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I understand and sympathize. These children are the best and brightest of us. The future will be build by, of, and for them. We cannot have them isolated from e
by Kalium 10y ago
I understand and sympathize. These children are the best and brightest of us. The future will be build by, of, and for them. We cannot have them isolated from everyone else. That way lies disconnection, alienation, resentment, and a total lack of empathy. Madness!
When I was a gifted student in a classroom of regular students, I learned a great deal.
What I learned was not how to help raise up my classmates. What I learned was that my classmates were petty and cruel people who got their jollies bringing me pain. Combine this with material that was far below me and rarely able to hold my attention and the result was a thoroughly miserable experience for a number of years.
I got a diverse viewpoint and understanding of people different from me. I came to learn something else, too - I despised them.
Gifted students are students. Please don't treat them as unpaid assistant teachers. They need to be cared for, kept safe, challenged, and taught. The same as every single other student.
- mulmen 10y agoI don't mean to imply that gifted students should be used as teacher aids but I think they have a different role to play in helping their fellow students. The teacher's job is still to teach but having peers to turn to is a valuable resource and skill that everyone should learn. By removing the best resource for that cooperation we do everyone a disservice.
- Kalium 10y agoI agree! Having peers to turn to for assistance is immensely valuable in any learning process. It's most valuable when both people involved have something to offer one another, allowing them to engage as equals. It's perhaps less than ideal to restrict gifted students to the level of their less gifted peers in the interests of said peers having resources to turn to for aid in learning. They are often unable to engage as equals. Have you considered that this has distinct disadvantages for the gifted, who are then unable to pursue their full potentials so that they can learn to raise up their less gifted peers? This might not be a joyous experience for all concerned.
- mulmen 10y agoI think it is a mistake to assume that students with a lower level of academic achievement have nothing to offer students with a higher level of the same.
- Kalium 10y agoI agree! I do not believe they have nothing to offer. I do believe that what they have to offer may not universally be a good fit for a classroom environment. I know that when I was a gifted student, my less gifted peers had much to offer outside the classroom. They also had nothing to offer inside the classroom in terms of instructional aid. I believe that the system described fails because it neglects the needs of everyone involved. The proposal neglects the needs of the gifted by refusing to offer them instruction and material at a level that challenges them and instead attempts to coerce them into being teaching assistants. The proposal neglects the needs of the less gifted by relying on them learning from their more gifted peers instead of offering sufficient instructional infrastructure. The proposal neglects the needs of society by failing to meet the needs of any of the students involved in an attempt to use one group of students to meet the needs of another. What is proposed is not novel or new. I lived this proposal. It is not one that adequately serves the needs of any person involved. Segregation may not be the answer, though it's a good way to describe what happens in tertiary education. What we have now - and what you propose - we know with certainty is not the answer. After all, it's the same system that we all agree is failing for everyone involved.
- mulmen 10y agoWhat proposal are you referring to? I'm not advocating for treating gifted students as teaching aids. I am advocating for an educational environment that serves the interests of all students.
- Kalium 10y ago> Gifted students can help raise up their less gifted classmates. If these gifted students are to be the next generation of leaders this is an invaluable skill. And > I agree that gifted students have needs and those should be addressed but I don't think a separate school is the solution. Even AP classes feel like a problem to me because the most gifted students are not available to help those that struggle. Please, tell me if I'm mistaken. It sounds to me that you want to place gifted and less gifted students together, with the goal being to encourage and advance peer instruction of the less gifted by their gifted peers.