Interesting read. Apologies in advance for not reading through the thread. Anyway, the best experience I had as a child was attending a summer program for gifted students where I was able to take college level courses taught by college professors in areas that interested me. It was a fantastic experience because not only was I offered these academic opportunities but I was also in an environment where for the first time I was interacting with peers on not only an age level but also on an intellectual level. It was truly a gem of a program.
Unfortunately, the college essay experience manufacturing trend has resulted in a large amount of parents wanting to ship their kids off to have SAT prep over the summer, so the program that I attended (and now work at) has become swamped with kids who not only don't want to be spending their summers learning but also simply aren't at that gifted level. The fact of the matter is, when it comes to the program that I attended at least, there's a move to go where the money is- and there simply are fewer gifted children- so it made sense to change the admission criteria from IQ scores to a simple teacher recommendation.
Now, I'm not arguing that academically average children don't deserve the opportunity to spend their summers learning- they certainly deserve every opportunity that they desire! But unfortunately this seems like an example of a trend of normalization. It puts to mind this quote from The Incredibles- "if everyone were special, nobody would be." Everybody is different, so clearly the same methods and programs will not benefit everyone equally. This doesn't mean that only those who are disadvantaged should deserve special treatment though- in a way, gifted children are, in a society where normalization is viewed as the goal, under a disadvantage themselves.
If you're interested in gifted education and haven't read her work already, you should definitely check out Stephanie S. Tolan, who has done a lot of writings on the subject.
Unfortunately, the college essay experience manufacturing trend has resulted in a large amount of parents wanting to ship their kids off to have SAT prep over the summer, so the program that I attended (and now work at) has become swamped with kids who not only don't want to be spending their summers learning but also simply aren't at that gifted level. The fact of the matter is, when it comes to the program that I attended at least, there's a move to go where the money is- and there simply are fewer gifted children- so it made sense to change the admission criteria from IQ scores to a simple teacher recommendation.
Now, I'm not arguing that academically average children don't deserve the opportunity to spend their summers learning- they certainly deserve every opportunity that they desire! But unfortunately this seems like an example of a trend of normalization. It puts to mind this quote from The Incredibles- "if everyone were special, nobody would be." Everybody is different, so clearly the same methods and programs will not benefit everyone equally. This doesn't mean that only those who are disadvantaged should deserve special treatment though- in a way, gifted children are, in a society where normalization is viewed as the goal, under a disadvantage themselves.
If you're interested in gifted education and haven't read her work already, you should definitely check out Stephanie S. Tolan, who has done a lot of writings on the subject.
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