Is Gifted Education Elitist?
Tuesday March 6, 2007
Gifted education is often accused of being elitist, as are those who support it. What is it about gifted education that makes people see it as elitist? What seems to bother people the most about gifted education is simply that it's not for everyone. It is only for those children who are identified as gifted. Singling out some children as gifted seems unfair or just plain wrong to some people. These days it doesn't seem to be enough to try to provide equal opportunities; we now have to have absolute equality. All children are equal. All children are the same. All children are gifted.
Michael Thompson wrote a response to the "All Children are Gifted Comment," in which he eloquently defends the idea that some children have advanced cognitive abilities that require special academic accommodations. Dr. Jim Delisle, in his article "In Praise of Elitism," goes a step beyond that and embraces the title of elitist. He embraces it because he believes in "the sanctity of human differences" and one of those differences is a difference in intellectual ability and that difference requires different treatment.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "There is nothing as inherently unequal as the equal treatment of unequals." What would he think about the view that all children are gifted? That gifted education is elitist? He would probably think that treating gifted children as though their needs were no different from those of other children is inherently unequal.
What do you think? Take the poll and let us know.
Poll: Is Gifted Education Elitist?
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Michael Thompson wrote a response to the "All Children are Gifted Comment," in which he eloquently defends the idea that some children have advanced cognitive abilities that require special academic accommodations. Dr. Jim Delisle, in his article "In Praise of Elitism," goes a step beyond that and embraces the title of elitist. He embraces it because he believes in "the sanctity of human differences" and one of those differences is a difference in intellectual ability and that difference requires different treatment.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "There is nothing as inherently unequal as the equal treatment of unequals." What would he think about the view that all children are gifted? That gifted education is elitist? He would probably think that treating gifted children as though their needs were no different from those of other children is inherently unequal.
What do you think? Take the poll and let us know.
Poll: Is Gifted Education Elitist?
View Results
More polls from your guide
Comments
I think that gifted education is somewhat elitist, but should be. My son was bored out of his mind in his regular class, and only started making improvements in class after starting the gifted class. Some children need this.
Comon, you have this poll up on a site that only people looking for info on gifted kids because they either have one or think their kid may be gifted… of course most are going to say it’s not elitist!
What’s sad is that kids in gifted programs get all the good stuff - better teachers, better supplies, better everything, but the ordinary kids - the ones who aren’t so fortunate - get average everything. It’s a shame.
If you truly understand what it means to be gifted, meaning that you have experienced the good and the bad that comes with it; it is very clear that gifted education isn’t elitist at all. It is education for kids who interact with this world in a very different way. I feel sorry for kids who get stuck in GATE class because their PTA moms insisted on it…
I think a well crafted gifted program is absolutely essential for ensuring equal opportunity. Upper middle-class white children will probably always have access to costly enrichment programs after school and in the summer. Children from families that cannot afford such extras will be left to drown in boredom and be at a greater risk for dropping out.
The gifted pull-outs are political cop-outs. They offer fun ‘games’ that the other kids don’t get to do and that fosters the elitist image. If a kid is gifted they are gifted every day, all day. They need to group children more by ability (with groups being fluid and ofter reassessed) in order for all the kids to prosper. The fun enrichment games would be great for all the kids.
I’m sorry, but it’s not elitist and here’s why.
When I was in school, I was gifted, but never thought of myself as smart at all. This is because I never listened to my teachers and instead daydreamed out the window in classses like science and 9th grade geometry. I never ever listened, and I felt that I had trouble learning things. I didn’t like learning or school. It was so boring. I always asked one of my friends what the “assignment was” after class because I wasn’t listening. Then I’d learn to do it it in two minutes, really quickly to get it over with. I didn’t worry about making good grades and always got B’s. I also did not want to go to college. I thought of it as more boredom I’d have to endure, just like shcool, and a waste of my time to take the same classes over again that I’d already taken in highschool.
As an adult, I realize I was gifted. I remember comparing my test scores in the 6th grade to two friends who were in gifted programs, and mine were 99th percentile for math, and 97th reading. I also had a gifted brother and sister who attended gifted programs, but I didn’t becuase I didn’t want to ride a bus to another school and leave my friends. I’ve taken IQ tests and they’re always about 133, sometimes a little higher, but they’ve never been official tests.
So, gifted programs are NOT elitest. Gifted children really suffer the consequence of school systems that are not set up for their learning. To try and explain it to a person who is not considered “gifted”, try and imagine sitting in a class as an adult, and having someone explain to you in step by step intructions for an entire hour, how to add 2+2=4 and many other easy addition problems, and see if you can pay attention, or think the class is worth your time. I don’t want the same thing to happen to my son, but it’s out of my control. Schools just aren’t set up right.
I do not think gifted programs are elitist. If they are set up properly they are providing for a need. With “no child left behind” children who struggle are given extra help and “considerations” while a child like my son is left feeling like an outcast. I actually had to write a note to the teacher this week that explained my son does his homework by himself. He said the teacher told him there was no way he could really spell words like “responsible” by himself. He felt like he did something wrong and that she was upset with him for being capable. That night on his homework I noticed he mispelled many words on purpose. He has also started bringing home math work with no-brainer mistakes. He feels like he is not living up to his teachers expectations so he is purposly making mistakes. He has low self-esteem and is not accepted by his peers or teachers. A program that would HELP him would not be elitist but necessary. Why would he not deserve that? He sure doesn’t deserve what he is getting now. Neither him nor I think he is any better than anyone else, just different. We celebrate those differences and teach him to be tolerant of all people even though he is not getting the same respect.