![]() Can you imagine teachers berating children with disabilities because of their characteristics? While it may seem counter-intuitive to focus on gifted students in the same way we focus on those with disabilities, it really makes sense. I do understand their frustrations however, these behaviors are actually characteristics of gifted children. Not a week goes by when one of my students’ regular education teachers doesn’t give me an earful about my students’ lack of organizational skills, continuous questioning of authority, or underachievement. However, when it comes to students who are gifted, some teachers are inflexible and resentful of the behaviors characteristic of being gifted. Many teachers do extraordinary things to help students with learning disabilities be successful. If you want gifted kids to be successful, you must believe that gifted education is exceptional education. Last year, a parent of gifted children wrote a blog post that gets to the heart of this issue. On behalf of teachers who teach gifted programs and parents with gifted students, I will say this is perhaps the most exasperating belief a person can have about this complex group of students. Unfortunately, many teachers who do not receive training about teaching gifted students believe gifted students are simply really smart kids. What I’ve learned is that teachers’ assumptions about gifted students are more important than a particular structure for teaching them. The truth is all service models have advantages and disadvantages. These controversial issues include skipping grades, creating full-time gifted programs, or employing pull-out enrichment programs. Recognize That Gifted Students Are Exceptional-Education Studentsįor years, there have been debates about how to foster the development of gifted children. While policymakers and theorists ponder the future of gifted education, I strongly believe teachers could better serve gifted students now by following these recommendations. My experience teaching an enrichment program for students identified as gifted has given me important insight into gifted students and gifted programs. It’s time we started putting an added emphasis on meeting the unique needs of the current gifted population. While these concerns are discussed and debated over and over again, the needs of the 3 million gifted students right in front of us are put on the back-burner. Most of the discussion about gifted education revolves around identification and under representation issues. True teacher concerns about meeting the needs of a special, but often misunderstood, group of students. “What do I do about a gifted student who won’t write?” asked a coworker. Another teacher wanted suggestions about a behavioral plan for an out-of-control student who is gifted. Just this week, a teacher came to me to get advice about how to help a gifted student who is failing her class. ![]()
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