What’s it like for the gifted student in today’s classroom? Is she happy to be there, excited to learn something new every day, looking forward to being challenged, willing to share her ideas with like-minded peers? Does she enjoy the accolades of admiring teachers? Probably not.
More than likely, the gifted learner is uninterested or bored completely, frustrated at the repetitious practice of what she already knows so well, feeling insecure and unnoticed. Or, on the other hand, she may be highly curious, asking a lot of questions, interrupting the teacher to delve deeper into a subject, finishing quizzes quickly and studying some topic she alone is interested in.
Does the teacher know she is gifted? Has the teacher been trained on how to teach a gifted student? Does the teacher have a supportive classroom for gifted as well as non-gifted students? Does she offer acceleration or enrichment opportunities? Probably not.
Roadblocks Faced by Gifted Learners
In fact, some teachers miss the boat entirely. One example comes from a school district in Maryland where a kindergarten teacher classified one student, Caitlyn, as “special needs” because she was “intellectually backward.” The parent was stunned because the girl was already reading at night, and they enjoyed Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson.
The teacher felt that the student finished her reading assignments much too quickly to have any understanding of the material. The parent asked the teacher to consider the possibility that her daughter might actually be an advanced reader. The teacher responded that she didn’t think that the girl would be that much ahead of the other children but agreed to some testing.
The test results showed that the girl was gifted. The school was not prepared to teach advanced students, so the teacher recommended the girl be home-schooled. Her home courses were guided by a private school, and she earned a fifth-grade certificate.
At age 9, the child wanted to go back to traditional school and applied for the sixth grade. The school officials said she was not ready for this grade, should be in fourth grade, and probably needed only some higher-level Math and English. But on the insistence of her parents, Cailyn was admitted and did very well in a classroom of older students.
That is until a science teacher questioned her high marks in that class.It was his opinion that her success on tests was due to her discovering of a way to “decode” them.
One of the educators suggested a standardized test to learn more about her. So, Caitlyn took the SAT test and at age 11, scored 1950 out of a possible 2400. She took the test again when she graduated from high school at age 15 and scored 2200.
How, Why Do Gifted Education Roadblocks Arise?
Educators often misread giftedness. They don’t see it or don’t understand what it means or what to do about it. They sometimes see it only as problem behavior that has a negative effect on the rest of the class. And they certainly are not trained in the developmental or social aspects of giftedness and how the rest of the class can have a negative effect on the gifted.
A gifted fifth grader received this advice on his report card from his teacher: “You could work on ways to exhibit patience for others who don’t work at your same fast pace. Also be aware that you don’t overstep boundaries by helping people when they are trying to discover something on their own.” Needless to say, her parents were stunned. They wondered if other students got notes on having to work faster so other students wouldn’t have to wait for them.
Caitlyn was gifted, so why did she and her parents have to deal with the ignorance and obstinance of her teachers and school administrators? They doubted her brilliance and set up roadblocks to her progress. Caitlyn, like so many other gifted learners, simply did not like, nor benefit from, school.
And Caitlyn is not alone, with a lot of gifted learners throughout the country facing similar neglect. This is in spite of federal regulations. The No Child Left Behind law authorizes school districts to use Title I funds to identify and serve gifted students. It also authorizes Title II funds to be used to train teachers in how to work with gifted students. In reality, the country spends far more on education for children with disabilities than it does for the gifted.
The law also encourages reporting on the progress of gifted students and supports further research on serving gifted children from under-represented populations. Failing to act on these laws does a great injustice to gifted students. The laws aren’t perfect, but they do move us in the right direction.
Some researchers point out that there are two basic reasons why our schools fail gifted students. The first is that we view gifted students as privileged and not in need of special help. The second is that we would rather support activities like sports or music rather than giftedness. It’s kind of a spirit of anti-intellectualism.
Removing Roadblocks by Building Bridges
Lack of support is one thing. Interference is another. Without awareness, there can be no support. Without special programs for enrichment and acceleration, gifted students will become disengaged at an early age, stop trying to excel, and have a high possibility of dropping out of school. The intellectual drain on society would be catastrophic.
School systems need to recognize the issue and provide funding for enrichment and acceleration programs. They should make good use of federal funding as well.
Universities need to provide courses for education majors that include giftedness awareness and techniques for development and support. Community colleges need to provide alliances between smart students and local businesses and professional institutions.
Teachers need to seek out those universities that offer well-rounded curricula including giftedness programs and associated classroom techniques. And they need to practice what they learn and provide a healthy classroom culture for all levels of learning.
Teachers can also take advantage of special programs like the Knowledge and Skill Standards for teachers of gifted students developed by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).
Parents can take an active interest and leadership in their children’s giftedness. They can enroll their children in summer programs that focus on their children’s area of interest. Maybe their children participate in archaeological digs or join a concert symphony.
Everyone has a role to play in moving the heavy boulders of ignorance, indifference,and inactivity from the paths of gifted learners.
