Action | Revision of regulations school divisions must meet in their gifted education programs, K - 12 |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 3/8/2006 |
The current regulations seem to address basic identification adequately. The weakness in them is in differentiating between levels of giftedness. The difference between a mildly to moderately gifted student's needs and the highly or profoundly gifted child's needs is dramatic. The emphasis in the system is egalitarianism. We should have an egalitarian school system, that is one that provides an education for each student. That doesn't mean the same system for each child but one that educates each child. Highly and profoundly gifted children are capable of completing the entire K-6 school curriculum in just a couple of years. Children aren't allowed to test into school early. Gifted programs don't begin until 2nd grade and then are directed towards the needs of the mildly to moderately gifted. Our current system of elementary education doesn't educate these children. They either do it themselves or quit trying and just take up space.
And of course the real issue is not a lack of appropriate regulations but funding.