Gifted and
Talented
Johnathan
Masters
Dr. Sandy
Mahoney
Research
Project
June 23,
2014
I was in several Gifted and Talented programs, man years ago, when
the public education system in Kentucky had captured my childhood. I
made good grades, but the awards, and recognition of my intelligence
and academic achievements is what made me feel capable, and
confidence in my abilities grew. Educational theorist bell hooks from
Christian County, Kentucky talked about the difference between
segregated Black schools in 50s and 60s and the integrated schools
afterwards, the White schools, which she was there during the
transition. For bell hooks, the difference was absolutely
fundamental, and to go back to the “good ole days of yore”, of
segregated Black schools, was her conclusion, which represents a
radical departure of the current Industrial-Prussian education in
America today. For bell hooks, during the times of segregated Black
schools, Black folks in general, and the Black educators
specifically, understood that the general European immigrant society
they were living in was against them—the white supremacist racial
dictatorship—the vast majority of racist white folks in America
were against Black folks even being considered human beings, let
alone letting them get an education. The Black educators understood
the world around them, and so therefore, elevating the best and
brightest of the Black students was absolutely paramount to the
success of the Black community. Necessity is the mother of all
invention, and because of the pressure for Black educators to find
and develop future captains of industry, to find a leadership class
to help pull the masses of Black folks up, was enormous. The Black
educators took this task serious, and would go above and beyond the
call of duty in order to elevate the best and brightest. The Black
educators would allow more freedom and autonomy, so that satisfaction
in academic achievement would lead the best and brightest. Black
educators would even make house calls and visits, to really get to
know their “best hopes”, where they are in the family hierarchy,
to make sure all obstacles were removed, to make for the best
conditions for the best and brightest to learn new skills, and to be
indoctrinated with being concerned about helping the general
community. Black folks decided that the best way to win was to
develop a leadership class, of teachers, police officers, lawyers,
doctors, politicians, capable laborers, artisans, merchants, farmers,
for both selfish reasons, and for basic sustenance, for what lies in
the best and brightest is the hope that one of them will be the one
who leads humanity into Martin Luther King's promised prairie meadow
land.
The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by
its exceptional men. The problem of education, then, among Negroes
must first of all deal with the Talented Tenth; it is the problem of
developing the Best of this race that they may guide the Mass away
from the contamination and death of the Worst, in their own and other
races. Now the training of men is a difficult and intricate task. Its
technique is a matter for educational experts, but its object is for
the vision of seers. If we make money the object of man-training, we
shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make
technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but
not, in nature, men. Men we shall have only as make manhood the
object of the work of the schools—intelligence, broad sympathy,
knowledge of the world that was and is, and of the relation of men to
it—this is the curriculum of that Higher Education which must
underlie true life. On this foundation we we may build bread winning,
skill of hand and quickness of brain, with never a fear lest the
child and man mistake the means of living for the object of life.
(DuBois, 1903).
There
aren't many studies about the effects of the Gifted and Talented
programs and their participants (Gomez and Conejeros, 2013), but from
my own perspective, I really enjoyed mine. It liberated me from the
daily boring drumbeat drole of my core studies, and enabled me to
explore my other talents and skills that weren't being put to good
use in the general mainstream. Public schools are horrible at
excellence. It's a race to the middle with public education. This is
a utilitarian tactic. You do not want to teach to the top 10% because
then you have 90% lost and behind. You can't dumb it down for the
bottom 10% because then virtually everybody suffers and is left
behind, so teachers are rationally expected to teach to the middle of
the class. Because they are teaching at a par level, those who have
gifted talents are left behind, or left bored, and sleeping, after
they've finished the final exam in 10 minutes on the first day of
class.
There's
plenty of literature that suggests by focusing on the dimmest of
children with NCLB, we take the limelight off of the hope for the
future of America, and possibly, mankind (Kaplan, 2004) (Gallagher,
2004). “Since 2001, all NAGC [National Association of Gifted
Children] presidents have taken this position.” (Heward, 2013).
What
makes one Gifted and Talented? There's many differing definitions,
but in general, usually high IQ is one indication of being Gifted and
Talented, and having a remarkable mastery of any skill is Gifted and
Talented too. Here's a list of characteristics of Gifted and Talented
people: Creativity; Can learn, quickly and easily; Can relate ideas
to each other; Make sound judgments; Appreciate multiple and opposing
points of view; Perceive higher order cognitive thinking skills, such
as those listed on top of Bloom's Taxonomy, Evaluate, Analyze, and
Synthesis; Can acquire and manipulate abstract symbol systems, Solves
problems by reframing the problem and creating novel solutions, etc.
… (Heward, 2013).
Here's
a list of characteristics that have been noted in highly gifted
students with IQs of 145 and above:
- Intense intellectual curiosity
- Fascination with basic words and simple ideas
- Perfectionism and need for precision
- Learning with great/large/murky intuitive leaps
- Intense need for mental stimulation and challenge
- Difficulty conforming to the thinking/logic/reasoning of others
- Early moral and existential concerns
- Tendency toward introversion (Heward, 2013)
The
federal government, NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children),
Joseph Renzulli, Jane Piirto, and June Maker all have their own
definitions of what Gifted and Talented is.
The
current federal definition was “first promulgated in the Jacob K.
Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988 (PL
100-297) as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and
now included in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001”. (Heward,
2013) The federal government defines gifted and talented children as
those 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. (Heward, 2013).
The
NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted
individuals as:
those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude
(defined as an exceptional abilty to reason and learn) or competence
(documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one
or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity
with its own symbol system (e.g. mathematics, music, language) and/or
set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports). (p. 1).
(NAGC, 2010a)
Joseph
Renzulli's definition of giftedness is based on the 3 traits of 1)
above-average general abilities, 2) high level of task commitment,
and 3) creativity, and ability to learn.
Jane
Piirto defines the gifted as “having superior memory, observational
powers, curiosity, creativity, and ability to learn school-related
subject matters rapidly and accurately with a minimum of drill and
repetition, have a right to an education that is differentiated
according to those characteristics” (p. 37) (Piirto 2007).
June
Maker defines Gifted and Talented student as a problem solver who can
(a) create a new or clearer definition of an existing problem, (b)
devise new and more efficient or effective methods, and (c) reach
solutions that may differ from the usual, but are recognized as being
effective, perhaps more effective, than previous solutions. (Maker,
1993, p. 71; Maker, 2005)
Three
other measures of intelligence are: 1) Sternburg's (2003, 2007)
triarchic theory of intelligence; 2) Gagne's (2003) differentiated
model of giftedness and talent, and; 3) Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences.
In
college, there's “Scholars” housing, and scholarship students
that are held in a higher regard than the average college student,
even though college itself is already an elitist institution. How my
Gifted and Talented program in both Northern Kentucky elementary
schools unfolded was a few days a week, or a month, the Gifted and
Talented teacher would pull students mainstream classes to work on
other independent projects with other Gifted and Talented students,
for no grade; the motivation of having satisfaction in completing
one's own academic pursuits was enough. I also remember completing a
bunch of intellectual puzzles and games. We would have to make up the
work in the classrooms we left, in addition to the work in Gifted and
Talented; so we'd have double the work of the “normies”.
There's
many changes that need to be made. We could have a whole school for
Gifted and Talented, or perhaps a class in of itself that's dedicated
to just Gifted and Talented. But having Gifted and Talented set-up
the way I just described it, basically more labor is being piled on
top of the best and brightest in addition to their current
schoolwork, for little credit and not even for a grade. So that puts
Gifted and Talented too much on the periphery, when it should be
mainstreamed; not only for the 3-5%, but for the entire school, since
we're all leaders. All 7 Billion of us. While my participation in the
Gifted and Talented programs disturbed the other classes marginally,
virtually seamless and invisible, since it was just for a few hours
for a few days in the month, considering how satisfied I was with the
Gifted and Talented programs I was in, I generally support Gifted and
Talented programs, and believe that more resources and opportunities
for the best and brightest to blossom and shine need to be bequeathed
and implemented.
Gifted
and Talented experts are pointing out that Common Core, while raising
the standards for many states, still isn't challenging enough for
Gifted and Talented students. The director of NAGC Jane Clarenbach
said, “Some students will be able to meet the standards faster than
others, and the developers [of common core] realized that one size
does not fit all... they specifically [said that] children with
disabilities and advanced learners are going to need more.” (Ash,
2013). The bottom line for Jane Clarenbach is that “Differentiation
continues to be necessary for gifted learners under the common core.”
But
it's not only Differentiation that Gifted and Talented students need.
For Gifted and Talented learners, they are given more freedom and
autonomy, to dictate the terms of their own educational programs, to
follow their own pursuits and curiosities. Gifted and Talented
learners should work on cooperative learning tactics, so they can
socially interact with other unique folks with talents, skills, and
brains, and avoid being embarrassed of being talented or intelligent,
to be given confidence from belonging to a group that has other
unique Gifted and Talented learners. Cooperative learning should be
utilized, because in addition to learning, relationships are being
developed, and those relationships are being based upon learning
together, and as well as respecting others discoveries, and
knowledge. More discovery, more creative play, and projects should be
used, such as actual academic games, role play, debate, etc.
“However,
despite the stereotyping and name-calling (“nerds,” “geeks,”
etc.) that is present in US Schools, white males continue to outscore
girls at the highest levels on tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude
Test, the American College Test, the Differential Aptitude Test, and
most achievement tests (Boothe, 2004). African-American and
Latino/Hispanic males consistently underperform compared to females
of all races, and to white men. (Ford, 2010b). “In 1993, the US
Department of Education reported that gifted programs have only 10%
of students who are poor.” So there's more than 10% poor folks in
America, and so this is disproportionate, and shows that poor kids
are discriminated against, even if they are Gifted and Talented.
(Heward, 2013).
Everybody
is capable of great achievements, and therefore, everybody should be
praised for their creativity, given encouragement for their
achievements, and be taught the exact same as those with IQs of 200,
with the same high expectations, freedom to learn and discover, more
choice and autonomy, independent projects, and differentiated
instruction, where academic progress dictates the curriculum instead
of the fascist behavorialists or the overly bloated bureaucracy.
While federal reports that 3% to 5% of the general population are
Gifted and Talented (Heward, 2013), it's important to inflate that
number, to 10... 15... 25%... 100%, in order to catch all of the
Gifted and Talented in one's school, to make sure none of them slip
through the cracks, but while we select a portion of the school
population to be treated with special treatment, putting more
resources and time and money into our possible “saviors”, aren't
we inherently labeling the rest of the population as average, or
maybe even... *gasp* below par? Also, is that how things are? What's
the data on this? Just because one doesn't have a 200 IQ, that
doesn't mean they can't be the next person who discovers the cure for
cancer, and have the same capabilities as those who are so-called
Gifted and so-called Talented. While some folks are just “naturally”
Gifted and Talented, most folks are taught and trained to have the
so-called Gifted and Talented qualities, and maybe it may take a
“normie” a little bit more time to get to the right answer, when
focused in their field of expertise, they can excel, lead, take
apart, create new, analyze, judge, etc. along with all of the
autistic Einstein's and super X-men intelligent Steven Hawking's of
the world.
“A
foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by
little statesmen and philosophers and divines” (Emerson, 1841).
America,
Kentucky, Earth... we have many problems we are faced with, and since
we need solutions to these problems, not just participant-ribbon
winners, but actual, practical, useable and successful solutions, we
need to educate and elevate those who are capable of getting the job
done. With a limited budget, our society should direct more resources
to the talented 10th, to the smart kids, the 3-5%
intellectually, or musically, or creatively Gifted and Talented, the
only possible hope for humanity, for our communities, and our
families. But if times aren't 3rd world country bleak, and
there's no emergency, or eminent Titantic/Hindenburg-like disaster
crisis just over the horizon, and resources is cornucopia bountiful,
times are so good, that fruits spill over the edges of our plates,
then of course everybody should be trained to be the best that they
can be. To be given the freedom and opportunity that the so-called
Gifted and Talented get, and the encouragement, and to be inversely
considered as “average” or lesser than anybody, ever, for any
reason, especially when the disabling labeling schools are
prone to do hits hard, and does so every year, until they graduate,
or move... if I was one of the “normies”, I would need to protest
the decision to not allow me in, like in Sanford, Florida. I would
demand that they either to let me in the program. Or to elevate
everybody, and to stop with the discrimination!
I
remember being in Gifted and Talented myself, and I really enjoyed
it. While I haven't found much redeeming value in much of the
oppression I endured under totalitarian regimes, when I think about
the Gifted and Talented class at Gallatin County, Kentucky Elementary
School I was in, and at CMZ (Crittenden Mount Zion) Elementary
School, and Grant County Middle School, which was also in Kentucky, I
am pleased with the results of it. Ms. Flowers was my Gifted and
Talented teacher at Gallatin County Elementary school. We played some
fun intellectual games. In Grant County, we had mock trials, and I
remember constructing a crossword puzzle with Tim Fox.
A
Gifted and Talented class would be an awesome class to teach. My
Gifted and Talented classes had no grades, so the things we did, we
did just because we wanted to do them. For some reason, my Babe Ruth
report I did in like the 2nd grade, or 3rd, in
the Gifted and Talented program at Gallatin County Elementary school,
I remember vividly. I just made a small book, with folded
construction paper, cut-out pictures, and wrote about different parts
of Babe Ruth's life. My white female teacher, whose named escapes me,
seemed very impressed with it too. I also remember when I was denied
Gifted and Talented in an Elementary School in Sanford, Florida and
how my life was devastated afterwords ever since. While that's being
over-the-top dramatic, pretentious, ostentatious hyperbole, if you
will, I did feel some sort of rejection, and wanted to figure out
why. Being “like everybody else” has it's advantages, especially
at 8 years of age, but I was considered Gifted and Talented at other
schools, and felt like either those schools were inferior than this
one, or that they had different standards, or that I wasn't special
or unique at all, whatsoever. Today, my educated guess would be that
I didn't pass their general trivia knowledge... like who invented the
first light bulb, and other knowledge-based questions. So while
Crittenden Mount Zion (CMZ) valued my creativity moreso, because I
remember making funny/crazy drawings in order to “appear”
creative. So my creative “potential” (doesn't everybody have
creative potential? Who doesn't?) mattered to CMZ whereas
Sanford, Florida's Gifted and Talented teacher at the local
elementary school, in 1990, it did not. At Gallatin County
Elementary, I was chosen because of my grades. Or maybe it was
political. Or maybe it was just because of my grades, and they did
have inferior standards than Sanford, Florida's.
Or
maybe they were right; that I am smarter than others. But I do not
feel any smarter than anybody else out here. I feel like anything I
have ever accomplished, could just as easily have been accomplished
by any other person on this planet, who just puts in the same time
and effort as I had. Again, I acknowledge that “natural” talent
exists, but I believe the overwhelming vast majority of those with
lucrative and profitable, maybe even legendary, or life-saving, gifts
and talents are folks who became Gifted and Talented by 1 of 2 ways:
1) the luck of the draw, i.e. by having great youthful training, or;
2) by good ol' fashioned Benjamin Franklin self-driven brow-beating
laborious work. While I can understand how the Gifted and Talented
can feel isolated, and maybe even discriminated against, without an
avenue for their gifts and talents to shine, to classify Gifted and
Talented as a disorder would be ridiculous, because those who have no
gift and have no talents are the ones lacking, are the ones who are
disadvantaged in society, who has a “disorder” (I.e. stupidity,
or ignorance) that disadvantages them in society, the world, the
marketplace, etc. They maybe qualified for government grants because,
as the old generally known adage goes, “if you think education is
expensive, try ignorance.” Gifted and Talented being grouped with
other disabilities feels like it's done moreso for politicians and
educators to secure funds for their advanced learners, and since
there's no comprehensive policy for Gifted and Talented learners,
educators are forced to use IDEA, and other programs that were
initially designed for helping folks out who have disorders that
hinder their learning. The ones with the “disorder” would be the
ignorant and the incompetent, and they would need the government
handout assistance, which is another reason to protest not being
included in the ultra exclusive Gifted and Talented programs, even if
you're not. Then you get to see who the Gifted and Talented are, and
you'll be able to rise along with them. We fly when we befriend great
American bald eagles, not stupid stinky ploppy turkies. Gifted and
Talented lobbyists should push for sweeping comprehensive Gifted and
Talented policies for everybody. Make it a part of common core. Also,
we should have one common way to cite papers.
So
while I cannot think of many redeemable moments of my public
education, let alone classes or teachers, the few moments of Gifted
and Talented I recall being exposed to, I am very satisfied with. It
should have been for credit, but c'est la vie. Gifted and Talented
gave me confidence in my abilities, as well as being comfortable with
being “different. I also got to be around others who were Gifted
and Talented. I got to use my creativity, it was fun to be taken out
of class, especially for a Gifted and Talented program which is a
badge of honor. It is also interesting to note that other Gifted and
Talented students weren't just the good students who participated a
bunch in class, but instead, they were folks from all walks of life:
the high IQ, and the talented. Gardner's Theory of Multiple
Intelligences points out how the stereotype of the dumb jock is
flatout wrong on the face of the accusation, because having physical
talents is a major form of intelligence in of itself.
So
in conclusion, if there's a crisis or a shortage of funds, lack of
basic services, personnel, supplies, buildings, vehicles, technology,
etc., then having a Gifted and Talented program is a must, for the
future of humanity could depend on it. But absent of a catastrophe,
all should be expected to rise to Gifted and Talented levels, with
Gifted and Talented tools and encouragement, with some type of safety
net to catch those who aren't up to task. A lifetime subsidy for
them. In short, for poor schools: finance your saviors. For the rest:
make 'em all Gifted and Talented.
Bibliography
Ash, Katie. (2013).
October 30. “Gifted Learners: Poised to 'Join the Conversation'”.
Education Week.
Boothe, D. (2004).
Gender differences in achievement and aptitude test results:
Perspectives from the recent literature. In D. Boothe & J.
Stanley (Eds.), In the eyes of the beholder: Critical issues for
diversity in gifted education (pp. 179-189). Waco, TX: Prufrock.
DuBois. (1903).
Talented 10 Perent
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-talented-tenth/
http://preservingournation.org/sites/preservingournation/files/colloquia/3%20African%20American%20strategies%20in%20the%20New%20South.pdf
Emerson, Ralph Waldo.
(1841). “Self-Reliance.” Essays: First Series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Reliance
Ford, D.Y. (2010b).
Reversing underachievement among gifted Black students (2nd
ed.). Waco, TX: Prufrock.
Gallagher, J.J. (2004).
No Child Left Behind and gifted education. Roeper Review,
26(3), 121-123.
Gomez-Arizaga, Maria,
Conejeros-Solar. December (2013). “Am I That Talented? The
experiences of gifted individuals from diverse educational
backgrounds at the postsecondary level.” High Ability Studies.
Vol. 24. Issue 2. p135-151.
Heward, William L.
(2013). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special
Education. 10th Edition; pgs. 456, 457,
458, 470, 471, 479, 490. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc
Kaplan, S. (2004).
Where we stand determines the answers to the question: Can the No
Child Left Behind legislation be beneficial to gifted students?
Roeper Review, 26(3), 124-125.
Maker, C.J. (1993).
Creativity, intelligence, and problem-solving: A definition and
design for cross-cultural research and measurement related to
giftedness. Gifted Education International, 9(2), p. 71.
Maker, C.J. (2005). The
DISCOVER project: Improving assessment and curriculum for diverse
gifted learners (RM05206). Storrs, CT: National Research Center of
the Gifted and Talented.
NAGC. (2010a). Redefining giftedness for a new century: Shifting the
paradism (NAGC Position Paper). WashinGifted and Talentedon, DC.
Author. Available: http://www.nagc.org/index2.aspx?id=375#definition
Piirto,
J. (2007). Talented children and adults: Their development and
education. Waco, TX: Prufrock.
Comments
Post a Comment