Are all students gifted?

Posted December 15th, 2007 by candersen

gifted students

I've thought about the concept of "talented and gifted" students for many years. truly belive that all students are talented and gifted in their own way. Each has an area of strength that if nourished will blossom, and then with confidence will apply themselves to other areas which may not be their natural strengths. Traditionally students are labeled as talented and gifted if their strengths are in math and science and their test "grades" are above average. What do others think?

Of course, all children have

On December 15th, 2007 not_the_mama says:

Of course, all children have gifts; personally, I don't like the label "gifted and talented". The truth is that most of the kids in G&T programs first get noticed because they excel in reading.

G&T progams are funded with special education money. Special education money is, unfortunately, tied to things like standardized test scores.

Wouldn't it be great if schools had the time, the money, and small enough classes to treat every child as special?

I personally think that

On December 15th, 2007 DesertMom says:

I personally think that gifted programs have become more prevalent and that more and more kids are testing into them because our state's academic standards are so low compared to other states. Being a "gifted" student in say, Massachusetts is different from being gifted in AZ.

DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com

I agree that every child has

On January 1st, 2008 Rhonda says:

I agree that every child has strengths that can be nurtured, and also that parental strategies for their kids' academic success in AZ are tied very closely with testing into these programs.

I'm not sure what the solution is, other than to ask parents to get even more involved directly with their kids AT their schools, by volunteering, for instance, to help. Ading more adults in the class may help address the staffing problems that prevent teachers from being able to address the needs and strengths (and weaknesses) of more children in a more individualized way. In some cases, it may simply allow teachers to teach rather than attending to myriad discipline problems associated with having too many kids in a class.