Should gifted students go to a separate school?
theconversation.com
Should gifted students go to a separate school?
1–10 of 390 posts
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#2Absolutely.
I'm going to sound very self-centered and certainly not humble but when I was enrolled in mandatory education I was doing so under Tony Blair's Labour government. This government was elected under premises such as nationalisation and additionally "Education, Education, Education"[0]. As such no child was allowed to fail school.
This had the opposite affect in my primary school, instead of segregating the children who had difficulties learning or even the opposite- elevating children who were learning well; instead the entire class would slow to a crawl when it came time to do some form of verification that we're actually learning.
In many cases 'tests' would stop any possibility of new content being added to the class for months.
I was bored out of my mind and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. School is an absolute torturous prison when there's no stimulation of any kind; and they also wonder why you seek fulfillment by acting out.
Conversely, before my time there were English Grammar schools which were done away with, those output the most well educated people and were free for the public too. They just had very strict requirements for entry and you could be expelled for not keeping up. A stark contrast to the kids in my class who were unwilling or unable to allow the class to move forward as a unit.
Gah. I hated my childhood and I absolutely hated formal education because of this.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#3Here in the U.S., very few public high schools have single-track education, at least not for "core" subjects such as English, math, and science. There are typically remedial, standard, honors, and AP classes for these subjects.
And I would think that if you're OK with multi-track education, it would seem like having a separate school for gifted students is just an extension of that.
That said, in my own experience, although there were down sides to having some single-track subjects (e.g. physical education), one benefit of attending a school with children of all ability levels was that you were exposed to children from all walks of life.
I would imagine that a school for gifted students would have skewed socioeconomic demographics compared to a school for students of all ability levels, and in many places, that might also mean less racial diversity.
At my public high school, we had a program where students at standard-level or above would assist special-education students. That type of opportunity would probably be missing from a school for only gifted students. You would be less likely to come into contact with (and befriend) people with intellectual disabilities, or even people with average intelligence.
Edit: One other point. Academic giftedness is often thought of as one monolithic thing, but I know several people whose giftedness varies wildly by subject. If you attend a school for gifted students, would there be an expectation that you would be gifted in all subject areas? Would it be more difficult for you to get help in the subjects where you struggle?
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#4Absolutely. I'm going to sound very self-centered and certainly not humble but when I was enrolled in mandatory education I was doing so under Tony Blair's Labour government. This government was elected under premises such as nationalisation and additionally "Education, Education, Education"[0]. As such no child was allowed to fail school. This had the opposite affect in my primary school, instead of segregating the…
Funny that I had very nearly the same experience in Texas. I had even been moved into a "Gifted and Talented" program which segregated us from the regular kids. While we did occasionally get to do something above and beyond the vast majority of the time was spent in a prison like setting where all we did was focus on standardized testing.
I remember literally spending weeks of schooling in primary school learning how to bubble in a multiple choice answer sheet. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for weeks on end having the fact we need a #2 pencil and that you shouldn't fill outside the bubble when answering the scantron on the TAAS test.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#5Absolutely. I'm going to sound very self-centered and certainly not humble but when I was enrolled in mandatory education I was doing so under Tony Blair's Labour government. This government was elected under premises such as nationalisation and additionally "Education, Education, Education"[0]. As such no child was allowed to fail school. This had the opposite affect in my primary school, instead of segregating the…
But, on the flip side, faster-learning kids need to learn how to live/work/deal with slower-learning kids and vice versa. The purpose of schooling goes beyond the accumulation of facts.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#6Here in the U.S., very few public high schools have single-track education, at least not for "core" subjects such as English, math, and science. There are typically remedial, standard, honors, and AP classes for these subjects. And I would think that if you're OK with multi-track education, it would seem like having a separate school for gifted students is just an extension of that. That said, in my own experience, a…
Mostly what I learned in high school was how to talk to kids from blue-collar families. Don't use multi-syllabic words, and talk only in concrete terms. Avoid use of abstraction and don't pontificate about anything.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#7Yes. Without a single doubt.
I attended the long-running #1 public school in the nation. The School for the Talented and Gifted Magnet High School in Dallas, TX. The environment fostered creativity and learning. There were no distractions or negative pressures or stressors. Being smart didn't result in being bullied, it resulted in being respected.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#8This is anecdotal, but in 10th grade I transferred to a charter school with no separate classes. The "gifted" students were in the same school as the students who needed extra attention.
The end result was just that-- all of the attention was given to the students who needed it. The cirriculum was dumbed down, and the "gifted" students didn't learn almost anything.
It was better for the students who needed help, and much worse for the students that didn't.
I view the end result akin to eliminating salary negotiations to help those who are too afraid to negotiate.
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#9> Despite two Senate inquiries in 1988 and 2001, it has taken 15 years and a state parliamentary review for the Victorian government
This is an incredibly disorienting sentence for one not familiar with where The Conversation is based! (Australia, I suppose, having had a few needed minutes!)
Re: Should gifted students go to a separate school?
#10> When these students are academically isolated in a non-selective school, they can “dumb down” and underachieve to improve social acceptance
I have heard of lots of anecdotes of this occurring. I can believe it takes place. IMO this reason is exceptional and should get special attention.
The article is fairly Aussie-specific. In the US we have an education system which has a lot of opportunity for improvement. But the metrics focus on either the median student performance against milestones/proficiency or the median student progress. As long as this is the way they're measured, the outliers will not get special attention. As a result, parents should be prepared to spend time and money educating their gifted children above and beyond the school curriculum.