Step 2: A CPS principal friend of mine offers encouragement–he sees the district moving toward a more problem-solving approach to curriculum and more opportunity for students to exercise creativity. Broward County, Florida did this, with noteworthy success in diversifying who got access to gifted programs. Step 1: Dump the classical/gifted testing in favor of universal screening. Here are my thoughts on how to transform gifted education into education that nurtures exceptional talent in all kids, not only kids born into privilege. While gifted programs as we know them deserve a drastic makeover, I’m not sure I would throw out the whole idea. So, while gifted programs as we know them deserve a drastic makeover, I’m not sure I would throw out the whole idea. But I have met other kids who stuck out even more. Even though I wasn’t personally that asynchronous, as a kid I did experience bullying and harassment in a way I don’t think a student like me would now in CPS. Their intellectual development far outpaced their social development, so skipping a grade wasn’t a solution, and neither was hanging around in an average general education classroom, where they were likely to become prey for bullying and harassment. I have met kids who were real prodigies and really asynchronous in their development. Though I was designated a gifted student, maybe I wasn’t even the kind of kid I’m talking about. I think there are kids who need gifted programs. Pragmatically, my jaded self says this is going to be a total nightmare to implement and NYC will just move from giving some privileged gifted kids good programming to giving no gifted kids good programming. Philosophically, I’m all for eliminating gifted programming, for all the reasons you outlined, Kira. Maureen: Mend It, Don’t End It (and give the foundations of it to all kids) It wasn’t something I noticed at the time, but as an adult, I can look back and realize that the refuge I felt in those classes was a gate that shut my Black classmates out of the same opportunity. The refuge I felt in those classes was a gate that shut my Black classmates out of the same opportunity.īut that cohort was also entirely white. For me (and I have heard other people talk about their gifted education in a similar way) those gifted classes allowed me to lower my guard, lean into my “brainy” and really be a nerd in the best possible way. I joined an academic decathlon league, traveled with my gifted peers, and pursued special projects that aligned with my interests. Those “gifted” classes became a refuge, especially in Middle School. In third grade, I was referred by a teacher to the gifted program, subsequently tested in, and from that point on I was pulled out of class once or twice a week to meet with a cohort of other “gifted” students. I attended a small urban school in Pennsylvania, where the student population was pretty evenly distributed between white and Black students. This is why, at the end of the day, I think that the decision to drastically transform the Gifted and Talented program in NYC is a good thing.Ĭhicago doesn’t have the same extreme that New York City has, but the truth is, Gifted Education across the United States has a serious race problem.įor me this is a deeply personal issue. In New York City, this segregation effect of Gifted and Talented is extreme and well-documented. In practice, however, differentiated instruction for gifted students too often manifests as a way for white families to make sure their students are receiving an education separate from their Black and brown peers. In theory – I love the idea of differentiated instruction for gifted students as part of a spectrum of differentiated instruction for all students. Kira: Eliminate Gifted & Talented programming We’d love to hear your experiences, too, so please leave us a comment with your perspectives. In light of the decision in New York City, Maureen and Kira had a conversation about the future Gifted Ed, and decided to share our thoughts. However, it’s hard not to look at New York City, knowing that many of the problems that plague NYC public schools are also endemic in Chicago and throughout the country. New York City has deployed its gifted and talented program in a very different manner than Chicago. Of those students, about 75 percent are white or Asian American (who make up about 25 percent of the total school system.) And the ticket to entry is a single standardized test for 4-year-olds. Beginning next fall, no new kindergarteners will be enrolled into gifted elementary school classes, which accounts for about 16,000 students. New York City’s Bill de Blasio announced recently that the NYC Public School system will phase out the Gifted and Talented Program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |