Gifted Children

[kimmy]

When I was in elementary school, my class was given a variety of tests one day. Weird tests. Guess which group of squiggly lines is next in the sequence. Choose which shape is not like the others. Guess which number is next in the series. Decide which word is most like the others. Decide which word is least like the others. And so on.

And a while later, the teacher talked to me separately and informed me that they wanted to send me to a special program. Naturally I was terrified that they had decided I was a short-bus kid. But as it turns out, that wasn't the case at all. The tests apparently showed that my ability with squiggly lines and shapes and synonyms and antonyms was completely off the charts. As funny as it probably sounds to some of you, I was identified as a Gifted Child. For real!

And so I spent one afternoon a week at a different school, with other kids who were apparently also really good at squiggly lines and shapes. I was the only kid from my school, and there was another kid from a different school, and there were 10 kids from the host school. Either they had a different standard, or some kind of really amazing demographic success, I guess. We read Shakespeare, and studied Aztecs, and attempted to have conversations about current events (which for the most part as I recall just illustrated that being good with squiggly lines and shapes doesn't mean you're a deep thinker).

Anyway, I had the option to keep going at that, but I quit after a year. My regular classmates were convinced that I was in "special ed" and teased me. I felt like an outsider in the class, with 10 of the kids being regular classmates. Getting to the other school took a long time. The program wasn't very good. Shakespeare and Aztecs somehow never really stimulated my untapped potential the way they must have hoped. Overall I just didn't feel like I got much out of it. It was mostly just a chance to goof off one afternoon a week.

Regular school was ok for me. I was able to get decent grades without trying very hard. If I could travel back in time, I'd probably grab myself and give myself a shake and try to convince myself that I could have be really exceptional if I just worked at it. I've sometimes wondered why nobody else did that either. The gifted students program was the one time the school system recognized me as anything more than a kid who was good at sports and tried to reach out to me, and I didn't recognize it at the time.

My little brother was also gifted, and in some respects far more gifted than me. Unlike me, however, regular school was a serious challenge for him. Why was it a challenge if he was so darned bright? Because everything came so easily to him that he rebelled against it. He refused to do homework-- it was so completely boring for him that it was like a punishment. He was in constant trouble and detention for not doing work. He would get 100% on all the tests, but because he never did assignments his grades were poor. He developed terrible study habits. He had difficulty relating to other kids, and often became a target for bullies.

So, based on my brother's experience, I know that being "gifted" isn't always as great as it sounds. School can be as difficult for somebody like my brother as it is for a dumb kid. Maybe moreso, because the school system is tailored to dumb kids, and doesn't really know what to do with somebody exceptional.

So, I was reading this article:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/02/23/no-room-for-gifted-kids/

But as parents intervene, the battles for limited special education dollars become highly polarized. As former Edmonton Public Schools superintendent Michael Strembitsky points out, “Every dollar that is provided to one group, that’s a dollar less to another group.” And when forced to choose, some argue that educators can’t be faulted for tipping the scales in favour of those whose struggle is most apparent.

The very notion of extreme intellect as a special need still seems like a stretch to some, and making accommodations for it in tough times a luxury. As Shari Orders, co-author of a University of Ottawa study on the advocacy experiences of parents of gifted children, explains, “The societal notion is that gifted kids have it made.” According to Bill Morton, who has been teaching gifted students in Ontario since the mid-’80s, “Every time money gets tight, gifted comes under the light, because it’s not a popular exceptionality.”

(...)

In Alberta, identifying a gifted student no longer entitles schools to additional funds, but confirming a conduct disorder can bring in more than $16,000. “This is the kid who is going to be out there raping and murdering and robbing, and being a total financial loss to society. So of course, it’s a greater priority,” he says.

It's apparently pretty contentious issue. Some districts refuse to identify any students as gifted because it would mean creating programs and taking resources away from other kids. Some parents object to the idea that gifted kids need special programming at all, when other kids are struggling to keep up and when special needs children also need resources.

While there's an argument to be made that my brother's struggles in school were of his own making, I think there's also an argument to be made that the school system failed him, that he was a special needs child that the school system was simply not prepared to handle.

Any opinions? Is the school system failing children? Is it the kids and their parents who should be the ones responsible for dealing with this "problem"? Is it a non-issue, since it's only a tiny percentage of kids, who probably won't grow up to be robbers and rapists anyway?

-k

[Remiel]

There are various approaches to schooling that might be much more accomodating of " gifted " children, and even all children. Montesorrie schools, for instance, use a different style of teaching than most of us are used to. And personally, I think public (elementary) school would be far superior if the day were organized into periods, with each grade learning about the same subject at the same time. That way, it would be almost trivial to move a special needs child to a higher or lower level in appropriate subjects without changing their entire experience.

Whatever happens though, the term " gifted " should probably be dropped. It has been shown that telling kids that they are smart actually have a harmful effect on their work, whereas telling them they are hard workers when they do well has a positive effect. As well, I do not think that more money should be put towards smarter kids, unless you are changing the whole system, rather than just giving them more resources specifically. That is just away of entrenching their " station " from the get go. I mean, I understand the desire to nurture exceptional talents, but if they are not expected to be exceptional on their own, then what will be praiseworthy about them later on?

[Wild Bill]

"Gifted" kids have never been handled well by the "system". The problem is that usually those administering such programs are not "gifted" themselves!

First off, there's an assumption that such kids are going to do ok anyway. This allows diverting more resources to kids with learning problems, without feeling any "guilt". Unfortunately, we are dealing with kids here. It's all to easy for a "gifted" child to notice that the kids with problems get all the attention and get to play with most of the "neat stuff".

Second, it's perfectly natural for a gifted child to feel bored. To him or her, the schooling IS boring! Worse yet, the usual solution from most teachers entrusted to handle the situation is to give the gifted child a higher workload, OF THE SAME BORING STUFF!

It's just a plain fact of life that the "system" gets more praise for helping kids with learning difficulties than they do for accommodating the "brighter" ones.

As a parent, if you recognize that you have a "gifted" child you should tread carefully. If you push too hard you will become known at your child's school as someone asking for more work and effort from teachers that are not always just lazy. They usually have enough on their plate and when you are stressed by such it's just human nature to resent someone heaping on more for you to do.

I found with my children the best thing was to get them reading before they start kindergarten. Get them computer literate as fast as possible at the same time. If they get used to reading books and googling for their interests early enough they will get in the habit of learning on their own. Make them understand that they need to maintain a reasonably high standard in their regular schooling, since we live in a society where it's your academic credentials that can determine your economic opportunities, no matter how much you may or may not actually know. However, this doesn't mean that they can't learn as much as they like about any subject that interests them, on their own!

Other than Montessori, which is not really a program for gifted kids as one purporting to make ANY kid do better, I have never heard of anything but a few short lived "experiments" for gifted kids in North American public schools.

If anyone is aware of working and positive public school programs for gifted kids I would love to hear about them!

[Bonam]

It's apparently pretty contentious issue. Some districts refuse to identify any students as gifted because it would mean creating programs and taking resources away from other kids. Some parents object to the idea that gifted kids need special programming at all, when other kids are struggling to keep up and when special needs children also need resources.

While there's an argument to be made that my brother's struggles in school were of his own making, I think there's also an argument to be made that the school system failed him, that he was a special needs child that the school system was simply not prepared to handle.

Any opinions? Is the school system failing children? Is it the kids and their parents who should be the ones responsible for dealing with this "problem"? Is it a non-issue, since it's only a tiny percentage of kids, who probably won't grow up to be robbers and rapists anyway?

-k

I went through the same thing as a child. I got identified as a gifted kid in grade 4 and went to some of these special programs 1 day a week also. That was after grade 3, where my parents asked my idiot old lady of a teacher at the time if I might be gifted, and she told them there was "no such thing". The gifted programs were pretty good, but I had a horrible time in the normal school. Other kids hated me, I just didn't fit in. After grade 4, my parents put me in a private school which was for gifted kids only, and I did a lot better. I was probably the most normal kid there, as opposed to being the odd one out at the public school.

I tend to agree with you that public schools fail bright and gifted students horribly. The emphasis is definitely on trying to help out those with learning disabilities. And, once you get to high school, the emphasis is ALL on sports and performing arts, almost to the complete exclusion of anyone caring about academics. That of course doesn't bode well for nerdy little kids that are prodigies when it comes to math and science and logic and language but don't give a damn about sports or music.

As for whether the kids will turn out well "anyway"... that's far from assured. One of my friends in the private elementary school I went to went to a normal public high school program. This was a guy with an IQ of over 170, he finished grade 11 math in grade 7, etc. Well, within a few years of getting into high school and being beaten and bullied constantly, he'd become a druggy, fried all his extra brain cells that had made him so smart, associated with a bunch of idiots, and ended up not even graduating from high school.

I was a lot more fortunate in that I went to a "mini school" public high school program, designed for "bright/motivated learners", which was actually really good. Of course, there was only 30 spots per year in the program, for all of Vancouver... far from enough to accommodate all the kids who would have benefited from it.

Things do get better in University, when your gifted intelligence starts to actually count for something and you can excel, work in labs, impress profs, help other students who then respect you in return rather than punching you, etc.

Realistically, parents of gifted children have a few choices:

- put their kids in a private school, if they can afford it

- hope to get one of the few spots in public programs for advanced learners, but chances are low

- homeschooling

- leave their kids in public school and hope they manage to live through the experience without being totally traumatized and ruined

When it comes to the politics of education, I depart somewhat from my usual minarchist viewpoint. I believe education is one of the most important things to make a society prosper, and moreover, equality of opportunity is provided by supplying everyone a quality education. Children that require a different educational environment than the norm should either be catered to or not. If yes, then that should include programs for gifted kids. If not, then there shouldn't be programs for disadvantaged ones either.

Furthermore, speaking from a utilitarian perspective, programs that would help gifted kids to realize their full potential would benefit society a lot more than any other kind of special educational programs. After all, those are the kid who have the potential to grow up to be brilliant leaders, scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Unless they are beaten into mediocrity in our public schools, which is what I am certain happens to a great many of them today.

[Bonam]

That is just away of entrenching their " station " from the get go. I mean, I understand the desire to nurture exceptional talents, but if they are not expected to be exceptional on their own, then what will be praiseworthy about them later on?

Their "exceptional talents" are generally matched with exceptional challenges, namely, being loathed by everyone around them and being an utter outcast.

[Shwa]

I have a couple of kids that were identified as 'gifted' and one who would have been through sheer hard work.

My daughter was sailing along into high school, getting all the awards and then a teacher's strike happened. She was so disillusioned with that process that she basically gave up on high school teaching as being serious about academics and focused on the arts.

My second youngest was indentified after he read a novel to his kindergarten teacher - it was a kid's novel series, creepy stories or something. (he picked up on languages right away, around 2) Luckily his kindergarten teacher fostered that brightness.

In grade two we had a meeting with the school - a smallish neighbourhood grade school - and they wanted to place him in another school, which he would have to be bused, and we said no. Our position was that his social conditions, with all his neighbourhood buddies, was as important as his advanced schooling. They complained about not having the resources for gifted children. I fired back that they had plenty of resources including material from the grade above. They relented, designed a program for him and he stayed there until he finished grade 8. We never pressured him over grades, but rather encouraged broad learning and critical thinking.

He is a few years out of high school now, but all his neighbourhood buddies are still his buddies and he has contact with them on a regular basis. He has settled on Concordia for history and then U of T for law.

When I was in grade school back in the day, I wasn't identified as "gifted" but "advanced" in certain subject areas. So while I didn't actually skip a grade, the school was set up in such a way to allow me to particiapte in classes from the next grade up. I was lucky in that respect because I had access to high school classes when in grade school. But my own experience was input into how I dealt with my own kids.

Stability and consistency is the key in any schooling decision for any child. When there is stability and consistency, no matter what their achievement level, kids will thrive. This is one of the main reasons why I think smaller neighbourhood grade schools and a lower teacher-student ratio is the way to go.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Shwa

[eyeball]

I bought this ticket and took this ride too. They put me in a 'free' school.

My experience sounded more like kimmy's brother. I hated school, but to be fair it probably hated me.

I washed my hands of the whole fiasco and was fishing and logging by the time I was 16.

[charter.rights]

The unfortunate thing is that gifted kids fall through the cracks the same as sp-eds do.

In Ontario the testing shows that say the average math scores run around 55. It looks like we are just passing the Ontario curriculum. However, when we remove the 15% of the kids that fall into gifted categories (because most of their education is beyond the standard curriculum) and we add into the stats the 25% sp-ed kids (they are excluded from the tests statistics) in actual fact teachers are really only reaching about 25% of the entire student population successfully. So there really is something wrong with the teaching methods, or the curriculum.

Consider that most teachers (say a median or 40 years old) are using teaching methods that are at least 30-40 years old. The newer teachers are taught that teaching is just another job, and those that have passion are are lucky enough to end up in the position, are challenged to fall into the 30-40 years methods or risk losing tenure. Bucking the system is not tolerated.

[Remiel]

Their "exceptional talents" are generally matched with exceptional challenges, namely, being loathed by everyone around them and being an utter outcast.

Believe me, I am not an outsider in this debate. I trace the ruination of whatever work ethic I may have had to a realization when I was very young that there seemed to be no particularly benefit to being thirty of fifty pages ahead of the next most adept person in the math textbook we were told to work through, after which I never did as well as I could have I believe. And those few times when there was an opportunity for the " gifted " to visit the high school, I was selected to go. And I was loathed in most of public (elementary) school as well, up until maybe the last grade or two, at which point I was promoed from " loathed " to " least popular " .

But despite the fact that I believe I am one of the people who would have benefitted from a more advanced education, particularly in math, I am still not inclined to say that more money should have been diverted from other students to myself.

[Remiel]

In Ontario the testing shows that say the average math scores run around 55. It looks like we are just passing the Ontario curriculum. However, when we remove the 15% of the kids that fall into gifted categories (because most of their education is beyond the standard curriculum) and we add into the stats the 25% sp-ed kids (they are excluded from the tests statistics) in actual fact teachers are really only reaching about 25% of the entire student population successfully. So there really is something wrong with the teaching methods, or the curriculum.

You have not improved these so-called statistics with your substitution. If you are going to deny teachers credit for the exceptionally succesful, then it is unfair to saddle them with responsibility for the exceptionally unsuccesful. You are essentially saying that good teachers cannot make good students better and instead are bad teachers because they do not make bad students better.

[Bonam]

Believe me, I am not an outsider in this debate. I trace the ruination of whatever work ethic I may have had to a realization when I was very young that there seemed to be no particularly benefit to being thirty of fifty pages ahead of the next most adept person in the math textbook we were told to work through, after which I never did as well as I could have I believe. And those few times when there was an opportunity for the " gifted " to visit the high school, I was selected to go. And I was loathed in most of public (elementary) school as well, up until maybe the last grade or two, at which point I was promoed from " loathed " to " least popular " .

But despite the fact that I believe I am one of the people who would have benefitted from a more advanced education, particularly in math, I am still not inclined to say that more money should have been diverted from other students to myself.

You don't think its worth spending a minimal amount of extra money (compared to that spent on education in general or on special education for those that are below average) to capitalize on the potential of gifted learners? Remember, these are the people who, if properly harnessed, will likely end up returning by far the biggest contribution to the economy. I think it makes sense for the education system to help each student unlock their maximum potential, rather than simply attempting to make sure everyone attains a given minimal standard. And I believe spending money towards that goal is appropriate, as it is helpful both to society as a whole as well as to individuals.

[Remiel]

You don't think its worth spending a minimal amount of extra money (compared to that spent on education in general or on special education for those that are below average) to capitalize on the potential of gifted learners? Remember, these are the people who, if properly harnessed, will likely end up returning by far the biggest contribution to the economy. I think it makes sense for the education system to help each student unlock their maximum potential, rather than simply attempting to make sure everyone attains a given minimal standard. And I believe spending money towards that goal is appropriate, as it is helpful both to society as a whole as well as to individuals.

If I believed identification of economic potential was only that easy I would perhaps find this argument more compelling. Do you know what sort of statistics are available for correct identification of gifted students? I would likt to know, for instance, if it is rare to misdiagnosis a gifted student as an average student.

[Bonam]

If I believed identification of economic potential was only that easy I would perhaps find this argument more compelling. Do you know what sort of statistics are available for correct identification of gifted students? I would likt to know, for instance, if it is rare to misdiagnosis a gifted student as an average student.

Gifted students are CONSTANTLY "misdiagnosed" as average ones. Constantly. Many teachers out there don't even know what the heck being gifted means, or else don't believe in the existence of such a thing. Like my third grade teacher, among others. I don't know about statistics, too lazy to google around for any today, but my guess would be that the vast and overwhelming majority of gifted students are never identified as such, and are instead beaten into mediocrity in our public school system.

That is, of course, part of the problem, and just a bit of money to help better identify different kinds of learners at an early age would make a huge difference there.

As for identification of economic potential... it seems likely that innate intelligence, when properly nurtured, would likely correlate strongly with economic potential. Or if not economic potential, than other worthwhile contributions to our civilization, be they scientific or artistic in nature.

Edited August 2, 2011 by Bonam

[Remiel]

How much more, say, as a percentage, do you think it would be justifiable to devote to gifted students? And perhaps a related question: how many kids do you think would be too few to be able to justify diverting a teacher to gifted students? This is probably going to be more important in smaller places than in large cities that can pool for a program.

[eyeball]

As for identification of economic potential... it seems likely that innate intelligence, when properly nurtured, would likely correlate strongly with economic potential. Or if not economic potential, than other worthwhile contributions to our civilization, be they scientific or artistic in nature.

I could get behind pursuing this line of thinking, especially if it included identifying things like ethical potential and a capacity for empathy and justice.

[dre]

Gifted students are CONSTANTLY "misdiagnosed" as average ones. Constantly. Many teachers out there don't even know what the heck being gifted means, or else don't believe in the existence of such a thing. Like my third grade teacher, among others. I don't know about statistics, too lazy to google around for any today, but my guess would be that the vast and overwhelming majority of gifted students are never identified as such, and are instead beaten into mediocrity in our public school system.

That is, of course, part of the problem, and just a bit of money to help better identify different kinds of learners at an early age would make a huge difference there.

As for identification of economic potential... it seems likely that innate intelligence, when properly nurtured, would likely correlate strongly with economic potential. Or if not economic potential, than other worthwhile contributions to our civilization, be they scientific or artistic in nature.

As for identification of economic potential... it seems likely that innate intelligence, when properly nurtured, would likely correlate strongly with economic potential

Not really. Raw intelligence is only one factor in economic potential. Probably not even the largest one.

[Wild Bill]

I could get behind pursuing this line of thinking, especially if it included identifying things like ethical potential and a capacity for empathy and justice.

Why do you think that would be necessary? You sound like gifted students are some kind of Frankenstein's monsters!

Perhaps your view is truly mainstream and an example of why gifted kids get such poor support...

[Sir Bandelot]

Why do you think that would be necessary? You sound like gifted students are some kind of Frankenstein's monsters!

Perhaps your view is truly mainstream and an example of why gifted kids get such poor support...

When society is built on the principle that wealth is the ultimate goal in life and all else is subordinate, we have the situation we are seeing now. In other words unabated greed, completely self-centred, feels no ethical dilemma in trampling others, finally it becomes a self-destructive act.

[wyly]

Imo gifted kids is vastly over rated, there are actually very few "gifted" kids, kids are either interested or disinterested in school, those who enjoy learning are labeled "gifted"...parents love this crap and enroll their kids in private schools or IB programs thinking their little darling is going to be the next Einstein...I'd bet there are as many if not more who are equal or better that aren't identified because they have little interest in what's being taught...

[Oleg Bach]

They told me that I was a day dreamer. They sent letters home saying that I had better prepare for a like long career that included a pick and shovel...Later they took me aside and said that I was of above average intelligence..."not saying that you are a genius" _ we did not have such a thing as gifted back in the day - we just had "compliant" and "stupid". So here I am years later...non-compliant and stupid - thank you very much for the real education - in the fact that they do not educate kids - they train them to be compliant and condition them for the work force...what ever it may be in that era.

Math for instance was 2 plus 2 equals four....once you got it they went on and on over and over again ---I get it 2+2=4....THEN They continued to use repetition until your brain was numb and you intentionaly developed selective deafness - This was the 50s and 60s I am talking about - and the primary jobs were in manufacturing - they trained you to get use to robot like work on the assembly line..If your father was not a buisness man or a doctor you were pretty much doomed to stand at the punch press for 25 years...so now...they have "gifted" children...who they are just the same as "special" children - or as we called them "the retards" - It's all about making everyone the same with the same level of instilled self esteem - Instead of the punch press they punch computer keys and every kid wants to be a video game designer...lol~

[eyeball]

Why do you think that would be necessary?

I think I was feeling facetious when I wrote that. In any case I think the world could benefit from having the most ethical and just people on the planet helping to run it. That said I wouldn't fault them for wanting to be left alone and telling the world to go piss up a rope.

You sound like gifted students are some kind of Frankenstein's monsters!

Perhaps your view is truly mainstream and an example of why gifted kids get such poor support...

I doubt my view is mainstream. They sound more like victims according to the anecdotes above - even your example Frankenstein had an aura of tragedy about him.

[wyly]

They told me that I was a day dreamer. They sent letters home saying that I had better prepare for a like long career that included a pick and shovel...Later they took me aside and said that I was of above average intelligence..."not saying that you are a genius" _ we did not have such a thing as gifted back in the day - we just had "compliant" and "stupid". So here I am years later...non-compliant and stupid - thank you very much for the real education - in the fact that they do not educate kids - they train them to be compliant and condition them for the work force...what ever it may be in that era.

Math for instance was 2 plus 2 equals four....once you got it they went on and on over and over again ---I get it 2+2=4....THEN They continued to use repetition until your brain was numb and you intentionaly developed selective deafness - This was the 50s and 60s I am talking about - and the primary jobs were in manufacturing - they trained you to get use to robot like work on the assembly line..If your father was not a buisness man or a doctor you were pretty much doomed to stand at the punch press for 25 years...so now...they have "gifted" children...who they are just the same as "special" children - or as we called them "the retards" - It's all about making everyone the same with the same level of instilled self esteem - Instead of the punch press they punch computer keys and every kid wants to be a video game designer...lol~

I share your experiences Oleg I was one of those who were pigeon holed as the pick and shovel brigade cruising along with a 60% average, then when I scored a 99% average in biology the school councilor investigated as it surely couldn't correct, but it was just a matter of me waking up and taking an interest in a particular subject, then once motivated extending it to other subjects...and I think most kids fall into that same category, until you find something that ignites their interest and you will not find out what they're really capable of...three of my kids have tested at genius levels, one has showed that all through school and now into post secondary, a 2nd cruised through high school and only in post secondary applied herself and met expectations and the 3rd cruised through high school and continues to cruise in post secondary doing only the minimum required(partying takes priority)...

gifted are those who take an interest, there are many more exceptional kids who are just not motivated Imo...those labeled as gifted do not require special schools to develop they'll do just as well in our present school systems, those who are drifting along are the ones in need of encouragement...

[Wild Bill]

When society is built on the principle that wealth is the ultimate goal in life and all else is subordinate, we have the situation we are seeing now. In other words unabated greed, completely self-centred, feels no ethical dilemma in trampling others, finally it becomes a self-destructive act.

Okay...gifted kids grow up to be greedy, self centred psychpaths. That seems to be what you're saying!

Please stay away from any gifted children. If that's what a kid might sense you think of him you'd likely screw his head up for life!

A kid can't help being born smart, you know. If he was gay you would support him. Because he's smart you expect him to grow up to be a greedy psychopath!

Geez! We desperately need that "B" Ark!

[pinko]

When I was in elementary school, my class was given a variety of tests one day. Weird tests. Guess which group of squiggly lines is next in the sequence. Choose which shape is not like the others. Guess which number is next in the series. Decide which word is most like the others. Decide which word is least like the others. And so on.

And a while later, the teacher talked to me separately and informed me that they wanted to send me to a special program. Naturally I was terrified that they had decided I was a short-bus kid. But as it turns out, that wasn't the case at all. The tests apparently showed that my ability with squiggly lines and shapes and synonyms and antonyms was completely off the charts. As funny as it probably sounds to some of you, I was identified as a Gifted Child. For real!

And so I spent one afternoon a week at a different school, with other kids who were apparently also really good at squiggly lines and shapes. I was the only kid from my school, and there was another kid from a different school, and there were 10 kids from the host school. Either they had a different standard, or some kind of really amazing demographic success, I guess. We read Shakespeare, and studied Aztecs, and attempted to have conversations about current events (which for the most part as I recall just illustrated that being good with squiggly lines and shapes doesn't mean you're a deep thinker).

Anyway, I had the option to keep going at that, but I quit after a year. My regular classmates were convinced that I was in "special ed" and teased me. I felt like an outsider in the class, with 10 of the kids being regular classmates. Getting to the other school took a long time. The program wasn't very good. Shakespeare and Aztecs somehow never really stimulated my untapped potential the way they must have hoped. Overall I just didn't feel like I got much out of it. It was mostly just a chance to goof off one afternoon a week.

Regular school was ok for me. I was able to get decent grades without trying very hard. If I could travel back in time, I'd probably grab myself and give myself a shake and try to convince myself that I could have be really exceptional if I just worked at it. I've sometimes wondered why nobody else did that either. The gifted students program was the one time the school system recognized me as anything more than a kid who was good at sports and tried to reach out to me, and I didn't recognize it at the time.

My little brother was also gifted, and in some respects far more gifted than me. Unlike me, however, regular school was a serious challenge for him. Why was it a challenge if he was so darned bright? Because everything came so easily to him that he rebelled against it. He refused to do homework-- it was so completely boring for him that it was like a punishment. He was in constant trouble and detention for not doing work. He would get 100% on all the tests, but because he never did assignments his grades were poor. He developed terrible study habits. He had difficulty relating to other kids, and often became a target for bullies.

So, based on my brother's experience, I know that being "gifted" isn't always as great as it sounds. School can be as difficult for somebody like my brother as it is for a dumb kid. Maybe moreso, because the school system is tailored to dumb kids, and doesn't really know what to do with somebody exceptional.

So, I was reading this article:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/02/23/no-room-for-gifted-kids/

It's apparently pretty contentious issue. Some districts refuse to identify any students as gifted because it would mean creating programs and taking resources away from other kids. Some parents object to the idea that gifted kids need special programming at all, when other kids are struggling to keep up and when special needs children also need resources.

While there's an argument to be made that my brother's struggles in school were of his own making, I think there's also an argument to be made that the school system failed him, that he was a special needs child that the school system was simply not prepared to handle.

Any opinions? Is the school system failing children? Is it the kids and their parents who should be the ones responsible for dealing with this "problem"? Is it a non-issue, since it's only a tiny percentage of kids, who probably won't grow up to be robbers and rapists anyway?

-k

"Any opinions? Is the school system failing children? Is it the kids and their parents who should be the ones responsible for dealing with this "problem"? Is it a non-issue, since it's only a tiny percentage of kids, who probably won't grow up to be robbers and rapists anyway?"

My brother was gifted and landed up on the wrong side of the law. My son was gifted and lined up on the right side of the law and has parlayed that into a sucessful medical practice. So in answer to your question no the school system isn't failing children. The onus is on the parents, the student and the teachers to ensure sucess.

Edited August 2, 2011 by pinko

[Bonam]

Imo gifted kids is vastly over rated, there are actually very few "gifted" kids, kids are either interested or disinterested in school, those who enjoy learning are labeled "gifted"...parents love this crap and enroll their kids in private schools or IB programs thinking their little darling is going to be the next Einstein...I'd bet there are as many if not more who are equal or better that aren't identified because they have little interest in what's being taught...

Clearly you have no experience with gifted kids. Gifted kids are most certainly not the ones "interested" in school. Why? Because the material being covered is so utterly simple and boring for them. To get them interested, they need to be exposed to material that is of a more advanced level, often many grade levels higher, or material that is not usually covered in school at all.

Some time ago, a friend of mine at the time had a brother about 10 years younger than him. This kid was totally disinterested in school and had mediocre grades. Meanwhile, at home, he was reading Shakespeare, composing music and playing it on multiple instruments, and learning calculus. He was in grade 4.