Why do we need specific money for gifted students?
~Cathy Greene, IAGC Advocacy Committee Co-chair
I am often asked the question, “Why do we need specific money for gifted students? Aren’t they already smart? Can’t they learn on their own?“
It is a question that puzzles me, because no one asks, “Why do we need to spend money to support talented athletes? Aren’t they already good at sports? Why would they need additional coaching when they are already skilled? Why do they need special equipment? Why isn’t the regular equipment provided for physical education classes good enough?”
In sports, everyone understands that it costs money to support athletic programs because talented athletes need trained coaches to develop their skills to the fullest potential. In sports, everyone understands that these athletes need specific equipment if they are going to do their best and reach the highest levels of performance. In sports, everyone understands that you put the talented athletes together so they can push each other to higher levels, so they can hone their skills and become even better at a specific athletic endeavor.
Yet, in academics we question the need for the same approach. In academics we say that we will place money in a general education fund and hope that some of it will be spent appropriately on programming for gifted learners. In academics we say that we are afraid that it may be seen as elitist to place gifted students together so they can push each other to higher levels, so they can hone their academic skills and become better at their specific academic endeavor. In academics we question the need for teachers with specific training, coaches for the gifted, and think that the regular education teacher can do it all.
Why do we need specific funding for gifted learners? Because, without it, specificprograms for gifted students are being eliminated. Because without specific funding for gifted students, with specific requirements for how it is spent and specificrequirements for who can work with gifted learners, there will not be trained coaches for our academic athletes and there will not be appropriate equipment for them to use. Why do we need specific funding for gifted learners? Because, like other talented athletes, without trained coaches and the proper equipment, the capacity of these academic athletes to do more and be more will go untapped and will be lost.
In my opinion, that would be a great loss, not only to our state, but to society as a whole. |
