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Monthly Archives: May 2010
Is Every Child Gifted? No.
Gifted children are special needs children; they have special educational needs that other children do not have. In general, they require a faster pace since they need fewer repetitions and less practice to master concepts. They also do best when they are able to explore a topic in greater depth than is usually found in the regular curriculum.And yet, we still face the belief that all children are gifted. I found this once again in Huffington Post article by Jennifer Evans Gardner on the gifted program in Los Angeles schools. She complains about the GATE program, whose mission statement says, “…all students are to receive an education appropriate to their individual capabilities, interests, and needs.”
The idea that all children are gifted is diluting the quality of gifted programs by lowering the standards whenever politicians, administrators, etc. get questions from families of non-gifted children about why their kid isn’t in the gifted program.
We need to make a distinction (as the author of this article does) between children being special (ie. unique individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses) and being gifted (academically or intellectually more advanced than their peers). Many people replace ‘special’ with ‘gifted’.
The writer of the article, Carol Brainbridge, implores readers to read a response to this idea by Michael Clay Thompson:
Michael Clay Thompson wrote a wonderfully eloquent response to the claim that all children are gifted. I wish Gardner and others who make that claim would read his response.
Please visit his site and read his response. Share it with everyone who thinks ‘special’ means ‘gifted’. 
Tagged unique
You Are Your Child’s Best Advocate
The education system in the United States falls short in many areas and fails many of our nation’s brightest young minds. While there are many resources available to low-performing students, there are not nearly as many programs and resources available to the gifted students who need more challenging course work, even at an early age. For this reason it is increasingly important for parents to be closely involved as their child’s advocate.
via riddlestreet.com
No school administrator, board member, or legislator will be an advocate for your child better than you can. That’s why it’s so important to be knowledgeable about the laws and requirements. Understanding how an IEP works and what goes into developing an appropriate IEP for your child is helpful.
Tagged education advocate, parenting
Gifted Education is For All Children, Not Just the ‘Elitists’
“A lot of people view gifted education as being elitist,” she said. “We are constantly teaching kids the difference between equity and equality because it can sound elitist. But we still have to recognize the difference,” Verploegh-Calhoun explained. “Students may not be understood by their peers, but they still need to live in this world.”
via nmsumerge.com
Unfortunately, even some school administrators see gifted education as “elitist”. As parents, we need to advocate for our children and make school officials understand that a strong gifted education program benefits the entire school, not just the ‘elite smart kids’.
On another note, we need to do a better job of protecting services for gifted education:
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2000), 2.96 million or close to 6 percent of the school-aged population are gifted children. Since 1999, New Mexico is one of five states that recognizes gifted kids and protects them by law.
Only five states protect gifted kids by law?! That’s a shame, and we need to do more for our gifted kids– not just parents, but state legislators, school boards, and administrators as well.
Tagged elitism, school administration