I just read an article that challenges readers to Value All Gifts and Talents by creating new school options rather than the traditional academic model.

The underlying assumption in this article is that the typical high school’s college preparatory classes fulfill the needs of gifted students, while unnecessarily stressing students whose strength lies in arts, athletics, crafts, mechanics, teaching, etc.

I believe that this is a popular assumption, and that this is one reason that there is very little funding or support for Gifted & Talented Programs in many school districts throughout the USA.

Definition of Gifted

In our egalitarian society, you have to be brave to describe your child as “gifted” with its suggestion of elitism and status-chasing.  Many people will tell you that all children are gifted, which is true, but not in the sense that the term is used in the field of education.

Here, gifted is a relative term that describes “individual exceptionality from the norm, about learning differences at a given point in time that require special educational adaptations.” (Mathews and Foster, Being Smart about Gifted Children)

Gifted just means that a student will have different education needs from that of most age-level peers, but those needs may vary drastically per individual.

Levels of Giftedness

Researchers are finding that there are many more gifted individuals in the general population than previously thought. However, the IQ of the gifted can range from Level One Moderately Gifted (117-129) to Level Five Profoundly Gifted (141+.) Note that these numbers reflect the new, lower IQ test results.

Early Indicators (prior to Kindergarten) of Intellectual Giftedness are found at all of these levels:

· Understands complex verbal instructions

· Shows interest and ability with shape sorters and 8-10 piece puzzles.

· Speaks in complex, correct sentences using comparatives and connective words

· Can sight read a number of words or familiar signs

· Completes 25+ piece jigsaw puzzles and complex mazes

· Recognizes and/or names a wide variety of colors and shades

· Knows the letters in or out of alphabetical order

· Makes letters by writing or using sticks, utensils, etc.

· Knows the numbers

· Shows keen memory for detail in spatial directions, past events, etc.

· Uses one-to-one correspondence in counting objects

It is interesting to note that in school districts that draw students from a high socioeconomic population, where most parents are highly educated professionals, most of the students are Level One Gifted but average learners. Also, a typical middle class elementary school will have 1-2 (out of 100) Level Three students at each grade level. Level 4 and Level 5 students are less likely to be found in schools, as they are more likely to turn to homeschooling or alternative schooling options.

Even more interesting is how the level of giftedness impacts academic abilities and needs. The Level One Moderately Gifted average learners already “show impatience with repetition and slow pace by age seven or eight.” Level Two students have the ability to do accelerated work often as soon as they start school. Level Three students can read youth or young adult books at around age 7. And Level Four students are capable of completing 8th Grade work by 4th grade.

(Source: Deborah Ruf, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. 2005: Great Potential Press.)

Gifted Domains

Identifying the gifted is further complicated by the wide variety of abilities that falls under the “gifted” umbrella.  Karen Rogers, one of the leading researchers in Gifted Education and the author of Re-Forming Gifted Education, sorts Giftedness and Talent into six domains: general intellectual; specific academic; creativity; psychosocial or leadership; visual and performing arts; and psychomotor. A gifted individual may display a mixture of traits from these domains.

While a Level Three Intellectually Gifted student who excels in class may be easy to identify as gifted; a disorganized, divergent “Creative Spirit” may be hard to spot as gifted.

Gifted Educational Needs

There are many options for providing an educational plan for the gifted, but – despite the prevalence of college preparatory school curriculums – “many experts in the field of gifted education have argued that the general school curriculum does not contain enough breadth or depth of content for bright, eager learners who crave knowledge.” (Rogers, p. 79)

Gifted Students want schools that:

· Provide advanced courses, honor classes, and other opportunities beyond the standard curriculum,

· Offer out-of-school options such as mentorships and community service projects, and

· Provide opportunities for teachers and counselors to learn about the special needs of gifted students.

Gifted students want to:

· Learn at their own speed

· Opt out of work they already know and understand

· Study things that interest them and go beyond the basics

· Work with abstract concepts that require more than simple thinking – such as creative, reflective, and analytical ideas

· Work with peers who share your interests and abilities

· Participate in options that connect your learning to the “real world.”

(Source: Surveys of gifted students reported in Galbraith and Delisle, The Gifted Kids’ Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook. 1996: Free Spirit Publishing.)

More Links:

Responding to the Needs of High School Level Gifted Learners

Dealing With the Needs of Underachieving Gifted Students In a Suburban School District: What Works!

Losing the Gifted

When the opportunity for relevant, meaningful learning doesn’t exist, gifted students may become bored and act out. Some become frustrated and angry, while others start clowning around. Many students who are forced to conform to the class standard may become withdrawn and/or apathetic. A student who started Kindergarten as a bright, eager, curious child can end up as a dull, uninterested adolescent. A pattern of underachievement can set in as early as the primary grades. By high school, many drop-outs are gifted students.

How to tell if your school district values the gifted and talented:

· There is funding for training teachers about Gifted Education.

· Gifted education options and resources are available from Kindergarten through 12th Grade.

· There is a Gifted Education Coordinator in your elementary school.

· A Gifted Coordinator/Guidance Counselor is available to follow a gifted student’s progress from 7th-12 Grade.

· There are opportunities for acceleration, at a minimum, in Math and English.

· Subjects that aren’t tested on the annual state standardized tests, such as Science and Social Studies, are given in-depth, meaningful coverage.

· Language arts programs include many opportunities for creative, as well as expository, writing.

· There is an Enrichment Program that provides opportunities for the development of higher level skills, such as divergent and evaluative thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.

· There are opportunities for self-directed or independent study.

· Availability of AP courses that follow the AP curriculum guidelines and offer the end-of-course exams for college credit.

· Library, Music, and Art instruction is given as much funding and time as physical education.

· Academic contests such as spelling bees, science fairs, or math counts receive as much funding and popular support as athletic or other programs.

So, do you think your school values the gifted and talented? What does your school do well? What else would you like to see your school doing?

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