Unverified rumors floating around indicate that there is some thought being given to amending 2261 to eliminate some programs, including HCP, from the definition of basic education. We must hold on to our place in basic education. Without it, there is little hope for continuation of state funding for HCP and without state funding, there go the district programs.
So, the foremost necessity is to educate legislators about the need for appropriate educational opportunities for children of high potential.
We have been asked for a rational for appropriate services for children of high potential. The following is quoted from Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing our Nation’s Human Capital, Introduction, page 5-6, The National Science Board. The complete report can be downloaded at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/stem/
“The U.S. education system too frequently fails to identify and develop our most talented and motivated students who will become the next generation of innovators. Whether this group of students has access to appropriate resources seems to be an accident of birth—whether they are a part of a supportive and knowledgeable family or are residing in a community that has programs and opportunities available to them. There are students in every demographic and in every school district in the United States with enormous potential to become our future leaders and to define the leading edge of scientific discovery and technological innovation. Some of our Nation’s most talented students—perhaps through sheer individual will, good fortune, and circumstance—rise through the educational system and become leading contributors to the scientific workforce. Regrettably, far too many of our most able students are neither discovered nor developed … The possibility of reaching one’s potential should not be met with ambivalence, left to chance, or limited to those with financial means. Rather, the opportunity for excellence is a fundamental American value and should be afforded to all.
“Although many past and current educational reforms have focused on the vital goal of raising the general performance of all students, far fewer have focused on raising the ceiling of achievement for our Nation’s most talented and motivated students. The Board asserts that educational opportunity is not a zero-sum game: true equity means we must address the needs of all students. Mutually reinforcing results can be realized when we improve general educational performance as well as identify and stimulate potential leaders whose creativity and ideas can benefit all. The critical goal of increasing general scientific literacy does not compete with, but rather complements, today’s renewed clarion call for excellence.”
What does a basic education look like for a Highly Capable student? Here are two different approaches to an answer to this question. Choose the one you are most comfortable with.
The Recommendations of the Highly Capable Program Technical Working Group state on page 4:
“What Constitutes a Basic Education Program for Highly Capable Students?
“The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has been at the forefront of developing national standards for HCPSs’ education. They note that: While gifted students do have an extraordinary level of potential and ability, their high aptitude for learning can easily go to waste if it is not fostered properly. The facts clearly show that gifted students need teachers who will challenge them. According to a 1991 study, it found that between 18 and 25 percent of gifted and talented students drop out of school. Gifted dropouts were generally from a lower socio-economic status family and had little or no access to extracurricular activities, hobbies, or technology.
“NAGC further notes: All children have strengths and positive attributes, but not all children are gifted in the educational sense of the word. The label “gifted” in a school setting means that when compared to others his or her age or grade, a child has an advanced capacity to learn and apply what is learned in one or more subject areas, or in the performing or fine arts. This advanced capacity requires modifications to the regular curriculum to ensure these children are challenged and learn new material. Gifted does not connote good or better; it is a term that allows students to be identified for services that meet their unique learning needs.
“Finally from NAGC: Gifted education programs are meant to help all high-ability students. Gifted learners are found in all cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and socio- economic groups. However, many of these students are denied the opportunity to maximize their potential because of the way in which programs and services are funded and/or flawed identification practices. For example, reliance on a single test score for gifted education services may exclude selection of students with different cultural experiences and opportunities. Additionally, with no federal money and few states providing an adequate funding stream, most gifted education programs and services are dependent solely on local funds. This means that in spite of the need, often only higher- income school districts are able to provide services, giving the appearance of elitism.”
In a second approach, the National Association for Gifted Children states:
“NAGC supports the provision of appropriate quality educational experiences for all students across the spectrum of ability, background, and achievement. The learning needs of gifted students often differ from those of other students and should be addressed through differentiation, a modification of curriculum and instruction based on the assessed achievement and interests of individual students.
To provide appropriate and challenging educational experiences for gifted students, differentiation may include:
− acceleration of instruction;
− in-depth study;
− a high degree of complexity;
− advanced content; and/or
− variety in content and form
“Problems occur when teachers attempt to meet the needs of gifted students by limiting learning experiences to:
− offering more of the same level of material or the same kind of problem;
− providing either enrichment or acceleration alone;
− focusing only on cognitive growth in isolation from affective, physical, or intuitive growth;
− teaching higher thinking skills (e.g. research or criticism) in isolation from academic content;
− presenting additional work that is just different from the core curriculum; and/or
− grouping with intellectual peers without differentiating content and instruction.
“Differentiation for gifted students consists of carefully planned, coordinated learning experiences that extend beyond the core curriculum to meet the specific learning needs evidenced by the student. It combines the curricular strategies of enrichment and acceleration and provides flexibility and diversity. Appropriate differentiation allows for increasing levels of advanced, abstract, and complex curriculum that are substantive and that respond to the learner’s needs. NAGC believes that the use of such differentiation is essential to maximize the educational experience for gifted and talented students. NAGC further believes that appropriate educational experiences for these students are more effective when differentiated materials and activities are planned in advance and easily accessible.”
For short messages to use with legislators, take a look at the material from NAGC that is included in Part 2: Spotlights of the Gifted Education Day Handbook 2013. For longer messages, see Part 3: Myths & Facts.
Please join us in Olympia on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, for Gifted Education Day in Washington. Program begins at 9:00 am in the Columbia Room of the Legislative Building. If you can’t make it to Olympia, please make every effort to contact your Legislators on the 19th to deliver your message. Join us in protecting HCP’s position in basic education!
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