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Demythologizing Gifted Education

Nov 2009

More than 25 years after myths about gifted education were first explored, they are all still with us and new ones have been added, according to research published in the current Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ), the official journal of National Association for Gifted Children.  Providing specialized and organized gifted education courses was a relatively new concept in 1982 when an article entitled "Demythologizing Gifted Education" was first published in GCQ. Research at that time found that certain myths were widely believed, such as the idea that the gifted constituted a single, homogeneous group of learners, or that just one curriculum would serve all equally.

In "The Myths of Gifted Education: A Contemporary View," the journal takes a new look at the current state of gifted education. Researchers found that all 15 of the 1982 myths are still with us, though some have been modified over time, and several new ones have emerged.

"The Myths of Gifted Education: A Contemporary View" a special issue of Gifted Child Quarterly is available free for a limited time at http://gcq.sagepub.com/content/vol53/issue4.

 A Podcast interview with the editor about the differences (or not) in the myths since 1982 is available at http://gcq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/53/4/DC1.

 

Autism and Education

Who should we focus on - my disabled son or my gifted girl?
By Stephanie Lindsley - NEWSWEEK
Magazine issue dated Mar 9th, 2009
 

There is no government mandate to fund gifted education. In 2008 there was only $7.5 million in federal grants available through the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program. All additional funding comes from states and private organizations. Compare that with the $24.5 billion allotted by No Child Left Behind, a federal program whose goal is to help every child, including the mentally disabled, meet minimum standards. But is that a wise investment? Wouldn't some of those billions be more wisely spent on special teachers and mandated programs for gifted children, who have the potential to make advances in science, technology and the arts that would benefit everyone? See Full Story.

 

Grant allows gifted students to explore advanced topics online

ASCD SmartBrief | 01/19/2009

An Ohio program for gifted students hopes to build on students' strengths by allowing them to work independently in an online classroom. "Since it's a virtual program, it really opens doors, because we can individualize the program by selecting the types of classes that kids need," said Amy Bain, gifted coordinator for one of the participating districts. "The schools focus so much on helping kids with weakness. We have to help kids develop their strengths, as well." Cincinnati Enquirer, The (01/15)

 

'Cluster' classrooms are ideal for younger gifted students

Arizona Republic, January 29th, 2009

 

Many of us are familiar with honors programs that typically start in upper-elementary and middle-school years, where exceptional students are pulled out of class for accelerated and enriched instruction. There are Advanced Placement, honors and International Baccalaureate programs in the high-school years, as well. But what about the little ones? Is kindergarten through Grade 2 too early? Most say no.

However, pull-out programs are not always ideal for the younger students. That is why many schools have turned to a "cluster" model to serve the youngest gifted students without pulling them out of their classrooms. Read the full story.

 

Top pupils need more
Muskogee Daily Phoenix - Muskogee,OK,USA

 With time and budget constraints, along with a rising number of gifted and talented students, schools face a challenge giving the students the attention they need.  “A gifted student needs something beyond the classroom,” said Sadler gifted and talented teacher Margaret Wagner, who took about 30 students to dig for fossils and study rock formations at an excavation site north of Shawnee Bypass along 12th Street. Wagner said a vein of coal and numerous fossils were unearthed on the property, which is owned by a relative of one of the students.

Read Full Article.

 

 

How to tell if your child is gifted?

Forbes.com

What's one thing all experts in gifted education can agree on? There's a whole list of ways to tell if your child's gifted. Now, there's a tool used by psychologists and schools to screen students for entrance to accelerated programs, and it lists dozens of characteristics of gifted children. We've picked 11 that parents can easily spot in their own children. Parents, take out your notebooks, but remember: A child may still be gifted if he or she possesses just some--not all--of these traits.  Read Full Article.

 

Area Merit Scholarship finalists reflect well on gifted programs

Rockford Register Star - Rockford,IL,USA

Auburn High School has five seniors who have made the first cut in the very rigorous, very prestigious National Merit Scholarship competition. Kelsey Campbell, Taylor Chuchna, Kendell Coates, Zhengchuan Jiang and Sivakumar Sundaram are among 16,000 semifinalists now working to make the final cut of 8,200 students who receive the title of Merit Scholar and a corresponding share of $35 million in college scholarships.  The announcement of the semifinalists last month also reflects the success of the gifted education program in Rockford’s public schools. It’s no coincidence that all seven semifinalists for both national honors are enrolled in the Auburn Academy for gifted education and, before that, in gifted programs in middle school and elementary school.
Read Full Article.

 

When are students ready for 'gifted' classes?
By Paul Nelson

Every parent thinks their child is brilliant or gifted in one way or another. But does being an A student mean your child is ready for gifted classes?  Granite School District Associate Director for Advanced Learning Programs Paul Shepherd said, "Really, what it's about for us is just trying to match the appropriate curriculum and instructional level to the child's academic needs. But there is a lot of misunderstanding about that." There's no black and white way to describe a gifted child, but Shepherd says one sign is a big mismatch in what your child is being taught and what your child can actual do. Read Full Article.

 
A special pre-school for Gifted Children
BK Play school in Issaquah, Washington, is geared toward children considered "gifted." Although IQ testing is generally reserved for kids over the age of five, this school is testing kids as young as two-and-a-half.  They do it because they believe gifted kids need a special curriculum as early as possible.
Read full article.
 
Gifted Students to Get more Class Time
Ohio schools are being held to higher standards for the education of gifted students.  New guidelines were released by Ohio Department of Education in March outlining new standards for gifted education. The changes went into effect in July. According to a manual produced by the Department of Education, gifted students are "students who perform or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience or environment." Read full article.
 
Are we Failing our Geniuses?
Time.com
Our education system has little idea how to cultivate its most promising students. Since well before the Bush Administration began using the impossibly sunny term "no child left behind," those who write education policy in the U.S. have worried most about kids at the bottom, stragglers of impoverished means or IQs. But surprisingly, gifted students drop out at the same rates as nongifted kids--about 5% of both populations leave school early. Later in life, according to the scholarly Handbook of Gifted Education, up to one-fifth of dropouts test in the gifted range. Earlier this year, Patrick Gonzales of the U.S. Department of Education presented a paper showing that the highest-achieving students in six other countries, including Japan, Hungary and Singapore, scored significantly higher in math than their bright U.S. counterparts, who scored about the same as the Estonians. Which all suggests we may be squandering a national resource: our best young minds.To some extent, complacency is built into the system. American schools spend more than $8 billion a year educating the mentally retarded. Spending on the gifted isn't even tabulated in some states, but by the most generous calculation, we spend no more than $800 million on gifted programs. But it can't make sense to spend 10 times as much to try to bring low-achieving students to mere proficiency as we do to nurture those with the greatest potential.  Of the 62 million school-age kids in the U.S., only about 62,000 have IQs above 145. (A similar number have IQs below 55.) That's a small number, but they appear in every demographic, in every community. What to do with them? Squandered potential is always unfortunate, but presumably it is these powerful young minds that, if nourished, could one day cure leukemia or stop global warming or become the next James Joyce--or at least J.K. Rowling.  Read full article.
 
School tries new way to teach the gifted.  No more Gifted Education.
The middle school has eliminated a special program for academically talented sixth graders, schools officials said last night. The program has been snipped as part of a wider effort to align the sixth-grade curriculum with state standards and help teachers reach out to gifted students without grouping them, according to assistant schools Supt. Kathryn M. Crowley. Read full article
 
Is your child Gifted?
Parenting.com
Gifted" has become one of the most tossed-about words in the parenting lexicon. Unfortunately -- sorry, but let's get this out of the way right up front -- it's also one of the most misused. The vast majority of children are not gifted. Only 2 to 5 percent of kids fit the bill, by various estimates. Of those, only one in 100 is considered highly gifted. Prodigies (those wunderkinds who read at 2 and go to college at 10) are rarer still -- like one to two in a million. And despite the boom in infant-stimulation techniques, educational DVDs, learning toys, and enrichment classes, those numbers haven't been increasing. You can't build giftedness; it's mostly built in. Read full article for details on how to bring out the best in your child

 

 

No Child Left Behind has produced benefits, but unintended consequences

A national education accountability law may be forcing teachers to focus on the basics at the expense of more complex skills such as team building and creativity, says a Purdue University expert.  Sidney Moon, associate dean of learning and engagement in Purdue's College of Education and a professor of educational studies, says that six years into the federal reform of the public educational system known as No Child Left Behind, problems persist in schools.  "No Child Left Behind has had unintended consequences, which is what often happens when you provide a one-size-fits-all solution to problems that are really very complex," Moon said.  Moon said as teachers concentrate on bringing all children up to general competency levels on basics such as reading and mathematics, other themes necessary for social development and higher level critical thinking have been pushed aside.  Gifted children, who often are ready to move beyond basic education well before their peers, also are feeling the fallout of No Child Left Behind, she said.  Read full article.