This is a fascinating article that. to me, raises far more questions than it answers. The main thrust of the piece starts from the fact that New York seeks to identify ‘Gifted’ children, then seeks to separate them in to special separate learning environments. It turns out that after they’ve done this separation process they finish up with 1 1/2 times as many girls as boys.
New York Times Article – Gifted Children
Questions raised in my mind;
a) Do we have real, legitimate ways to define what so called ‘giftedness’ is?
b) Where definitions exist and are applied are they too focussed upon the basic ‘traditional’ skills that schools have favoured in the past; numerical, literacy etc. (see Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences approach)
c) Has ‘giftedness’ become another high status item to be coveted by helicopter parents (makes a great boast at parties if you can say your child is in a ‘giftedness’ programme). The result – parental pressure on teachers to see the unseeable or give a child this sought after ‘label’.
d) Should attempts be made to put labels on children so early in life? What is the perceived rush?
e) Even if we could effectively identify children who are ‘gifted’ do we have to do anything with that knowledge? Most particularly, should we be separating such children from their peers?
Personally, I believe that the evidence from these New York schools points strongly to the fact that artificial pre-suppositions are causing these children to be separated for the wrong reasons, with the wrong objectives. I also believe that it comes from a paradigm that perceives the average school as lacking the flexibility, skills or inclination to truly differentiate the learning experience for each child in the classroom.
It is true that in the past too many schools followed a faulty model of ‘one size fits all’ education, where the intent was every child doing the same things, in the same ways, at the same time, roughly to the same extent. However, today’s best teachers and schools are committed to personalising the learning experience, bringing about differentiation, particularly based upon the concept of multiple intelligences.
In my view, it is far better to provide an enriched, differentiated learning experience for all children together, rather than separating these children in to some sort of elitist hothouses to be nurtured as ‘different’ – thereby separating them (potentially for life) from other children.
To me, the ideal to be worked towards is the most full and complete differentiation supporting the individual learning needs of each child within a shared, common domain, utilising IT support when necessary. We all have a long journey ahead to achieve this, but I believe it’s a goal worth working for.
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Filed under: Assessment, Educators of tomorrow, Life, Our Environment, School, Teaching Practice | Tagged: differentiation, gifted child, giftedness, personalised learning, separate schools for gifted children | 1 Comment »