Often children struggle to understand the difference between ‘wants’ and ‘needs.’ This struggle found its way into gifted education with the case of C.C. v. North Allegheny School District (2011). In this case, C.C. was identified as gifted in elementary school and his academic strengths were noted as problem solving, higher order thinking and analytical thinking skills. At issue in this case was the district’s refusal to permit C.C. to take two Advanced Placement courses, AP Psychology and AP Economics, that are typically not available to students in C.C.’s grade level. Given that these courses do not align with the strengths previously addressed in GIEPs, the district instead offered the student introductory courses in psychology and …show more content…
It is not uncommon for high school GIEP teams to consider goals for students who have all honors and AP courses scheduled and little time or energy to take on additional goals. The Pennsylvania Department of Education Gifted Guidelines indicate that “honors courses or advanced placement courses provide options to meet the needs of some gifted learners” (Gifted Education Guidelines, 2015). Attorney Tom Warner (2015) addressed this scenario and stated “If the District has already existing courses that provide sufficient challenges when it comes to all of a child’s gifted needs (in other words, the courses themselves meet the child’s gifted needs), an argument can be made that the child is a candidate to have his or her gifted eligibility terminated.” In this region, Cumberland Valley School District takes this approach. If that’s truly the case, there are really only two options: (1) reevaluate and move to exit; or (2) decide not to fight that battle, and explore areas of giftedness through a supplemental independent study, for example. The goal will measure progress in the independent study, not progress as it pertains to how a student is performing in an AP course. Mr. Warner (2015) concluded by saying “From a technical standpoint, it sounds like option (1) is actually correct, but I do understand that taking the fight to all of your gifted …show more content…
The bulk of legal cases are in the realm of special education, but only time will tell if gifted education will challenge our highest courts. For now, district administrators and teachers must continue with due diligence to meet the needs of gifted learners, but they must always stay abreast of rulings from the Office of Dispute Resolution. By following the due process hearings, districts can identify commonalities with their own district practice and adjust as needed. Gifted education enrollment numbers are dwarfed by the special education numbers, but the parents of gifted students are no less vocal and often have more resources available to them. Regardless of what the law has said or will say, it is the school’s responsibility to grow all learners, but realize that is our gifted learners who have the innate ability to truly make a difference in our
Board of Education outlawed educational segregation, the Illinois School District had created a completely different gifted program for Hispanic students, separate from the White students’ gifted program. Ford found that in 2009 and 2001, the RDCI (The Relative Difference in Composition Index) researched and concluded “at least one half million African American and Hispanic students combined are not identified as gifted” (Ford 145). While African American Students are rising to be the majority race in public education, the percentage of African Americans even being recognized as gifted or academically accelerated, is not proportionally increasing (Ford). Society hold precedents with people who have superior intelligence over those who do not, but how can superiority even be concluded when all people are not given the opportunity to have an enriching education? African Americans are not able to increase their percentage of gifted students because African American students are not given the chance to be even recognized as worthy or capable of such achievements. As society advances further academically and leaves African Americans with an unquail education, the percentage of African Americans attending college and entering professional careers
Gifted and talented programs are intrinsically valuable to many children’s education as they provide a system in which all students involved are engaged, challenged, and intellectually stimulated. In "How People Learn", Donovan, Bransford, and Pellegrino (1999) stress the importance of each student being given reasonable and appropriate goals based on his or her level of understanding and competency (p. 20). Gifted and talented programs help institutionalize the attempt to meet all student’s needs by providing uniquely appropriate challenges which aim to keep every student engaged, thus receiving the best chance at success. Although there are many valuable and important aspects of gifted education, there are also significant issues rooted in the base of America’s gifted and talented programs, one of which I will address throughout this paper. In my opinion, the most notable problem which troubles gifted and talented programs is the system by which students are selected to join their school’s gifted and talented program.
The Talents Unlimited Model was created under the philosophy that all students, both those identified as gifted and those not, would benefit from enrichment programs. The model is used to educate teachers on how to use differentiated instruction to use “higher order cognitive tasks to help students with varying abilities use their preferred thinking talents to manipulate instruction to solve problems, see broad relationships, evaluate varying perspectives, draw comparisons among disparate viewpoints, and predict causes and effects” (Schlichter, 2009, p. 434).
A longstanding national issue that continues to concern the public is the disproportionate representation of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in special education. The fact is that the proportion of minority students in the population of school-age children has risen dramatically to over 35%, which is increasing the diversity of students in many public schools throughout the nation. This makes the phenomenon of disproportionality especially troubling. With a growing population of minority children comprising a greater percentage of public school students, we must be responsive to the growing needs of an increasingly diverse society. The overrepresentation of minority students in special education has been posed as an issue for more than 3 decades, but it is worth asking whether the efforts of legislative actions, educational reforms and legal challenges have really made improvements to this issue. More importantly, disproportionality should be examined as a correlation to underlying conditions that can pose a great effect upon not only the quality of a child’s education, but also ______.
Heather Mallick’s “Someone has to stand up for the gifted students” discusses the evilness that is the “task force” and vaguely suggests to readers that specialized schools should stay open. The author effectively appeals to authority and demonstrates the benefit of specialized schools but, ultimately her overuse of emotional appeal, peculiar tone, and ad-hominem writing style detract from the article.
Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.G. (2008). Achieving equity in schools: History, status and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.
Whitney, C. S. & Hirsch, G. (2011). Helping Gifted Children Soar. A Practical Guide for
The Gifted program exists to provide more academic opportunities for those who qualify as “gifted.” “’Gifted means performing or demonstrating the potential for performing at significantly higher levels of accomplishment in one or more academic fields due to intellectual ability, when compared to others of similar age, experience, and environment’” (Quoted in “Gifted”). In order to make it into the program the student must show higher intellectual ability than the average student at his or her age, but what determines that factor? The student must take a multidimensional test and score in the 98th percentile. However, the most weighted part of the test remains an average IQ test. Intelligence test scores should not be the primary qualification for admittance into the gifted program. They should not remain the primary qualification because it allows the minorities and the economically disadvantaged to be underrepresented, it proves insufficient when compared to other means of testing, and it fails to accurately reflect a student’s intelligence.
In the Evan v. Board of Education of Rhinebeck Central school district, the mother of the child Frank Evans, Catherine Evans filed a case for the reimbursement of the child’s education at the Kildonan School. The Kildonan School, which specializes in special education for children with learning disabilities like dyslexia. The basis for her case is that the school did not provide her son with the appropriate education, as is required for children with learning disabilities under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Wrightslaw - Caselaw - Evans v. Rhinebeck (S.D. NY 1996), n.d.).
There are three curriculum models that are used to effectively teach gifted and talented students. These models include the Integrated Curriculum Model, the William and Mary Center for Gifted Education Research Model, and the Parallel Model.
Donovan, M. Suzanne and Christopher T. Cross (2002, August). Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/lib/drexel/-docDetail.action?docID=10032383.
A common misconception is intelligence is inherited and does not change, so therefore, gifted children do not need special services. However, this mindset is very dangerous when it comes to the development of gifted children. It is widely believed that gifted students will get by on their own without any assistance from their school. After all,
Using Allison’s strengths and interests is important to helping her become a successful student. This is the method of helping Bender, Brian and any other student become successful in school. Building on the student strengths, while allowing them to work on their weaknesses is important for all students and especially for twice-exceptional students in the classroom. When looking at the student’s weakness it is important to understand that their behavior is not a weakness, but a result of an underlying cause. Examining the cause of the behavior will help recognize the challenge areas for improvement by understanding the underlying cause for the behavior. After understanding the student’s strengths and challenges, the teachers can then fully help the student learn to the best of their abilities.
One of the most controversial things about gifted and talented education is the criterion educators use to identify the gifted and talented. In the past, a student’s intelligence, based on an I.Q. score, was considered the best way to determine whether or not they qualified as gifted. As a result of using this method of identification, many gifted and talented students are not discovered nor are they placed in the appropriate programs to develop their abilities. Talents in the arts or an excellent ability to write are not measured on an I.Q. test but are abilities that may certainly qualify a student as gifted or talented.
Parke, B. (n.d.). Challenging gifted students in the regular classroom. Retrieved March 1, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Challenging_gifted _kids.html