Gifted and Talented children frequently are far ahead of their peers academically that they become bored with normal classroom work because they are in desperate need of intellectual stimulation on an appropriate level. GATE students need a trained teacher who understands their needs and help them succeed!.
GATE education generally focuses on problem solving and finding innovative solutions to everyday problems. By giving gifted children challenges that are reachable for them -not for the average student-, they will become motivated to seek knowledge and provide solutions, both now and in the future. Their creative thinking and problem solving can become the technological, political, and societal leaders of tomorrow.
Share your comments and personal experiences!
Why Even Have Gifted Education?
Teachers may be asked this question by people who are confrontive (as in "Aren't all kids gifted?" and "Isn't gifted education elitist?") or merely curious ("What is gifted education all about, and why do we need it?"). You as teacher may be challenged to defend gifted education in a time of budget cutbacks, when anything considered "nonessential" is at risk. Following are some reasons why we think gifted education is necessary-today, tomorrow, and always:
* Gifted kids need a place where they can be themselves. That can mean almost anything: brainy, impatient, show-offy, moody, obsessed with a particular interest, off in a mysterious direction. America has traditionally been a society that values equity. Often, that translates into favoring conformity and people who don't stand out from the crowd.
* Gifted kids need a place where they can feel safe and supported. Many high-achieving students actually hide or cover up their abilities to improve their chances of being accepted as "normal" or to win popularity with their age peers.
* Like all kids, gifted kids have the right to the best education for them. They need opportunities to learn at their own speed, opt out of work they already know and understand, study things that interest them, go beyond the basics, work with abstract concepts that require more than simple thinking, work with peers who share their interests and abilities, and participate in options that connect their learning to the "real world."
* By the time they reach their senior year of high school, gifted kids will have spent more than 12.000 hours in school. Shouldn't at least some of those hours be challenging, rewarding, stimulating, meaningful, and enjoyable?
And here more detailed reasons from the National Association for the Gifted Children:
1. Gifted learners must be given stimulating educational experiences appropriate to their level of ability if they are to realize their potential. Giftedness arises from an interaction between innate capabilities and en environment that challenges and stimulates to bring forth high levels of ability and talent. These challenges must be available throughout the individual's lifetime for high levels of actualization of ability and talent to result. According to research on the nature of intelligence and the brain, we either progress or we regress depending on our participation in stimulation appropriate to our level of development.
2. Each person has the right to learn and to be provided challenges for learning at the most appropriate level where growth proceeds most effectively. Our political and social system is based on democratic principles. The school as an extension of those principles must provide an equal educational opportunity for all children to develop to their fullest potential. This means allowing gifted students the opportunity to learn at their level of development. For truly equal opportunity, a variety of learning experiences must be available at many levels.
3. At present, only slightly over on-half of the possible gifted learners in the United States are reported to be receiving education appropriate to their needs. There is physical and psychological pain in being thwarted, discouraged, and diminished as a person. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can become traumatic. Many researchers consider the gifted as the largest group of underachievers in education.
4. Traditional education currently does not sufficiently value bright minds. Gifted children often enter school having already developed many of their basic skills. Almost from the first day they sense isolation, as others consider them different. Schools are not sufficiently individualized or flexible to allow modification in structure and organization. Most schools seek to develop skills that allow participation in society, not the re-creation of that society.
5. When given the opportunity, gifted students can use their vast amount of knowledge to serve as a background for unlimited learning. When the needs of the gifted are considered and the educational program is designed to meet these needs, these students make significant gains in achievement, and their sense of competence and well-being is enhanced.
6. Providing for our finest minds allows both individual and societal needs to be met. Contributions to society in all areas of human endeavor come in over-weighted proportions from this population of individuals. Society needs the gifted adult to play a far more demanding and innovate role than that required of the more typical learner. We need integrated, highly functioning persons to carry out those tasks that will lead all of us to a satisfying, fulfilling future.
"When Gifted Kids Don't have all the Answers" by Jim Delisle, Ph.D. & Judy Galbraith, M.A.
* Gifted kids need a place where they can be themselves. That can mean almost anything: brainy, impatient, show-offy, moody, obsessed with a particular interest, off in a mysterious direction. America has traditionally been a society that values equity. Often, that translates into favoring conformity and people who don't stand out from the crowd.
* Gifted kids need a place where they can feel safe and supported. Many high-achieving students actually hide or cover up their abilities to improve their chances of being accepted as "normal" or to win popularity with their age peers.
* Like all kids, gifted kids have the right to the best education for them. They need opportunities to learn at their own speed, opt out of work they already know and understand, study things that interest them, go beyond the basics, work with abstract concepts that require more than simple thinking, work with peers who share their interests and abilities, and participate in options that connect their learning to the "real world."
* By the time they reach their senior year of high school, gifted kids will have spent more than 12.000 hours in school. Shouldn't at least some of those hours be challenging, rewarding, stimulating, meaningful, and enjoyable?
And here more detailed reasons from the National Association for the Gifted Children:
1. Gifted learners must be given stimulating educational experiences appropriate to their level of ability if they are to realize their potential. Giftedness arises from an interaction between innate capabilities and en environment that challenges and stimulates to bring forth high levels of ability and talent. These challenges must be available throughout the individual's lifetime for high levels of actualization of ability and talent to result. According to research on the nature of intelligence and the brain, we either progress or we regress depending on our participation in stimulation appropriate to our level of development.
2. Each person has the right to learn and to be provided challenges for learning at the most appropriate level where growth proceeds most effectively. Our political and social system is based on democratic principles. The school as an extension of those principles must provide an equal educational opportunity for all children to develop to their fullest potential. This means allowing gifted students the opportunity to learn at their level of development. For truly equal opportunity, a variety of learning experiences must be available at many levels.
3. At present, only slightly over on-half of the possible gifted learners in the United States are reported to be receiving education appropriate to their needs. There is physical and psychological pain in being thwarted, discouraged, and diminished as a person. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can become traumatic. Many researchers consider the gifted as the largest group of underachievers in education.
4. Traditional education currently does not sufficiently value bright minds. Gifted children often enter school having already developed many of their basic skills. Almost from the first day they sense isolation, as others consider them different. Schools are not sufficiently individualized or flexible to allow modification in structure and organization. Most schools seek to develop skills that allow participation in society, not the re-creation of that society.
5. When given the opportunity, gifted students can use their vast amount of knowledge to serve as a background for unlimited learning. When the needs of the gifted are considered and the educational program is designed to meet these needs, these students make significant gains in achievement, and their sense of competence and well-being is enhanced.
6. Providing for our finest minds allows both individual and societal needs to be met. Contributions to society in all areas of human endeavor come in over-weighted proportions from this population of individuals. Society needs the gifted adult to play a far more demanding and innovate role than that required of the more typical learner. We need integrated, highly functioning persons to carry out those tasks that will lead all of us to a satisfying, fulfilling future.
"When Gifted Kids Don't have all the Answers" by Jim Delisle, Ph.D. & Judy Galbraith, M.A.
Tips for making friends
- Reach out. Don't always wait for someone else to make the first move. A simple "hi" and a smile go a long way. It may sound corny, but you'll be amazed at the response you'll receive when you extend a friendly greeting.
- Get involved. Join clubs that interest you; take special classes inside or outside of school. Seek out neighbourhood and community organizations and other opportunities to give service to others.
- Let people know that you're interested in them. Don't just talk about yourself; ask questions about them and their interests. Make this a habit and you'll have mastered the art of conversation. It's amazing how many people haven't yet grasped this basic social skill.
- Be a good listener. This mean looking at people while they're talking to you and genuinely paying attention to what they're saying. (A long litany of "uhhuhs" is a dead giveaway that your mind is somewhere else.)
- Risk telling people about yourself. When it feels right, let your interest and talents be known. For example, if you love science fiction and you'd like to know others who feel the same way, spread the word. If you're an expert on the history of science fiction, you might want to share your knowledge. BUT...
- Dont' be a show-off. Not everyone you meet will share your interests and abilities. (On the other hand, you shouldn't have to hide them-which you won't, once yu find people who like and appreciate you)
- Be honest. Tell the truth about yourself and your convictions. When asked for your opinion, be sincere. Friends appreciate forthrightness in each other. BUT...
- When necessary, temper your honestly with diplomacy. The truth doesn't have to hurt. It's better to say "Your new haircut is interesting" that to exclaim "You actually paid money for THAT?. There are times when frankness is anapproriate and unneccessary.
- Don't just use your friends as sounding boards for your problems and complaints. Include them in the good times, too.
- Do your share of the work. That's right, work. Any relationship takes effort. Don't always depend on your friends to make the plans and carry the weight.
- Be accepting. Not all of your friends have to think and act like you do. (Wouldn't it be boring if they did?)
- Learn to recognize the so-called friends you can do without. Some gifted kids get so lonely that they put up with anyone - including friends who aren't really friends at all. Follow tips 1-11 and this shouldn't happen to you.
When Gifted Kids don't have all the answers, by Jim Delisle & Judy Galbraith
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