The Current State of Gifted and Talented

Spring 2010

The federal government’s definition of a gifted and talented student is: students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. (http://www.nagc.org/index2.aspx?id=548) Interestingly enough, individual states have their own definition for a gifted and talented child, and also are not required to use this definition.

Students who are gifted already know the information and answers presented in the classroom. Many feel as though the class work is not challenging enough. Many also feel as though they just don’t necessarily fit in with the rest of the group. Therefore, we as educators need to help these children understand they are not alone and that they are supported. We want to see them grow and succeed. This is why we need gifted and talented programs which are tailored to meet their needs and interests.

Gifted and talented programs also allow children to express themselves more freely. Many of these children are inhibited in front of their classmates for fear of being called “nerdy” or “weird”. Most gifted kids tend to relate better with adults than their own peers. When group work is assigned, many classmates pick those “smart kids” to be in the group because they know they will do the work well and correctly. Therefore, these children are basically labeled among the class. When we talk about labeling, it usually is referred to when talking about special education. However, not many consider that gifted and talented is a label as well.

Whether the gifted and talented program is a pull-out, push-in, add-on to the classroom teacher, these childrens’ needs are important and should be addressed to help them “fit in” and be challenged. We put forth so much effort into those children who are classified because we want them to succeed. However, it is a double edged sword as well because districts are graded based upon the rate of proficiency on state tests. Hence, the effort placed upon those children who are not working on grade level. The district is not evaluated on how well the gifted kids perform on standardized tests, and that is where the ball drops when considering the value in education for these students.

When looking at the opposition of gifted and talented, there are many factors in play. First, depends upon how the district handles the gifted and talented program. In some districts, money is a contributing factor in which the classroom teacher has to provide enrichment for the gifted kids. Too many times, that includes just an extension of what is being taught in class, rather than different higher level work. Therefore, those kids are not going to get their work done as fast because it is boring just to get more work added onto the work load. Kids look at that as more of a punishment rather than a reward. If the district does have a pull-out program, many teachers argue that they are missing valuable class time. There are some teachers who are just not as willing to work with the gifted and talented teacher in adhering to the program. In addition, schools just may not have the capability to adequately identify all of the various kinds of gifted students that there are, but most districts strive to provide something that can benefit the most students possible.

Parents can also be another problem with gifted and talented. Many parents self-diagnose their kid as gifted and therefore push for it in school. Although parents know their child the best, they are sometimes biased as to the child’s abilities. Tests are administered to determine whether the child should receive gifted and talented services. Once those tests are scored, and the child does not classify for services, the G&T teacher needs to inform the parent. In such a situation, the parent is not happy and usually takes it one step further in contacting the principal or even in some cases the Superintendent.

Gifted and Talented Students, as well as Special Education students truly do not differ much at all. They may be on opposite ends of the spectrum; however, they have some commonalities. Unfortunately, they both feel as though they don’t fit in with the rest of the class. Both tend to be labeled not only among other students, but also from parents and some teachers. Why do we spend so much more time focusing and developing programs on the special education students? Is it mostly because of NCLB? We need to put more effort, money, and time into developing programs for our gifted children. They not have the same rights as those children with special education needs. Are these not the future children who will be engineers and doctors that our country is in need?