Thank you for your help with the other questions that I posted. I have one question that I need to get advice or insight from my colleagues. Do you feel that we have made progress or great strides in the area of gifted education? Why or why not? I have to compile results in a paper for grad school. Thanks!
As a matter of fact, I feel with NCLB we've gone backward. As I stated elsewhere, I've been doing this for 12 years now. When I first started teaching in our gifted program, it was an exceptional program. Many surrounding districts were envious of the fact that we still had a self-contained program, and parents were excited to have their child be a part of it. With the students in a self-contained class with a GT teacher, their needs were truly being met.
Then someone got the idea that we didn't need that anymore. I've heard two "reasons" as to why. One, from the principal we had at the time, said that it was a financial issue. We bussed third-sixth students from the other three elementary schools to ours in a "magnet" type program. The district decided to build a fifth/sixth grade school and it was supposedly not "financially feasible" to continue busing just two grade levels. (The other was that the state said we shouldn't ability group, but I don't believe that because other schools still are!) So, they decided K-4 (rather than K-2) would be a pullout. There was ONE teacher assigned to all four campuses, four grades per campus.. ... not sure how they thought ONE person was going to handle all that! The students BARELY got an hour a week of "enrichment."
Last year, they decided it wasn't working.. students weren't getting enough "GT time." So, we've now changed to a one day per week pullout, and they are bussed one day per week to my campus (not sure how this is MORE financially feasible than before.. but, ok). The other four days, students are in the classroom doing the same thing every other student is doing (so basically, they're gifted one day a week... ). This year I'm going to be working with teachers to "teach them how to differentiate in the classroom."
The students are clustered into one or two classrooms on their home campus, so they at least are with peers during the day as well, but the teachers aren't trained as to what to do with them. We FINALLY have two principals with gifted training, and on those campuses, the teachers are getting better... the principals see the importance. The other two campuses, it's a constant struggle to get them to understand they don't all have to be on the same page doing the same thing!
The basic concern in our state, as is the case in most with NCLB, is state testing. And if they can pass the test, no one is really concerned about what they're doing the rest of the time. (This was one reason why being self-contained worked for me... no one was constantly worrying you about "benchmark scores" and you could actually TEACH). There's also the "if they get finished they'll find something else to do" attitude, rather than giving them challenging assignments in the first place.
Lastly, staffing. In our district we are FINALLY requiring teachers who have the students clustered in their class to have GT training.. however, no one is requiring them to show differentiation at this point. That's still more or less "optional." I am the ONLY elementary GT instructor we have (for pullout/enrichment). I serve four campuses K-4, Monday through Thursday. On Friday I have "coordinator" duties - testing, planning district events, helping teachers with differentiation, etc. It is getting to the point where one person can not do it all. We are going to move to Saturday testing this year. This is EASILY a two person job... would be better served by having an "enrichment specialist" on each campus!
I just finished reading Genius Denied. If you've not read it, I would suggest reading it. I found it most enlightening.
I feel that progress is being made. I think everyone in this field needs to continue to push for more legislation. I'm in grad school also, but I'm finishing my endorsement for gifted in another month. Just from my experience as a regular classroom teacher, seeing how the program works in my district, and from the classes I've already taken, I think more could be done for gifted students. I read an article somewhere about "Does No Child Left Behind Mean No Child Gets Ahead?", or something to that effect. I'm all for helping students who need help, but I think we should also help our gifted students be all that they can be too. By the way, are you getting a master's in gifted? I'm just curious what state you're from and how their program is set up to get certified in gifted education. I'm from Misssissipp, and right now there are four courses you have to take, at least at the university I'm attending, but I've heard it's changing this fall and new people in the program will also have to have a certain number of "practicum" hours under the supervision of a gifted teacher.
Not working on my masters at the moment, but I am considering going back and getting it in Gifted Ed... have to get my child through hers first.. ... the joys of being a single mom..
Anyway... in Texas, in order to teach GT students you have to have 30 clock hours of GT training - 6 hours of Identification and Assessment; 6 hours of Nature and Needs of Gifted Children; and 18 hours of Differentiation/Curriculum - then you have to have 6 clock hours of "update" each school year. There's nothing on your certificate to show this, you just have to keep up with all the documentation so you have it. In addition, if you wanted the credentials on your certificate, you had to take the four GT courses the state required, and be "recommended by the university" for endorsement. However, you STILL had to do the 30/6 thing, even with an endorsement... so very few bothered to get it.
Two years ago, they created a TExES (or how ever it's spelled) test (state teacher certification tests) for Gifted Supplemental Endorsement. Basically, you can take the test and bypass the course work. So, with 11 years of experience, I figured I could pass this test.. so I took the test to have the endorsement on my teaching certificate. Again, though, even with the certification you have to have the 30/6 thing so few teachers bother.
Most certificates, after the initial one, we can just test for if we feel we can pass... I took my GT, ESL and Technology Applications all that way... and passed them with no problem. I think much of it has to do with classroom experience and background knowledge. For once experience paid off..
"A Nation Deceived" which is available in pdf format online. Read some of it online.
"We" have not made much progress. I talk to Mensans and the gifted and parents of the gifted. Gifted education is virtually non-existent. Public schools generally still view it as elitist, and often do it poorly, sadly.
Best bets for the gifted: homeschooling, private schools, and after-school/summer programs, advanced college placement, IMHO.
Thanks for the responses. I am from Georgia- I teach 5th grade social studies and language arts. I am working on the gifted endorsement which is a set of 3 classes on identifying talents, developing and assessing the g/t, curriculum for the g/t, and then 1 more class is required for a total of 4 (Tests and Measurement). After that the paperwork is filed with the state department and they add the endorsement to the certificate. I have 5 gifted students in my class this past year and a lot of high achieving students who probably tested into the GT program for 6th grade this past spring. I have only 1 year experience working with these students, and I appreciate all the comments and advice that ya'll have posted.
I will be taking the GT test in a few weeks. I am certified in both TX and AR. I have been teaching for several years. AR requires certification and will accept TX. I just want to test out. Do you have any suggestions on what to focus on for the test. I did fine on the study guide but that was not much info.
No. I think its sad that gifted is now just a pullout program, at least where I work it is (Texas). When I was young and in gifted, I got to get pulled out of my SCHOOL, and went to another school where I was in gifted classes full time, with teachers who were completely trained in gifted education, and other students who were gifted. All day,every day, all year, for several years. It was this elite program I was in, and it was INCREDIBLE... the group of us had these amazing experiences that I will never forget. The program started at 3rd grade and went on until district changes started happening when we were in 9th grade and broke us up and changed the program. I happened to move out of state in the middle of that year too, which I didn't mind so much, since our classes and teachers had already been broken up. But while it lasted, it was just this magical thing. To have teachers trained in gifted education, and to be around other gifted kids all the time, was so cool. It didn't matter that we were in 5th grade, we could work on algebra or geometry or chemistry if that's what level we were on. We did research projects, all kinds of cool things. I still miss it.
Gifted classes as 1 hour pull out programs have NOTHING on it today.
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07-02-2007, 09:04 AM
... not sure how they thought ONE person was going to handle all that! The students BARELY got an hour a week of "enrichment." 
). This year I'm going to be working with teachers to "teach them how to differentiate in the classroom."
