Gifted and talented education in America has long been under scrutiny by people on both sides of the issue. Although there is no official definition for Gifted and Talented youth, New Jersey defines it as: Those students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or more content areas, when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modification of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities. This definition is purposely vague, and leaves open the possibility of a student being defined as gifted and talented without IQ score being a necessary component. Many individuals in academia decry a lack of support, both fiscally and emotionally, for gifted and talented youth. The opposing viewpoint claims that tax payers cannot afford to fund programs for students who are already a leg up above the rest. These examples provide the fodder for the opposing viewpoints to attack each other and play political games while the issue goes unresolved.
The claim that little to no money is provided for gifted and talented programs is substantiated by the data. Funding is allocated at the state’s discretion. According to the State of the State’s report, in 2008-2009 only thirty-two states mandated gifted and talented programs (National Association for Gifted Children). Of these thirty-two states, only six fully fund said mandate. Thirteen states were found to give zero dollars in funding for gifted and talented programs. As stated above, an argument to providing funding to gifted and talented programs is the fear of taking away from special education students who are in dire need of extra services. With the current economy causing everyone to tighten their belts to the point of asphyxiation, extra funding is not an option. However, according to the National Association for Gifted Children website, extra funding is not necessarily a determinant for an effective G & T program.
Another issue that can shortchange a challenging education for gifted and talented students is the lack of training for teachers who have gifted and talented students in their classrooms. Thirty-six states do not require teachers to have any training with regards to the needs of gifted and talented students. Teachers are the basal level of effectively educating gifted and talented students because teachers identify students as gifted and talented as well as actually educating them. If teachers are not adequately trained in these areas, gifted and talented students will either go unnoticed or ineffectively educated. With many schools striving toward inclusion, differentiated instruction between a student with special needs and a gifted and talented student can be extremely taxing on a teacher who has not been trained on effective strategies for bridging the gap.
However, there are some negative points to gifted and talented education which are worth noting. According to an article probing gifted and talented students’ perceptions, stereotyping is a significant concern for students who had been labeled gifted and talented. Students reported being teased for being smart, as well as being taken advantage of by other students (i.e., doing their homework for them) (Berlin, 2009). Another issue is that gifted and talented students are more susceptible to perfectionism because of their label (Speirs-Neumeister, Williams, & Cross, 2009). Gifted and talented students feel that they have certain expectations that they are to live up to, and that failure is not acceptable for them. This can be detrimental to the education of these students, and special attention needs to be given to gifted and talented students who are exhibiting perfectionist characteristics.
Gifted and Talented education in America today seems to be extremely stagnant, and this is mostly due to the bureaucracy that gets in the way of providing the services necessary for these students. A plan needs to be set forth by advocates for gifted and talented education that is cheap, yet effective. On a micro level, teachers need to be better trained in educating these students, as well as addressing the other issues that come along with gifted and talented youth, like perfectionism and stigmatizations. I am confident that we can move in the direction of celebrating highly intelligent students and students with special needs all in the same breath; we as a society simply have to break the way of thinking that pits the two against each other.
Resources
Berlin, J. E. (2009). It’s all a matter of perspective: Student perceptions on the impact of being labeled gifted and talented. Roeper Review, 31, 217-223.
National Association for Gifted Children. (2009). State of the nation if gifted education: How states regulate and support programs and services for gifted and talented students. www.nagc.org.
Speirs-Neumeister, K. L., Williams, K. K., & Cross, T. L. (2009). Gifted high-school students’ perspectives on the development of perfectionism. Roeper Review, 31, 198-206.
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