After an article about public schools and gifted kids, parents who homeschool their gifted children were invited shared some of the public school experiences that caused them to choose to homeschool. A common theme among the shared stories was unchallenged students facing inadequate choices. Some of the situations could be corrected through properly implementing gifted education strategies.
Cluster Grouping to Offer Advanced Curricula
Many parents described classroom scenes where students were expected teach themselves advanced concepts. One parent described his son's experiences with elementary math.
"My younger son, when he pushed for a TAG plan that would allow him to spend some of his math time learning something he did not already know, rejected a false dichotomy:
- sit in the 3rd grade class and work on adding 1 digit numbers like the slow learners were doing
- do a correspondence course designed for HS drop outs who were struggling to get their GED. Do all of the problems, interesting or not. No face time with anyone. Start at a level you have already mastered.
Shortly after his 8th birthday, my son told the principal and the head TAG lady: there is a 3rd option: I quit. And he did."
A properly trained gifted ed teacher probably would have suggest cluster grouping to offer an advanced man curriculum. A cross-grade elementary cluster group is preferable to independent learning or grade skipping, and with resources like Project M3, advanced math enrichment is becoming more common place.
Focus on Developmentally Appropriateness Rather than Age-Appropriateness
The gifted education teacher should also be allowed to be an advocate in determining appropriate options. One parent wrote, "By age five, [my daughter] was excited to tell us what she found similar about A Tale of Two Cities and Les Miserables...When she was tested for kindergarten readiness, I was told that their tests showed that she knew her letters and seemed ready and that there were several advanced readers."
It would be a rare kindergartner, even the long-suffering orphan Azelma, who had the life experience to relate to a 1200 pages of social injustice and human suffering. At the same time, many gifted children are reading chapter books before kindergarten, and the classroom teacher, perhaps with the support of the gifted education teacher, can use online tools to find developmentally appropriate books. Focusing on what is age appropriate is meaningless because kids have such a variety of abilities. Focusing on what is developmentally-appropriate is sensible.
Follow the Lead of Eagle County Schools
One way that schools could help themselves would be to have a qualified outsider examine the district's approach to gifted education. In an admirable move to improve the quality of their gifted program, Eagle County Schools in Colorado hired an auditor to examine the strength and weaknesses of the district's gifted education services. Several of the reported suggestions are beneficial to all public schools:
- have a gifted coordinator on the administrative team
- have policies on placement and practices
- increase the perceived importance of gifted education
- have a full staff of trained gifted education teachers.
The report also indicated the strengths of Eagle County Schools which would help if they were replicated at other schools, including having written plans for advanced learners and a variety of enrichment options. The report is available through Eagle County Schools, a district whose commitment to gifted kids is shown through the amazing collection of information and resources (for parents, teachers, and students) available on their Gifted Team site.
Gifted students deserve a free and appropriate education. A few parents have lawsuits slowly working through the system, but students grow faster than justice moves. Schools should use research-based practices to create developmentally appropriate learning experiences, and the occasional outside review would help everyone. Unity in gifted education, which includes parent advocates, leads to innovated, committed programs. As Eagle County's gifted team says on their website, "It all started with a conversation between a parent and a teacher."
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
