What About the Gifted Kids?
Posted October 25th, 2007 by adminAn article published by The Washington Post recently turned the spotlight on gifted children and why, in increasing numbers, parents of these children are pulling their children out of public schools. The reason given is because of the No Child Left Behind Act and the fact that it focuses on low-performing students and pretty much leaves the gifted students out in the cold.
Most at risk are math prodigies and creative writing students. Because the focus now is on teaching the basics and raising school district test scores, the school’s curriculum is structured and does not include enough flexibility to include a different way of thinking to resolve a problem. Because of this, students who may be math geniuses begin to hate math; kids who may be future novelists begin to hate to write and rue the thought of another writing worksheet in class. Our teachers’ hands are tied; they can see that some of the students are well past some of the rudimentary exercises presented in class; but they also have a curriculum to follow and lack incentives to appropriately educate all the students in the classroom to master the curriculum, not just pass it.
It takes a special kind of person to educate a child; a person of strong will, courage, and lots of patience. And that is just to deal with the imposition and intrusion of the government in their job. But it is a job of love. Most teachers try to do as much as they can with gifted students, including book reading programs, extra creative writing assignments, math projects, and other things that may go outside of the curriculum. Thankfully, some teachers will not be hampered by governmental policies; instead they will use it as motivation to do what they love best: teach and watch children flourish.
Happy Learning!
p.s. Click here if you would like to read the Washington Post article.
That describes my mentality precisely when I was in public school (i.e. before I went to university). In grade school in particular I was frequently infuriated by the restrictions placed on me by classes and some teachers. Fortunately, as I got older, I stumbled, usually via a chance encounter with an excellent teacher, into an appreciation for things I had loathed before. I went from loving writing to hating it and back, suffering through remedial level art classes where I basically ended up teaching my peers (ultimately I was self taught), and, most recently, I’ve been developing a fragile love affair with mathematics and physics after being brutalized by the subject throughout public school. I’m not so sure I would have done any better in a private school, however.
Comment by maculate — April 9, 2009 @ 1:51 pm