Standards and Gifted Students

by Gail E. Hanninen

 

The plight of our most highly capable/gifted students has always been a struggle in our public schools. Currently, having students meet standards is consuming major proportions of time, and energy of educators and parents. For example, this fall,  an NBC nightly news feature story was on the percentage of third grade students in Chicago public schools who were going to have to attend summer school to meet standards and subsequently, be promoted to fourth grade. What happens to our gifted students who met the standards for entering fourth grade two years earlier?

In the context of "standards thinking," what are areas of focus or strategies to pursue? For our schools, the focus needs to be in the areas of professional development and program development. Currently, in the state of Washington teacher certification does not require teachers to receive any special training on how to teach highly capable/gifted students in the regular classroom. There is an item on the list of competencies for new teachers which references an awareness of highly capable/gifted students.

Any training that teachers receive is most likely to occur as a part of a school district's staff development program, university summer school course work, and/or special workshop on teaching gifted students. Such training provides teachers with opportunities to develop teaching strategies for employing creative and critical thinking skills, compacting curriculum, independent learner skills, and understanding giftedness. One of the most basic skills for an effective teacher of highly capable/gifted students, is having mastery of the Socratic method which involves knowing how to ask questions that challenge thinking.

For schools, the second area of focus is that of developing a continuum of options for students which includes opportunities for subject acceleration, enrichment, online learning, academic competitions, and community involvement. The key is for schools to have learning opportunities which challenge various types of giftedness. An area in which most schools excel is that of athletics as there are various avenues for students to develop their athletic potential. Should not the same continuum be available for our most highly capable/gifted students?

Parent involvement and support is critical. Over the many years, I have worked in the field of gifted education, I often reflect upon some very sound advice a parent shared with me during those early years. She stated, "What I have realized is that I can never abdicate the responsibility for my child's education to anyone. At one point, when my son entered school, I thought I could give the responsibility for his education to them, but now I know that is not realistic." She readily acknowledged that teachers and administrators work very hard to provide each student with the best they can, but for a variety of reasons, the challenge of highly capable/gifted students does not always get the attention the students need. For parents, there are at least two avenues of focus. One is to advocate for and work with school staff to support the meeting of your child's educational needs.

The second is as parents to take time and work with your youngster and provide him/her with access to experiences which challenge their thinking. Encouraging the pursuit of personal interests is a great way to get started. In part this means valuing the interests, your child has which may not be the same as your own. Visiting museums, attending performances, interviewing people of interest are just a few ways you can share in your child's interest and development. Also providing your child with access to online learning opportunities is another way to target areas of interest while providing challenge. Finally, involving your child with other children who are also intellectual peers is most important. Often participation in summer programs sponsored by such organizations as the University of Washington Center for Capable Youth, Pacific Lutheran University and Centrum at Fort Worden are wonderful ways to fulfill this need.

Certainly the addressing of standards is important to assure that all students demonstrate a certain level of mastery of basic skills and knowledge. However, the needs of our most highly capable/gifted/gifted or gifted students go well beyond what is defined in standards and it is the responsibility of all of us to assure such students are challenged so they may develop their potential to the fullest.

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About the Author:

Gail E. Hanninen, Ed. D. is Director of Special Services, Sumner School District, 1202 Wood Ave., Sumner, WA 98390. Dr. Hanninen is know best for her work and presentations relating to gifted education, preschool gifted children and with students who are twice exceptional. A recent publication of hers is a chapter entitled "Designing a preschool program for the gifted and talented" which is in The Young Gifted Child: Potential and Promise, an Anthology, edited by Joan F. Smutny (1998, Hampton Press, Inc., Cresskill, NJ). Gail started her education career as a Peace Corps Volunteer, has worked in private and public agencies and at all levels of education, including local school districts and state departments. To reach Dr. Hanninen, call (235) 891-6040 or email Gail3wood@spokaneskynet.com

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Copyright © June 2002 New Horizons for Learning