Hague has earmarked 10 million euros for projects aimed at highly gifted children at primary schools. Schools in secondary education are trying hard to lure the extremely talented, while a growing number of Dutch universities have officially labeled the quality of their teaching as 'excellent'. Read Full Article