[Ohiogift] Labelling the gifted

[Ms118rbts at aol.com]

Susan,
Your question, "If we throw away the word, then what is the National  
Association for Gifted Children, in which all of these authors are major  
players, all about?" is right on.  
We wonder why we still keep fighting the same old battles with so little  
forward progress.  With third grade guarantee and other hoops to jump  
through, students who have exceptional ability are often neglected,   especially 
when district finances are really tight. In many  cases,  having the " 
gifted" label is the only thing that gets  students anything approaching rigorous 
- let alone beyond grade level  instruction and endless practice at things 
the student already  understands.
 
It is hard to make progress when some in the field seem to be  giving those 
who do not believe in gifted education ammunition like this  article!
Margaret, I love your analogy!
Sally
 

 
 
 
In a message dated 4/16/2014 8:18:11 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
susanrakow at earthlink.net writes:

I don't  agree either because it presumes that giftedness is only about 
academic  intervention and school instruction and disregards, particularly 
among the  most highly gifted, the social and emotional aspects of experiencing 
the world  through a gifted mind and heart. Lots of words have multiple 
connotations and  sometimes the word "gifted" has baggage...but so does autistic 
or Asperger's  or diabetic or artist and many others. And the fact is, that 
some children DO  have abilities that others don't, just as some children 
DO have disabilities  that others don't. 

If we throw away the word, then what is the  National Association for 
Gifted Children, in which all of these authors are  major players, all about?
Susan


-----Original  Message-----
>From: Margaret DeLacy  <margaretdelacy at comcast.net>
>Sent: Apr 16, 2014 8:07  PM
>To: OATAG at yahoogroups.com, "XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com"  
<XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com>, Tagfam at listserv.icors.org,  Ohiogift at lists.service.ohio-state.edu
>Subject: [Ohiogift] Labelling the  gifted
>
>http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/16/28peters_ep.h33.html?cmp=ENL-E
U-NEWS1
>
>Commentary
>Gifted  Ed. Is Crucial, But the Label Isn't
>By Scott J. Peters, Scott Barry  Kaufman, Michael S. Matthews, Matthew T. 
McBee, D. Betsy McCoach  
>
>"But how does the label of "gifted" help teachers and  administrators 
determine the appropriate programming for students? In our  view, the term is 
not only unhelpful, but actually harmful to the interests of  bright students. 
"Gifted" is an educationally nondescript concept, yet it also  connotes an 
endowment that some students receive while others do not.  Moreover, the 
term seems to suggest that high academic performance is a  permanent quality, 
both due to chance and applicable in all  domains.
>
>The truth is that "giftedness" is irrelevant to K-12  educational 
decisions. What is relevant is whether the instruction a child  receives is 
sufficiently rigorous to challenge that child. When that is not  the case, there are 
many potential causes." 
>
>Margaret  comments:
>
>I disagree with this.  I think the authors are  insensitive to the 
realities of a school environment where time and energy are  at a premium.  These 
constraints make it exceedingly unlikely that a  child will have access to 
"rigorous" instruction without a formal procedure  for identifying the 
students who are likely to need significant interventions.  
>
>Suppose I went to a nursery and said "one of my plants is  failing to 
thrive.  What should I do?"
>
>The nursery worker  says, "what plant is it?"
>
>I say, "I don't know.  I don't  believe in labelling my plants." 
>
>The nursery isn't going to  send someone out to my home to see what plant 
it is.  I don't have the  time to try to figure it out.  So the plant 
doesn't get what it  needs.
>
>Labels are never perfect.  They are always  probabilistic.  Labels can be 
switched or wrong.  But a good label  would tell a knowledgeable person what 
kind of plant I probably have, how it  fits in a taxonomy of plants, and 
what sorts of issues it might have.   For example, there are tens of thousands 
of species of rhododendrons.   But even if all we know is that the plant is 
a rhododendron at least that  would also mean it probably needs acid soil. 
At least we would know to check  for that issue.  
>
>Margaret
>
>
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Susan  R. Rakow, Ph.D. 
Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Program  in Gifted 
Education
Department of Curriculum and Foundations 
Cleveland  State University
2485 Euclid Ave., EB374
Cleveland, OH  44115-2214
216-523-7296
s.rakow at csuohio.edu

“Modern cynics and  skeptics see no harm in paying those to whom they 
entrust the minds of their  children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom 
they entrust the care of  their plumbing.” -John F.  Kennedy


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