Bill of Rights for Gifted Students
1. Gifted children have a right to know about their giftedness. Educators and parents are often reluctant to talk with children about their giftedness. Gifted children have a right to know why they were identified and what being gifted means.
2. Gifted children have a right to learn something new every day. Research has shown that gifted students spend up to 80% of their time in classrooms doing exactly what everyone else is doing. For students who are academically advanced, this results in a tremendous loss of learning opportunities.
3. Gifted children have a right to be passionate about their talent area without apologies. Developing a talent requires endless hours to reach expertise (Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours!) Although a minimal level of knowledge about a variety of topics in life is useful, children who show a strong interest in an area should be encouraged to pursue that interest.
4. Gifted children have a right to have an identity beyond their talent area. In the early years and during adolescence, gifted children are not only developing their talents, they are also developing their sense of self.
5. Gifted children have a right to feel good about their accomplishments. Children should be able to feel good about performing well and about the effort and dedication they put forth that are necessary to excel, which leads to a healthy sense of pride.
6. Gifted children have a right to make mistakes. Perfectionism can be a problem for any gifted child, so it is important to take healthy risks in pursuit of developing one's talents. Mistakes are part of the learning process, and gifted individuals experience a variety of successes and failures as they strive for excellence.
7. Gifted children have a right to seek guidance in the development of their talent. Talent does not flourish in isolation. It needs to be assisted and nurtured by those with advanced skills and experience. This often requires the assistance of expertise outside traditional education venues.
8. Gifted children have a right to have multiple peer groups and a variety of friends. Gifted children may have trouble finding same-age peers who share their interests and passions. Therefore, they often have a variety of peer groups, some based on a similar age, others based on interest or intellectual development.
9. Gifted children have a right to choose which of their talent areas they wish to pursue. Just as gifted children have the right to pursue those talent areas that interest them, they also have a right not to pursue every area in which they excel. Gifted children may exhibit interests in a variety of areas and derive great pleasure from participating in them, but the time and effort necessary to develop high levels of expertise usually necessitates focusing on one area.
10. Gifted children have a right not to be gifted at everything. Many gifted children may excel in one area, but be average, or even below average, in another area. Albert Einstein's passion for mathematics and physics certainly overshadowed his skills in other areas, but those areas in which he did not excel were insignificant compared with what he accomplished in his chosen field. We want to empower growth in all areas to focus on the education of the whole child, but gifted children have a right not to be gifted at everything.
[Davis, G.A., Rimm, S.B., & Siegle, D. *2011). Education of the gifted and talented. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.]
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Myths about Gifted and Talented Education
Click to watch the Top 10 Myths about Gifted Education as performed by high school students.
Myth #1
Q: Isn't gifted education elitist?
A: Gifted education only provides appropriate education for children who need a special challenge. These children come from all neighborhoods and economic backgrounds. Children from poor families often need GT education the most because their families are unable to provide enrichment opportunities for them. If we are to keep our country a place where people can achieve, regardless of their economic background, we need gifted education to help us.
Myth #2
Q: We have special programs for the low-ability child and the high-ability child - but what about the average child?
A: Most educational programs are geared to the needs of the average child. In a real sense, most money is now spent on the average child. We agree that the average child should never be shortchanged in the educational process, but neither should the gifted child.
Myth #3
Q: Aren't all children really gifted? So, don't we need to provide for all their gifts?
A: In a sense yes, all children do have special gifts and talents. Some may play basketball or soccer well; others have marvelous personal charm. The purpose of a gifted and talented program is to help develop students' strong academic and creative needs that are not met in the regular educational program. For example, a math whiz in the regular classroom is rarely provided with advanced math instruction. Young creative writers or poets do not have special opportunities to help develop their unique talents. These students may be bored, and their talents are not challenged or strengthened. When we find special gifts and talents, we must provide opportunities to develop them.
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[Davis, G.A., Rimm, S.B., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the gifted and talented. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.]