[Ohiogift] I agree with Colleen RE: Labelling the gifted

Thu Apr 17 09:53:50 EDT 2014

Ah...if only that were the reality, all of us would sleep better at night  
and have fewer wrinkles and gray hair.
Sally

In a message dated 4/17/2014 9:25:58 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
oas at iwaynet.net writes:

I agree  with Colleen: … children respected as individuals and have their  
academic and instructional needs of these students recognized and  met… 
This is true for all students. 
Sincerely, 
Dr.  Lynn E. Elfner, CEO EMERITUS 
The  Ohio Academy of Science 
Co-Director,  Believe in Ohio http://believeinohio.org/  
1500  W. 3rd Avenue, Suite 227 
Columbus,  Ohio 43212-2817 
CELL:  740.417.3579 
614.914.5095 
Email  Address - _oas at iwaynet.net_ (mailto:oas at iwaynet.net)  
_www.ohiosci.org_ (http://www.ohiosci.org/)  
Curiosity?  Discovery. Innovation! 
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From:  ohiogift-bounces+oas=iwaynet.net at lists.service.ohio-state.edu  
[mailto:ohiogift-bounces+oas=iwaynet.net at lists.service.ohio-state.edu] On  Behalf 
Of Colleen Grady
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 9:23  PM
To: ms118rbts at aol.com
Cc: Tagfam at listserv.icors.org;  margaretdelacy at comcast.net; Ohiogift; 
OATAG at yahoogroups.com;  XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Ohiogift] Labelling the  gifted 

I don't mean to be indelicate, but my concern here is not  for adults or 
institutions so I don't care what label is used or even if a  label is used.  

No disrespect to NAGC, but the idea of potentially changing  an 
organization's name as problematic is laughable. 

I care about what happens for these children. If ditching  the term 
"gifted" (or screaming like a chicken on Capitol Square at high noon)  improved 
opportunities for gifted children I would do it in a heartbeat. It's  just not 
that important. Really, it's not.

And having lived through the trials, tribulations and fun  of having one of 
those highly gifted children (and living to tell the tale) I  I know all 
too well the social and emotional challenges for these kids and  their 
families. Knowing all that I know I would give my eye teeth to just  having these 
children respected as individuals and have their academic and  instructional 
needs of these students recognized and met. That's plenty and so  much more 
than what we have now. Expecting the school to be everything for  everyone 
is unrealistic and quite frankly weakens advocacy  efforts. 

On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 8:54 PM, <_Ms118rbts at aol.com_ 
(mailto:Ms118rbts at aol.com) > wrote: 

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_ (mailto: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_ 
(mailto:margaretdelacy at comcast.net) >
>Sent: Apr 16, 2014  8:07 PM
>To: _OATAG at yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:OATAG at yahoogroups.com) , 
"_XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com) " <_XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:XL-PDX at yahoogroups.com) >, _Tagfam at listserv.icors.org_ 
(mailto:Tagfam at listserv.icors.org) , _Ohiogift at lists.service.ohio-state.edu_ 
(mailto: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_ (tel:216-523-7296) 
_s.rakow at csuohio.edu_ (mailto: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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