What To Do With Gifted Kids?

There is a debate going on in Ohio right now regarding funding for gifted education (as well as extending the school year 4 weeks, which is an idea I see NO VALUE in). This article in Newsweek, written by a mom from Beavercreek, Ohio, who has both a gifted child and an autistic child, asks whether or not we should make gifted education a priority: "My [gifted] daughter has the potential for much more. If she were given even a fraction of the customized education that my [autistic] son receives, she could learn the skills needed to prevent the next worldwide flu pandemic, or invent a new form of nonpolluting transportation. Perhaps she could even discover a cure for autism."

I think a voucher program could be a good solution, because we could choose schools that are best for our kids. For example, the school my gifted daughter is at now, is good for her ability. My ADHD son would be better served at the private school he went to last year that we didn't fit into our budget this year.

By the way, "gifted" is a (poorly chosen) title that means that the child has advanced academic ability. For some reason that's the standard label in education. Really it means that a child is very skilled in academics - usually the top 1-5% in standardized testing. The "gifted" term can also include kids very skilled in art or music, although schools often don't identify those children.

Ironically, there are more programs for kids who have advanced skills in sports than those who are advanced in academics. I think our society would be better served by giving academically skilled kids at least the same amount of training and resources we give athletically skilled kids.

Argggh, the government... good intentions, but often atrocious success records. If only it had to be accountable to its customers, and the customers only had to pay for services rendered. But that, my friend, would land the discerning government "customer" in jail for tax evasion.