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I’m not aware of studies showing that gifted programs have a positive impact on student performance. My hunch is that the typical school district is looking fo

I’m not aware of studies showing that gifted programs have a positive impact on student performance. My hunch is that the typical school district is looking for a palatable excuse to reduce funding needs.

aantix 4y ago
They were the only interesting classes. Project based learning. Being with other students that actually gave a shit.
- edrxty 4y ago
  Can confirm, I went through several and they were all massively formative experiences. I wouldn't trade them for anything. If anything, children should be offered more opportunities to seek this kind of free form enrichment.
_3u10 4y ago
I can’t speak for everyone but they kept me from dropping out.
- thebooktocome 4y ago
  But would you (and the statistical student like you) have been better served by a different intervention? That’s the thing I’m curious about.
  - gcfff 4y ago
    I think a new intervention should be demonstrated to be an improvement before current interventions be cut.
  - _3u10 4y ago
    Gifted programs and advanced classes were what kept me in school, the only things that got my grades up tho were classes with rigid rules. I had one class and where if you showed up late once / didn’t hand in one assignment you failed. I got straight As that semester. The rest of school was just min/max’ing to average out with a C and not do any homework.
wccrawford 4y ago
I would actually say that my gifted classes probably brought my grades down, at least in those same years. But at the same time, they gave me a broader education and I learned more than I would have otherwise. At my elementary school, you were taken out of normal classes 1 day per week. You still had to do all the work from that day, but you didn't actually attend those sessions for those classes. Instead, you spent the whole day in a different classroom that was solely for "gifted" students. Of course, this meant that it really was only the top students that could handle it. Prior to being tested and accepted into Gifted, I was a pretty constant disruption in my normal classes. I would finish all the work in class, even the stuff that everyone else had to take home because it took them so long. That left me constantly bored, and clued them in that I needed more. TBH, I probably would have said I preferred being given a book and let sit in a corner and learned or just read fiction. But instead I was forced to be social and learn about things not usually taught in school, such as puzzle solving. I'm still very much an introvert, but I have to wonder how much more introverted I'd be if it weren't for that? Perhaps cripplingly so. I'm a huge fan of gifted classes for obvious reasons, but not at the expense of other students. If there isn't enough budget to teach everyone to a basic level, gifted classes are not a great idea. In fact, we should probably restructure everything so that everyone who isn't being taught at their full potential can learn more in school. I'm sure there were students around me that were almost in my same situation, but they weren't in Gifted. They were probably also bored and could have been both educated and entertained during those times, if we had the programs for it.

aantix 4y ago

They were the only interesting classes. Project based learning. Being with other students that actually gave a shit.

edrxty 4y ago
Can confirm, I went through several and they were all massively formative experiences. I wouldn't trade them for anything. If anything, children should be offered more opportunities to seek this kind of free form enrichment.

_3u10 4y ago

I can’t speak for everyone but they kept me from dropping out.

thebooktocome 4y ago
But would you (and the statistical student like you) have been better served by a different intervention? That’s the thing I’m curious about.
- gcfff 4y ago
  I think a new intervention should be demonstrated to be an improvement before current interventions be cut.
- _3u10 4y ago
  Gifted programs and advanced classes were what kept me in school, the only things that got my grades up tho were classes with rigid rules. I had one class and where if you showed up late once / didn’t hand in one assignment you failed. I got straight As that semester. The rest of school was just min/max’ing to average out with a C and not do any homework.

wccrawford 4y ago

I would actually say that my gifted classes probably brought my grades down, at least in those same years. But at the same time, they gave me a broader education and I learned more than I would have otherwise. At my elementary school, you were taken out of normal classes 1 day per week. You still had to do all the work from that day, but you didn't actually attend those sessions for those classes. Instead, you spent the whole day in a different classroom that was solely for "gifted" students. Of course, this meant that it really was only the top students that could handle it. Prior to being tested and accepted into Gifted, I was a pretty constant disruption in my normal classes. I would finish all the work in class, even the stuff that everyone else had to take home because it took them so long. That left me constantly bored, and clued them in that I needed more. TBH, I probably would have said I preferred being given a book and let sit in a corner and learned or just read fiction. But instead I was forced to be social and learn about things not usually taught in school, such as puzzle solving. I'm still very much an introvert, but I have to wonder how much more introverted I'd be if it weren't for that? Perhaps cripplingly so. I'm a huge fan of gifted classes for obvious reasons, but not at the expense of other students. If there isn't enough budget to teach everyone to a basic level, gifted classes are not a great idea. In fact, we should probably restructure everything so that everyone who isn't being taught at their full potential can learn more in school. I'm sure there were students around me that were almost in my same situation, but they weren't in Gifted. They were probably also bored and could have been both educated and entertained during those times, if we had the programs for it.