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Just so I can understand your post and respond to what you're saying accurately, when you say, "It's [giftedness] is just a label," do you mean that there is no true distinction of I.Q. between and among children -- that all of them have the same I.Q., that no one is more intelligent than another,
Oh, absolutely not. I realize that all children...and adults are different and have different IQ's.....some below, some average, some high, some beyond high.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Wallace
or that the ways in which we sort children into gifted classes is so flawed that the label "gifted" says nothing actual about a real child's intelligence?
I agree with this (even though I wasn't meaning this). Sometimes we have to place children who have a very very very average IQ...not even high average...into the gifted class with a "gifted" label on them....because they're minority, or because they receive free lunch....it's called a "Plan B" and if they have....let's say (only an example, I don't remember the exact number) a 115 IQ and are a minority they can be in the gifted class with the other children who are "130" and above.
What I meant, with the label: teachers are supposed to recognize all intelligence levels and modify instruction to meet those levels...and sometimes just because a child is gifted doesn't mean that they are a harder worker, or try their best, or go into in-depth...or give quality work. Yet, if a child is gifted, I know that most people expect them to excel at everything because they're "gifted", and don't realize that maybe he's just really good at math.......and that's it.
I feel that any child who is advanced should have instruction modified for them to their level....
There are too many contradictions here. You say one thing, then turn around and say another. Are you and authority on giftedness? Probably not. You're probably a parent with an opinion, just like me. You are no better informed than I am.
I'm not contradicting a thing. If you disagree...well, that is rather the point of a debate board, isn't it, Sunshine?
In my kids' district, if the parent raised a big enough stink, the kid would be put in gifted whether the teacher(s) thought s/he belonged there or not. In middle school, the parents could ask for their kids to be put into TAG (as it was called in our district). Mostly the kids got some extra field trips if they were in the TAG program.
Hmf. Go figure. A school district screwier than this one.
Not something I would have credited, but there it is.
All teachers do this. At least all teachers that I know of. Just like we're supposed to change lessons and ideas to benefit the slower learners, we are to change it for the higher learners too. I teach first grade. Every year we have Kinders who are very advanced and come up to first or second grade for whatever they're advanced in. Happens every year. I teach the gifted/blended class in first grade. Most of my children came from Kinder already reading on a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade reading level.
Are all of these children gifted? No (were tested). Just because a child is very advanced doesn't mean he's gifted. He's (she's) just an advanced, bright boy/girl.
Agreed. Though I'm thinking that, when the volunteers refuse to work with a first-grader because she uses words they don't understand and reads at a higher level they do, it's indicative of something.
Of course, since we lived in Daytona Beach at the time, it might not have been the first-grader who was the issue.
Do away with the "gifted" label and the unnecessary status-seeking that comes with it, and replace it with necessary academic accommodation based on a student's individual skill.
All these different definitions of 'gifted' and all the various descriptions here of the programs school districts are offering, it's crazy. It seems like no two programs are geared towards the same things. Maybe what we need is a national standard, instead of letting all these school districts decide for themselves who and what constitutes gifted? It does tend to make the label of 'gifted' pointless if nobody can figure out what is really meant by that, doesn't it?
As far as elementery school goes, I totally agree that there is a big difference between being an 'advanced' student and being a 'gifted' student (and kids in the genious range are/should be a different topic altogether) Like Hypocore' s school, our school district differentiates between the two and we have a three tier system. Our gifted pullout program is not really about learning at an advanced grade level. It's very different than anything taught in the regular school curriculum. No textbooks, no worksheets, no homework as such, lots of projects, lots of research, lots of group discussion. Kids in constant motion in the classroom.
Those teachers teach only the gifted classes, and the school we were in was adamant about only accepting into the program children that met the requirements. The district also administers the required initial IQ test and psychological evaluation for the program. (Begging, bribing, or threatening to get your child in are useless. )
From the school's gifted program website in my district:
The curriculum reflects modification of content (what is taught and when it is taught - sequence and pacing), instructional strategies (how it is taught), the setting (the environment in which learning occurs), and the products of studies (how students demonstrate what they have learned). The focus of instruction is on the development of skills and techniques that teach the processes of thinking rather than the products of knowledge.
Teachers develop curriculum and implement instructional strategies designed to:
involve gifted students in educational decision making
develop gifted students as independent learners
allow gifted students to apply productive thinking skills
enable gifted students to develop understanding of self and society
Until I came to this forum I thought all gifted programs were like this...it's a real eye opener to hear about all the differences in these programs.
All teachers do this. At least all teachers that I know of. Just like we're supposed to change lessons and ideas to benefit the slower learners, we are to change it for the higher learners too.
That is great. You have put my mind at ease. I can care less for the gifted label. I just do not want my dd to be bored in school.
That is great. You have put my mind at ease. I can care less for the gifted label. I just do not want my dd to be bored in school.
You have responsibility in that as well. If you give her the mindset that she's too bright for the work (say she overhears you talking to people), over time she will EXPECT to be bored and not do what she can to NOT be bored.
If you prep her to do extra, or go beyond what the teacher expects, she will do better and learn initiative at the same time.
Agreed. Though I'm thinking that, when the volunteers refuse to work with a first-grader because she uses words they don't understand and reads at a higher level they do, it's indicative of something.
Of course, since we lived in Daytona Beach at the time, it might not have been the first-grader who was the issue.
Wow. That's a sorry state of affairs if you're speaking literally.
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Mass confusion...
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