“Great spirits have always encountered … opposition from mediocre minds.” –Albert Einstein. Many gifted high school students are being prevented from reaching their full potential in school by class structures and classmates. Independent study would solve this problem. Independent study is a form of education in which students work under little to no supervision, and take sole responsibility for their education in one or more subjects. It is implemented in many high schools, universities, and other educational institutions across the nation. Independent study would benefit students in many ways, such as allowing them to work at their own pace, be it fast or slow; studying more closely the subjects they are most interested in, even if the classes they wish to take are outside the normal school curriculum; and letting them get ahead in their college education, by taking college-level courses. For these reasons, an independent study program should be a credit-bearing option for students of Brunswick High School.
Independent study would allow students to set their own learning pace. Independent study would accomplish this, as it “avoids the common feeling of some children & youth that they are wasting their time in regular classrooms where learning is slowed by misbehavior, social problems, and other students who learn more slowly” (Nason 1). Often, the abilities of students that learn quickly are inhibited by classmates that have no intention of learning, or may not learn at the same speed. Due to the solitary nature of independent study, the gifted learner would be uninhibited by fellow students. Current class structures could also be preventing gifted students from achieving their full potential. Classes are set up in such a way ...
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...For these reasons, and many others, Brunswick High School should create an independent study program.
Works Cited
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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.
When having an education, people grow and expand their knowledge. By expanding and gaining knowledge from the experience of college, people are able to become independent learners. However, most people tend to start evolving into independent learners after leaving high school; from leaving high school, I started to evolve into an independent learner. Setting goals for yourself creates individual growth. In the article, “Why we are looking at the ‘value’ of college all wrong” by Valerie Strauss, Nelson discusses how an independent learner is able to teach themselves and learn from the challenges they tend to face.
Many students do not get the help they need to become independent, and being overwhelmed may lead a student to commit suicide, fail, or even drop out during college. If a student fails, his or her self-esteem can be permanently damaged, and the consequences can affect an entire lifetime. Students must receive more help from college administrators and professors and influence them to self-manage better. It is understandable that some people do not want colleges to help more because they want the students to make mistakes and learn from them, which may help them become more independent.... ...
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).
‘Why do I take I take this course’ is an educational book guide written by Robert Schoenberg. In today’s society, different practices and quick returns exist. These practices do not add additional requirements to coursework as students start their university careers. According to warner (2009) in his article, a comparative analysis on general education is essential in providing students with basic requirements and right qualifications for graduation. Therefore, giving help to students
Explain the importance of supporting children and young people to recognise the benefits of sustained learning and education
Rebecca. “Unseen Disadvantage: How American Universities’ Focus on Independence Undermines the Academic Performance of First-Generation College Students”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association. (2012): 1-12. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education" (Albert Einstein). Today, college classes are furthest from the minds of the very students enrolled in them; their curiosity and thirst for knowledge is dwindling. There is more importance placed on the interactions, parties, and other dorm life experiences than the degree needed for a successful career. In Rebekah Nathan's article, "Academically Speaking.." she explores the apathy that students feel towards college classes and suggests that the current structure places too much emphasis on personal experience. This system affords too much freedom to students by allowing them to decide what information is most relevant. Nathan voices many valid concerns surrounding the notion that classes are not as important as they once were. She correctly fears that the devolution of college's traditional learning ambition leads to a loss of class participation, preparation, and ultimately matriculation.
Rogers, K. B. (1991). The relationship of grouping practices to the education of the gifted and talented learner. Retrieved April 14, 2004, from http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/rogers.html
In modern times, it comes as no surprise that there are a plethora of issues and negative occurrences throughout the traditional educational system. Schooling is not a choice, but a mandatory duty that each and every child must fulfill almost daily. Depending on grade level and work load, the average student spends nearly 8 hours per day either learning in school or completing assignments from that day (U.S. Bureau). This indicates that a majority of a secondary education student’s time is consumed by school and school related work. Because this is an obligatory role, it is imperative that these students are not being forced to do such work, but instead are interested and engaged so that they may enjoy this work. Although there is a multitude of reasons that a student may do poorly in school, a substantial cause is the flaws with the grade level system that most schools implicate. The elimination of grade level systems is not entirely unheard of or practiced, but it has not been extricated enough to show the advantages of alternative schooling systems.
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,
Tagg, John. “Why Learn? What We May Really Be Teaching Students.” About Campus. 2004. Print.
Within recent decades, college has become a more easily available path than it has been for the past generations. In a current news release, The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that, “Of the 2.9 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2014, about 68.4 percent were enrolled in college in October” (BLS Economic News Release from April 2015). When a student graduates high school, most of them intend to continue on to college. They have the idea that, while there, they can break away from all the general classes and just focus on what they want to learn. However, for almost all students, they find that this is not the reality. Just like high school, they find that they have to take approximately two years in general studies in order to attend and graduate with the major of their choice. General education classes should not be required because a majority of the information learned has already been covered in past years. Most of the courses do not benefit a student 's major, and the total amount of required hours for these classes can become a big waste of time and money.
...ning and evaluation of my learning. I have become more motivated to do the course as I have been responsible of my own learning and identifying resources for learning, therefore, have more confident in making decision.
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.