by Katherine Varga
Accelerated Education vs. Gifted Education:
With the diverse needs of so many students to meet, it is
difficult to recognize the needs of small groups within our child population.
One classic example is the tendency to assume accelerated education is
equivalent to gifted education. Accelerated education is when a student is
exposed to curriculum and concepts ahead of their expected grade level. Examples of accelerated curriculum in our
schools include honors classes, Advanced Placement (A.P.) classes, skipping
grades and early college entrance. For
intellectually gifted students who find themselves bored and uninspired by their
curriculum, research completed by the National Association of the Gifted
supports the use of accelerated curriculum as a very beneficial option. Accelerated education can offer the gifted
child much needed new challenges and make more efficient use of the time the
child spends at school.
It needs to be acknowledged that there are many children who
do not qualify as intellectually gifted, but whom could be described as
intelligent and hard-working students that deserve a rigorous and high quality
education. Every child, regardless of their intellectual capacity, deserves the
very best education we can provide for them.
In many cases, accelerated education may be a good option for these
high-achieving students. However, the difficulty in our education system arises
when we teach hard working and motivated students the same as the
intellectually gifted students. When teaching mixed ability classrooms,
teachers report it takes several more repetitions of new information before
they can move on to new concepts. Many
gifted learners process the world differently from many of their peers,
including processing in multiple directions, skipping steps, relentless
question asking, and perfectionism. They are often able to engage in higher
order analysis and evaluation far earlier than their same age peers. For these
reasons, gifted education needs to be geared towards these learning styles in
addition to having advanced placement curriculum. Classrooms with homogeneous
gifted enrollment move more quickly through material and can engage in more
complex learning processes. The Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, once said,
“Success consists in being successful, not in having potential for
success. Any wide piece of ground is the
potential site of a palace, but there’s no palace till it’s built.” Our
intellectually gifted students have an enormous potential to create and
contribute to the future of our society. They are our palace builders. We
should not hold them back.
Teachers:
Perhaps there is nothing more important for gifted education
than having highly trained, creative and flexible teachers. Researchers spend a
lot of time identifying what types of teachers work best for gifted students. In
2006, Carol Fertig, an expert in gifted education, compiled a list of teacher
qualities most likely to be encompassed by an excellent teacher for the
gifted. Her lit review was titled, “What
are the Characteristics of Effective Teachers of the Gifted.” Some teacher
qualities included the following:
~A teacher who is also gifted
~A high level of proficiency in their subject area
~A love of learning which mimics that often found in gifted
students
~Level-headedness, emotionally stable
~Sensitivity to students’ individuality
~Strong teaching skills
~Creating a non-threatening learning environment
~Having broad interests
~Enthusiasm
~Preference for teaching gifted students
Teachers who are masters of their content are able to meet
the academic needs of their gifted students. Teachers who thirst for knowledge
themselves and who have been successful in their own careers provide excellent
role models for gifted students. Gifted students often appreciate having
teachers who they feel really understand how they see the world and how they
learn.
Balance:
Gifted programs are notorious for providing a rigorous
program that in many cases equates to hoards of homework. Some children
describe spending endless hours on homework, from the time they get home from
school until late hours in the night. We think of lawyers and CEOs who spend
60-80 hours a week at the office as a little imbalanced, so why would we ask
our children to spend 60-80 hours a week engaged in heavy studying? World
famous violinist Itzhak Pearlman shared, “For every child prodigy that you know
about, at least 50 potential ones have burned out before you even heard about
them.” Children, from elementary to high school, need opportunities to nurture
relationships and explore their own interests. Many gifted children thrive on
creating, and creating takes a lot of time and energy. Homework may be
necessary, but an excess of it should never be confused with a truly rigorous
and intellectually stretching program.
