Giftedness is acceleration in the development of the brain compared to a child’s physical appearance or age.
Perhaps your child’s teacher has suggested a gifted screening. Perhaps the child of one of your friends has just been accepted into a gifted education program. On the other hand, perhaps you just have a suspicion that your child might be gifted and want to know what that means. No matter the situation, let’s go through some of the questions and misconceptions that surround a gifted student.
What is gifted?
Giftedness is acceleration in the development of the brain compared to a child’s physical appearance or age. There are quite a few indicators, like maturity and success in school, but the only way to know for sure is through an accepted assessment, usually an IQ test administered by a child psychologist or district-level official.
Misconceptions
The first misconception has to do with academic success. If a child is successful in school, it doesn’t necessarily mean a child is gifted. Likewise, it is possible for gifted students to struggle academically, maybe because they aren’t being challenged enough and become bored. Alternatively, because they are not receiving the right education services for their needs.
The second misconception is that gifted students do not need special services in school. First, they easily become bored with grade-level studies because they move so fast through the curriculum. Teachers try their best to challenge the gifted, but only so much differentiation is possible in a class of 25 students.
What is gifted education?
Believe it or not, when it comes to special services, gifted students are treated no differently than students with disabilities. They need a special environment to succeed to their potential—just like a disabled student.
Gifted students can take in more information than their peers, so a gifted education program features a compacted curriculum and faster pacing. In terms of skills and curricula, it’s possible for a gifted student to move through multiple grade levels in a single school year.
What does a gifted class look like?
On a day-to-day basis, the class is much different from traditional instruction. First, every subject area is tied into a central theme because gifted students are much more likely to need a reason to learn something. Providing a real-world experience gives them a reason to pay attention. Secondly, the instruction is more hands-on and experiential. There might also be less “work”, because these students simply don’t need as much opportunity to practice their skills at home. Class time is usually all that is needed.
While that may sound ideal for everyone (and recent next-gen standards are moving in that general direction), gifted classes are not a model for every student. Most students need more structure, more time, and more focus on background skills than a gifted program would provide.
Finally, a gifted identification and placement is not some sort of inside track to adult success. Gifted students are not guaranteed a scholarship to Harvard. It still takes dedication and a strong work ethic in order for these children to succeed—just as it does for traditional students.