"Gifted" status... is it too common and why does it matter?

[kdibattista]

It seems like I have been seeing tons of threads on "gifted children" and it seems that there are far more gifted people these days (not that there's anything wrong with that) then ever before. Should we rethink the bar... maybe it's become too easy to be declared gifted?

Or... does it really matter? In the grand scheme of things. I think we can all agree that there are plenty of underachieving "gifted" people and overachieving "average" people so why is that number so important and what difference does it make?

Not trying to start a debate or insult anyone... just curious.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I personally don't think it matters if you are label gifted or not. This proves nothing about what you will be like as an adult. I know kids who were gifted who have minimum wage jobs and then you have people who dropped out of school and own companies. I think the gifted label is for the parents.

 

[jekajekalynn]

I personally don't think it matters if you are label gifted or not. This proves nothing about what you will be like as an adult. I know kids who were gifted who have minimum wage jobs and then you have people who dropped out of school and own companies. I think the gifted label is for the parents.

I agree. I mean, more power to those with GT kids (gifted and talented). I really don't like that label anyways... (ahem... labels are for soup cans not for kids) I used to be trully ticked as I child because while in 1st grade and I could read at a middle school level, but I still wasn't so called gifted enough to be in GT. Which I didn't quite get that program anyways because I was a straight A student, and I knew quite a few kids in that program who were flunking basic classes..

 

[grlpwrd]

Ouch.

I have 3 dd's who are classified as gifted and I don't believe they are just labels for the parents. Our school district gives all kids logic and IQ tests and you need to score high in order to qualify for gifted services. This is where I have a personal issue. I think all kids should receive gifted services to keep them challenged no matter what the scores one receives from tests.

I think part of the "gifted" classification is to keep kids who display certain qualities and intellect challenged and not fall thru the cracks, so to speak. It's not a secret that American kids rate lower educationally compared to our international counterparts.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I don't think that the gifted label really matters. I have 4 children. The first two got the g/t label. My oldest did well in school, not super wonderful, but well enough to get a small scholarship for college. My 2nd child is barely making honor roll (and sometimes doesn't). He is very smart, but it's hard for him to apply himself in the classes that he has to take. He doesn't stand out as g/t, that is for sure. My 3rd child never got the g/t label even though we had him tested every year in elem school. He's not in 7th grade and is in mostly g/t classes, along with algebra. He's young for his grade (turned 12yo this fall), but is getting very good grades--usually all A's except for one B and he sometimes gets all A's. Of my 3 older kids, he stands out as the g/t kid even though technically he isn't. But he's still in the same classes that he would have been with the label. He never wanted to go to a magnet school, so maybe not having the g/t label would have made it harder if he had of tried out for the magnet school. The jury is out on my youngest child--he's only in kindergarten.

 

[jgmklmhem]

I will preface this by saying I was in the gifted program and later IB as a kid. I think in many ways it does make a difference because at least at my school the gifted classes were more challenging than the regular classes (based on comparisons of work with friends and such). I also remember to get in you had to have an IQ of X...I do not remember the number though 135 maybe. Whereas I do not think it proves where you will go in life I do think it matters in that for the most part the classes (at least in my area) kept the gifted kids challenged which hopefully instilled more love for learning vesus being in a class they could blow through without trying and getting bored. By the way I subjected myself to 4 years of college and another 5 of grad-school so I must have learned that love.

 

[punkin]

I don't think that the gifted label really matters. I have 4 children. The first two got the g/t label. My oldest did well in school, not super wonderful, but well enough to get a small scholarship for college. My 2nd child is barely making honor roll (and sometimes doesn't). He is very smart, but it's hard for him to apply himself in the classes that he has to take. He doesn't stand out as g/t, that is for sure. My 3rd child never got the g/t label even though we had him tested every year in elem school. He's not in 7th grade and is in mostly g/t classes, along with algebra. He's young for his grade (turned 12yo this fall), but is getting very good grades--usually all A's except for one B and he sometimes gets all A's. Of my 3 older kids, he stands out as the g/t kid even though technically he isn't. But he's still in the same classes that he would have been with the label. He never wanted to go to a magnet school, so maybe not having the g/t label would have made it harder if he had of tried out for the magnet school. The jury is out on my youngest child--he's only in kindergarten.

G&T has nothing to do with your grades. If it is measured by IQ, it only tests cognitive ABILITY, not what you actually do with that ability, which is waht grades are.

 

[kdibattista]

have 3 dd's who are classified as gifted and I don't believe they are just labels for the parents. Our school district gives all kids logic and IQ tests and you need to score high in order to qualify for gifted services.

But it seems everyone and their great aunt are "gifted" these days... maybe the tests aren't as difficult as they should be.

 

[minkydog]

But it seems everyone and their great aunt are "gifted" these days... maybe the tests aren't as difficult as they should be.

This is something called the Lake Woebegone effect--"where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are all above average."

http://www.wordspy.com/words/LakeWobegoneffect.asp

 

[Tigger&Belle]

G&T has nothing to do with your grades. If it is measured by IQ, it only tests cognitive ABILITY, not what you actually do with that ability, which is waht grades are.

Exactly, and my 2 kids with the g/t label (especially my older son) have never done as well as my son without the label. And the younger child is in classes that are at least as difficult as his siblings, if not more so. He's in algebra as a 7th grader, while they didn't have it until 8th grade. AND, he's doing the work without ANY parental or teacher help and my older kids needed nightly help.

But one thing about the g/t test--if a person either does not test well or does not do well on the things that they test, the results are skewed.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD is in GT classes. Do I think she is 'gifted', No. I would prefer they call these classes excelerated or AP or something else.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Or... does it really matter? In the grand scheme of things. I think we can all agree that there are plenty of underachieving "gifted" people and overachieving "average" people so why is that number so important and what difference does it make?

Not trying to start a debate or insult anyone... just curious.

Well in the "grand scheme" of school it matters. My dd was tested for the "gifted" program and didn't make it, even though she is very smart.

It matters due to the "schooling path". You get put in honors classes automatically.
Honors classes will get you into the top 10% of the graduating class in HS. ONLY kids that are in "honors" will be the ones in the top 5%.
So if you are looking at colleges that include what % you graduated in you have to have been on "honors classes".

Now I think my dd will make it to "honors classes" in middle school without the gifted program. I hope so. She thinks she will. She is only in 3rd grade but has very high expectations of herself academically. It is who she is.

She understands all the material in class, gets 100% most of the time, and writes beautifully (she has a strong talent there). Her weakness is in her "time". She cannot do things quickly.

I don't know....I am interested to see what happens with her.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

It was a hugely overblown deal when my kids were in public school.

My kid's are in Private School now and they do not do Gifted. They do Honor's Level work and the school doesn't care what your IQ is - if you want to be in the Honors Classes, learn the material, and do well, then you take the Higher Level Classes.

They also don't consider it the responsibility of the school to "challenge" anybody to make them get good grades. Grades are the responsibility of the student and if you are getting a C- in one class, they aren't going to let you take something harder or different until you have proved you have earned the right.

They do have some kids in lower classes (5th and 6th grades) who go up to the Jr. High and take their Math classes. My 6th grader stays in his classroom for Math work, but he is working out of the Saxon Math 7 grade book. There is a 7th Grader in my Sophomore's Math class. If the kids "run out" of high school level classes, they will arrange with the local Jr. College more advanced work.

 

[CEDmom]

I believe it all has to do with getting state/federal aid and grants. I'm sure there are pools of $ for G&T programs so each school or district creates guidelines for determining who's G&T and who isn't. There's no state/federal measurements. As far as testing kids that may be true for the upper grades but not all grades. There's help for those at the opposite end of the spectrum. I really feel for those kids who are designed average/solid students (I was one of those) because they are truely the ones being left behind.

For what it's worth, my DD (much to our surprise) was put in the G&T program for 1st graders. What that means is she has an extra special each week. They're learning how things are made. I don't really see the point of the program at this young an age.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Well, I do think the label does get overused sometimes. In our school district, certain kids are put in the gifted program, based on test scores, grades, and teacher recommendations, but they don't actually test for giftedness until fourth grade. Most "gifted" kids don't then score high enough for the special class. You're tested against kids 4 grades up, and have to beat out 70% in verbal, 50% in math.

In our house, we know the kids are gifted, even though only DD10 actually took (and passed) the above test. But ironically in her case, she tested better verbally, but couldn't care less--she wants to study math and science, which she's weaker in. Oh, well. DS8 was tested in reading at the beginning of Kindergarten--he got 95% at a sixth grade level at that time. But, he couldn't care less about any gifted programs, and I could see him "throwing" the above test when it's time to take it, just because he doesn't care. So, I look at giftedness as one more tool in the toolbax, when it comes to getting ahead in life, but certainly not the only one, and no guarantee of anything. And if anyone has a recipe to "cure" apathetic kids, please, send it my way!

 

[Disney Doll]

If everyone is gifted, then gifted becomes average.

I htink that there is much too much emphasis on gifted and I think a lot of it is for the sake of the parents, who then have the ability to say "Oh yes, my child is gifted".

That being said, I do think it's good if schools can offer different levels of class difficulty, because some kids can function to a higher level academically than others, and should receive the credit for that higher function.

These days, though, everyone you talk to has kids in the "gifted" program, and when I meet the kids, I think "This is what gifted is today?"

 

[Sandcass]

My kids are both gifted, and the label means nothing to me, but it does mean that they get to work at a faster pace at school. That's very important because if they were in the average classes they would be very bored. They are both very bright, take school very seriously, and love to learn. My 5th grade daughter is doing algebra & geometry. My 2nd grade son reads at a middle school level. Of course, we have always challenged them at home also. They would be reading at the right level no matter what the school gave them because they love to read, but I like that they can move faster in math because they have been "labeled" (I like using the word "identified" better myself) as gifted.

I don't think they're over-using the term tho. In my school there are about 12 5th grade classes, 2 of them are gifted math, with one of those classes moving even faster than the other. So this keeps every kids moving at the right speed. My kids don't want to sit thru the same lesson for a week while the average students learn it, when they can learn it in a day.

BTW ~ my kids get their brains from their daddy!! I was a VERY average student. My high school plan was "do whatever it takes to get out of here".

Edit to add : We also teach our kids that being identified as "gifted" doesn't make them all that "special". There are kids in their classes that are HORRIBLY rotten about it, talking down to the other students, bragging & stuff. Our kids know that it's kinda a burden, more is expected of them and their work is harder. And they would rather help another student who's struggling than demean them because of it. My DS learns so easy, that sometimes school does still bore him, and when he doesn't understand why the other kids take longer to learn I remind him that he STILL CAN NOT RIDE A BIKE, and that everybody does things at their own speed!

 

[luvflorida]

... does it really matter? In the grand scheme of things. I think we can all agree that there are plenty of underachieving "gifted" people and overachieving "average" people...

So true. I've always believed that it's motivation that makes the difference. All three of my kids were tapped for gifted/talented programs in school. They are all very smart and always scored very high on standardized tests. Each child handled it differently.

My oldest did very well all through elementary school, but when he hit middle school and high school, grades became less important to him and he wasn't highly motivated. He was not interested in participating in any gifted/talented programs. Nothing we did could convince him to do more than what he felt was absolutely necessary. He did not graduate with any type of honors and that was fine with him. He went to the local university and graduated, but not before switching majors three times, causing him to take six years to finish college. He now works in the computer field, but I know he isn't happy with that and is still searching for his passion. He is contemplating going back to school for writing/art or something along those lines.

Oldest daughter was always extremely motivated and she would not let anything get in the way of something she wanted. She graduated high school with high honors, graduated summa cum laude from college, (in three years!), and is now in graduate school. She loved being identified as gifted/talented, and took many AP classes in high school. When she was in school, I don't ever once remember asking her if her homework was done or if she was all caught up in assignments. She knew what had to be done and she did it, usually going way above and beyond whatever any teacher asked or expected. And, she did it willingly and happily!

Youngest daughter is yet again completely different. She was in gifted/talented programs in elementary school, but I ended up pulling her out. I didn't feel as though she was getting anything out of it. There was a lot of boring, rote learning that was just extra work, and she complained. After talking to the gifted/talented teacher, I could see that it wasn't very enriching, so I took daughter out of the program. Youngest daughter isn't as motivated as her older sister, but she is more motivated than her older brother. I do find that I have to stay on top of her and check assignments and deadlines with her. I do expect her to graduate with honors because I know she is capable of it and she is very interested in going to a college with a good performing arts program. Her motivation in life is dance.

Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book here. I guess I got carried away! I just wanted to say that motivation is a huge factor in how well someone will do in school and how well they will do later in life.

 

[ead79]

I don’t have kids in school, so I’m not sure if the term is being overused.

As to whether or not being gifted matters, I think it depends on how your school handles gifted students vs. other students. Take for example, my high school.

At my high school students were admitted to the gifted program based on the IQ test results from 8th grade. The problem that I have with using IQ tests to determine gifted status is that the IQ test was designed to diagnose developmental delays, and it has not proven to be all that accurate when used to test for above average intelligence.

If a student was accepted into the gifted program, there were some classes available to them that were not available to the other students. These classes were gifted world geography (honors world geography and regular level world geography were available to the other students though), media productions, and radio productions. These courses did not matter at all in terms of college acceptance, and it became a bit of a joke at my high school that so many of the “gifted” kids were failing regular level courses in their core subjects.

Fortunately my high school did not use your gifted status to select which level of coursework you should take. You earned that based on your grades. In my opinion, that is exactly how it should be. To be completely frank, I don’t really care if someone has a 150 IQ and doesn’t do their work and doesn’t perform well on tests. That student doesn’t automatically deserve to be in honors level courses, IMO. A student who works hard and achieves exceptional grades should be the one in the honors level courses, regardless of their IQ.

I myself was not part of the gifted program, but I took honors and AP level courses, graduating with over a 4.0. I believe that my high school had the right idea of placing you in courses based on your actual achievement as opposed to your alleged potential. I don’t think that any achieving, hard working student should be kept from taking courses that could help them get into a competitive college just because their IQ isn’t high enough. When it comes time to get a job, employers aren’t going to care what your potential is, just what your achievement and work ethic is.

 

[binny]

In our district there are 2 different levels. IQ higher than 130 is considered gifted. IQ higher than 135 is highly gifted.

the HG kids have a whole speerate school that they can go to and its very exclusive. DS qualifies for it but he doesnt want to go there nor do I want him to go there.

He is in the "regular" gifted program which is in a regular school ( and continues through Jr High and HS) but is a sperate program. They are still involved in all the regular school programs, have lunch and recess with the other kids and are still part of the school.
I wanted him to have that experience.


The competition is there but I prefer the learning style. They tend to "think outside the box", I know some people hate that term but in this case its very accurate, Gifted kids tend to be non traditional thinkers and learners.
This program helps them to succeed with their way of learning.



As for money, our district allocates money for this program but it is not in excess, let me tell you! We still put a lot of money for the program and the extras.


I appreciate that these kids are still "mainstreamed" I think our district has a really good handle on things like this. Many of our special needs kids ( my dd included) are also "mainstreamed" so kids get a good look at the real world that way.

There are several opportunities here though for kids of all abilities. We have a " medical" HS that incorporates all things Medical with the regular curriculum for those kids who want to be in the Medical filed.
We also have "Music and art" Elementaries that focus of the arts with regular curriculum. All are in the normal school district and kids can choose.




Is the term gifted overused? Perhaps. I also think that testing has become more frequent and we have become better at recognizing these traits in our students.