Identifying Young Einsteins
by Marie Capurro, M.Ed.
For most students, school provides an
opportunity to learn. Unfortunately, this is not
true for all students, particularly the gifted and
talented. Although gifted and talented students have
great potential to make positive contributions both
as children and as adults, educators and policy-makers
often fail to recognize that for genius to thrive,
it must be nurtured.
It is a fact that
gifted students not only think and learn differently,
but also have in-depth
knowledge of many subject areas. Most gifted students
are years ahead of the curriculum they face in school,
meaning they often are stuck sitting through class
after class covering information they already know.
What an awful waste of time and potential! All children
in America should have access to an education appropriate
to their abilities, whether they are struggling or
achieving. As it is now, we are failing our
most gifted students, and the numbers prove it.
Research indicates that more than 10
percent of high school dropouts test in the gifted
range. Due to the lack of a federal mandate, only
29 states require that schools identify gifted students.
Fewer still mandate gifted education, and those programs
are facing draconian cuts. At the federal level only
$11 million was allocated to gifted education last
year, while $32 million was spent promoting the new
$20 bill!
Recognition of genius
is the first step toward meeting the needs of our
nation's brightest
young people. The Davidson Institute–a nonprofit
organization that supports profoundly intelligent
young people and their families with free services–urges
teachers and parents to be on the lookout for these
common characteristics of highly intelligent young
people: an extreme need for constant mental stimulation,
an ability to rapidly learn and process complex information,
an insatiable curiosity; endless questions and inquiries
about how things work, a need to explore subjects
in surprising depth; to understand the why and how,
as well as the what, boredom in school, which may
be expressed through impatient or disruptive behavior,
an ability to focus intently on a subject of interest
for long periods of time, a need for precision in
thinking and expression. Answering questions with
"that depends..." is a clue that the child may be
very
intelligent, a propensity toward underachievement,
especially among adolescent girls trying to "fit
in."
Identification is the first step in
providing bright children with an appropriate education.
Students who demonstrate these traits should be offered
educational opportunities commensurate with their
abilities. Assessment of both their intellectual
capacity and their academic achievement also would
be appropriate in many cases. Students who are not
challenged can become bored and often become underachievers.
If we are truly a country that cares
about its most valuable asset, we will see to it
that all children are encouraged to develop their
gifts and talents, whether on the ball field, on
the stage or in the classroom.#
Marie Capurro,
M.Ed. is Director of Programs & Services,
Davidson Institute. For more information contact
the Davidson Institute
(www.davidson-institute.org)