Thursday, October 14, 2010
Research Paper Issue
Ah, the ever-beloved research paper. Luckily for me, I have found a topic to write on that I'm actually interested in. It's not actually about the media, but it was approved and I'm excited about it! My question is actually twofold: how gifted and talented children in the U.S. are being taught and how experts think they SHOULD be taught. I'm pretty set on this topic, but I am definitely open to insights from anyone. Did any of you have programs for the gifted and talented at your elementary and junior high schools? What do you think qualifies as gifted and talented? Do you think enough attention and resources are making it to gifted and talented students? How do you think they should be taught differently than other students, if at all? I'd love to hear any opinions!
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My school did have that type of a program from about 4th grade until 8th. To get in, you had to meet some unwritten requirement that I think was a combination of being recommended and having good grades. Once you were in, you were automatically in the following year, until you did something that warrant getting kicked out.
ReplyDeleteSo my opinion of the program in my district was that it was extremely flawed because I was told a few years later that I should have qualified to be in it, but i never was. It also created a clique of sorts. Oddly enough, about half of the people that were in that program through 8th grade, did worse than people that weren't once high school hit.
I have two little sisters that took accelerated classes and it has helped them quite a bit. Also, I know that they had to take a test and if they scored well enough, they were allowed to get in the program.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do have some problems with it. First, I can see how emotionally damaging it can be on a child who tried to get to the program, but didn't test high enough. Especially if they had friends that did get into the program. Also, there are many clicks that come out of these programs.
I can make a connection here to sports. When you see a team playing you can pick out the great from the good, and when you do (pick them out) look how the coach treats each one differently. To be great you have to be pushed the hardest.
ReplyDeleteI've read a paper about how we can not give accomplishments to people, specifically kids, just based on their talents. That will do nothing but hurt them. The best way to nourish is to encourage their work ethic.
Also I went to public schools until 9th grade. Then I went to a private/charter school. My high school career was so much better because they knew how to push us and make our gifts and talents so much more useful to us personally. So I guess the use of programs depends on the parents placement of the child. Such as in an excelled school.
One of my schools had a gifted program, and the other didn't. I can tell you I had much more fun at the gifted one! You might want to look at the effects of gifted people surrounded by other gifted children, vs non-gifted (regular? that sounds rude) children. I would assume gifted kids, when together, stimulate each others gifted abilities, whereas gifted kids with regular kids may feel odd or out of place and not be themselves.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all the comments! I agree that there are often social issues with gifted and talented students/programs. Part of my research will deal with how experts think the kids should be enriched socially as well as academically. It will be interesting to see what I can find.
ReplyDeleteMy elementary school did, and they way you were tested for qualification was by being shown various pictures and identifying them. It seemed like a bit of a joke to me at the time. This is a really interesting topic though! It would be interesting to see the development of children that were in these programs from elementary to college, and if there is any change from regular students. Good topic!
ReplyDeleteOne key word to include would be "magnet schools." My daughter was involved in one---she loved it but the kids in the neighborhood resented her because she wasn't at the local school. We actually threw a birthday party for each girl in the neighborhood that year---just to keep her connected.
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of magnet schools . . . I'll definitely have to do some research on that!
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ReplyDeleteAn ordinary elementary school near my house was turned into a 'gifted and talented' school, and all the students who didn't test out as 'gifted and talented' were bundled off to other schools. Many children tested well enough to stay, but chose to go so they could be with their friends. I'd be interested to know the effect of such programs on children's social interactions. I would also like to know what effect such programs have on a child's self-esteem--telling a child they are 'gifted and talented,' or that they're not. I'd like to hear the results! :)
ReplyDeleteMy school had a gifted program, but it wasn't as extensive as some are. We had maybe one or two classes where we were taken out of class to go to a gifted class. I have no idea how I got in.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if my high school had anything like it (I think they did, but it wasn't well-known and you had to have been in the program already to get in) but we did have a ton of honors courses. Basically every class in the core subjects had an honors counterpart, and you could get into them if you passed a test or got recommended. There was also an accelerated math and science track, which simply put you in the year ahead of you. You also had to take a test for that. I kinda liked that method, since it didn't separate kids, it simply changed who their peers were.
This topic is really interesting, and I think you could find a lot of research about the controversies around it. A reservation I have is if there are scholarly journals about this. I would think there would be, but if the program is not very old, you might have difficulty finding some. One place to look for research, timeline-wise, would be when a program is first getting implemented.
i think this is a great idea i do know there it will take a lot of research but a great idea. Good Job
ReplyDeleteYou are not really addressing to different viewpoints here. Just saying how they are being taught doesn't give any insight to the topic, just that this is how it is done. Try researching how the different ways of teaching them are greater than the other, and what significant improvements or handicaps they have towards the kids. Also, talk about the different perspectives that the experts have to teaching them. Some sources that would help you in the researching process would be case studies and their results.
ReplyDeleteBassoon Dude: I agree that just talking about how they ARE being taught is not enough. That's why, if you noticed, the second part of my question is how experts think they SHOULD be taught.
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