Removing the Veil over Gifted and Talented Programs
I have been approached by different administration in different districts regarding the relevance of gifted education. Many administrators and teachers have told me they had no idea what went on in the gifted class but just thought it was play. I have also heard just this summer from a colleague in gifted education that we are paying for the sins of our foreteachers. In response to the previous comment, another gifted professional responded, appropriately, that it no longer matters what was done before us, what matters is how we respond now. I agree. What we do now will set the stage for all gifted learners to come.
What does all of this mean? It means, gifted education was heavily guarded, veiled if you will, from the those who did not have an immediate stake in gifted education. Regular education teachers, administration, parents of non-gifted students, and the general public had no idea there was a special class offering social and emotional learning to students classified as gifted and talented. If they did know about it, they referred to it as the 'smart kids class.' The kids, the teachers and sometimes the parents knew what was going on in the gifted and talented classroom. Many times, the students did not know why or what the class was for. I have heard from adults who were in gifted as children claim they played all of the time. Gifted programs across the country have been accused of being elitist. I have had parents of gifted children tell me they would not allow their child into the gifted program because they do not want their student to feel like they are better than everyone else. I agree. Gifted programs should be there to serve our gifted and talented students in guiding them to be responsible and respectable adults who are successful, happy, life-long learners and problem-solvers!
How do we change the face of gifted and talented programs?
Let's look at this from a step by step process.
1. We have to be our own public relations officer! Get the word out there. Gifted is vital!
Does that just mean social media. I am emphatically and excitedly exclaiming, "NO"! We have to teach our students to understand the nuts and bolts of everything we do so they can help us help others understand gifted education.
a. Goals, goals goals! Lay out a copy of the program goals on each table for each group (or send out for each virtual room), and have the kids decide on day one of every lesson or unit the nuts and bolts for it. Post the goals to a bulletin board. Refer to these goals constantly as students progress.
b. Have self-evaluations for each student. Have students present self-evaluations to their parents/guardians during parent/teacher conferences or better yet, have them video their progress on their evaluations and/or goals and send to parents asking for feedback as part of their progress!
c. Post what we do to social media. You do not have time, I understand. Assign students to be the social media representatives in each class (I take volunteers). These students use any extra time we have in class to take pictures of projects, design a post describing the project along with the GOALS, get it approved by me, then post it to our classroom social media pages for our teachers, admins, and parents. They will even sign their first names. The parents love seeing their kids take a leadership role plus see the real world applications of what we do in class.
c. Send out newsletters designed by the students. Tips and tricks of raising and teaching gifted students, include what you are doing in class as well as pictures!
Why do we need to change gifted education?
In reality, we are only changing how it presented. We need to let others know what we are doing and why. Gifted education is NOT just play or just FUN. as some people believe. It is presenting in-depth guidance to life-long learning! It is guiding students through their intense emotions. It is giving them an outlet, a family, a place to feel comfortable.
It is TIME! We can do this, together, we can save gifted education from the chopping block. We can provide services to students who desperately need a different outlook on learning. Together, we can shed the veil, and save gifted education for our students!
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