Guiding a Gifted and Talented Child
What's the best educational program for an academically advanced learner?
What are the implications if your child has been designated as "gifted"? What, if anything, should be done about it? Or what if your child is not among those quantified as "gifted"?
Let's consider this common situation: Your school system conducted routine IQ and achievement tests early in the primary years. Your child made the cut to be called "gifted." Now you may face one or more of the following options (and this isn't an exhaustive list):
- Placement in a regular classroom track with in-school or out-of-school enrichment activities, or both
- Placement in a special track for the gifted, housed in one of the district schools, which might not be the one in your neighborhood
- Placement in a pull-out gifted program for a period of the day
- Enrollment in one or more university courses for part of the regular school day, weekends, or summers
- Attendance at a residential school for the gifted or an academically competitive private school, day, or residential
In the 1970s, the United States Office of Education provided a loose definition of "high performance capability" in broad areas including intellectual, creative, performing arts, etc. and deemed such "gifted" children entitled to unspecified special services. They had earned the same right to special education as the handicapped, but with much less specificity. As a result, there is no clear universal offering; each district decides what it will offer gifted children, leaving a good part of the final decision making to parents.
It is not easy to select the best educational plan for your gifted child because there is no universally correct choice. You will need to learn all you can about the available opportunities and also about your child's temperament and talents. Ask:
- What kind of training do your district's regular classroom teachers have in modifying or augmenting curriculum for gifted students? Is there pre-service and/or in-service education of teachers in individualizing learning?
- How disruptive would it be socially to move your child to a non-neighborhood school? If the gifted classes happen to be held in your school, that might make the choice simpler (unless you gather that regular classroom teachers often resent having their brightest students turned over to other teachers for part of the day).
- How high is your child's score? Is it ranked among the highly gifted? Some experts suggest that such rare children are more likely to do better in special classes for at least part of the day.
But even that is not a universally accepted principle. "Enrichment" within the regular classroom is the alternative most commonly endorsed by experts. They argue that individualized learning programs are most constructive for all students, gifted or not. Furthermore, even special classes cannot meet all gifted children's needs, since they are not all gifted in the same way or the same subjects.
Once again, then, teachers and parents must be open-minded, flexible, and tuned into children's individual needs. Consider what philosophy is championed in your district before deciding the optimal placement for your gifted child. Unfortunately, the majority of districts do not provide teacher training or offer regular classroom placement with enrichment. If you want to advocate for your child and other gifted children, join with other like-minded parents and teachers.
Outside of school, help develop your child's talents and interests by offering inspiring opportunities: music; art; drama; sports; visits to libraries, museums, and cultural activities; travel; and dinner table and carpool chats in which your child's curiosity leads the way. The guiding standard is that activities be in line with her interests. We've come along way from the days when every gifted/educated person had to read Latin and Greek. And the enterprise of knowledge-seeking is evolving in breathtaking ways. Whether "gifted" or not, each child deserves a self-chosen seat on the merry-go-round and a self-styled grab at the brass ring.
Adele M. Brodkin, Ph.D., is a psychologist, consultant, and author of many books, including Fresh Approaches to Working With Problematic Behavior and Raising Happy and Successful Kids: A Guide for Parents. In addition, she has written and produced award-winning educational videos.
