Is this the Slow Death of Gifted and Honors Classes in Education?
Gifted and Honors Programs Are NOT the Problem!
The teachers were caring, I am not disputing that! The problem was that they did not have the time or resources available to give the one-on-one attention so many of the students desperately needed. Because of this, I saw that students were falling through the cracks. Remember, I am writing this from a parent's point of view at this point. The teachers lacked consistency. I began to notice that the system was set up for the students to get the grade, pass the test, move on up. There was little allowance for creativity and less emphasis on helping struggling students. I saw students who were bright, well-rounded, creative students, just not getting the attention they needed to foster, nurture, and expand their intelligence. At first glance, I was not impressed with public schools. What I learned over the next few years, was that the problem could not be blamed on any one situation, and was not as easy to overcome as I first assumed. I began to understand that not all school systems are the same and that educators really are doing their best with the resources that are given to them. Well, most of them.
From the starting line of taking classes to becoming an educator, my professors began throwing terms at me like equity, inclusion, and equality. I was shown a cartoon with three children of varying height trying to peer over a fence in order to watch a baseball game on the other side. When all the children were given the same size box, the tallest child was only made taller, the medium-sized child could finally see, but the smallest child could not see at all. This was when all children were given the exact same opportunity = Equality. In the second frame, the tallest child didn't need a box, so his box was taken away and given to the smallest child, where all three children could now see = Equity. And in the last frame, the fence was removed altogether and all three children could now easily see the game = Liberation.
What does any of this have to do with the Gifted and Honors classes in our public schools? According to Dr. Ryals-Jenkins in her article "Accelerated Programs and Gifted Education" she states that the"Gifted education programs provide academic challenges by extending GCPS' AKS," (Academic Knowledge Standards.) The statistics for Georgia show that there is a disproportionate representation of minorities in the Gwinnett Country Public School system. The gap also widens between students in higher and lower-income families.
In the second frame of this cartoon, all children are indeed given an equal playing field, but with this scenario, NONE of the children are able to see the game. The "solution" is not to help give foundational add-ons for all students to rise to the challenge and grow in knowledge and wisdom. No. This system will take away all opportunities, stifling all creativity, suppressing minorities even further, and stealing the hopes of thousands of students no matter which socio-economic demographic they are classified as.
Consider, New York, the message you are sending to thousands of young minds. It is as if you are saying, "We don't think you can do it, so we are going to make everyone else equal to your lower abilities." Parents of school-aged children in New York should be furious that rather than going to dig up the roots of the issues that are contributors such as poverty, poor school systems, low-income, and disfunction in the homes, New York is wanting to sweep them under the rug and brag about how all their students living in equitable situations. They call this Liberation.
What's to come?
I will be adding more articles, poems, ads, pages, and many other posts that will argue my point about this touchy subject. Please keep joining in by adding your thoughts in the comment section, keep your responses respectful and be kind if rebutting someone else's opinion that may not fit your own. Let me know your stories if you or your child has benefited from a Gifted/Honors program, or if you or your student has been denied this opportunity.
What do you think? I'd love to read your responses below!
Works Cited:
Ryals-Jenkins, Keena. “Accelerated Programs and Gifted Education.” Accelerated Programs and Gifted Education | GCPS, 2022, https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public/about/curr-inst/content/accelerated-programs-and-gifted-education.
Joseph J. Ferrare Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Data Visualization, and Kate Phillippo Professor of Social Work and Education. “Watch for These Conflicts over Education in 2022.” The Conversation, 9 Mar. 2022, https://theconversation.com/watch-for-these-conflicts-over-education-in-2022-171457.
Carlie, This is a great information about the current educational system in New York. I did not know about this unless you share the information. It doesn't seem fair that they wanted to remov the gifted programs and call it as to promote "equity and equality." I strongly supports your argument about this situation. Thank you for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you May!
DeleteShort Answer: no, but it could be.
DeleteLong answer:
Education and in particular the quality of education is an ongoing struggle. Society has been balancing on that knife edge since ancient times. Should we educate girls? What if the family can't pay or pay as much? What should they be taught? Is it really separate but equal?
It is easy to say an education should prepare children to be happy, but more importantly, produce productive members of society. However, even that can be a dangerous statement. Everyone has a different idea of what that means. In addition, everyone has their own motives and are distrustful of the motives of others.
Furthermore, just because something is written down on paper doesn't mean that's how it will be enacted. Or that that is all of it- the whole plan. It's the beginning and hopefully not the end.
The main factor in the equation of education is people. Modify the plan how you will it's still making one way work for many and it's not going to work for all. Clothing tags once said 'one size fits all' now they say 'one size fits most." Many people know that it will not fit well. The hope is that it will work, well enough, for most or at least better than the last plan.
As I understand it the NY plan will stop screening children at 4 years of age to see if they should get a more advance curriculum. Instead teachers will be trained to incorporate those standards into the everyday classroom. The students will then be evaluated in the 3rd grade and given classes to play to their strengths.
Now that is, I hope, the sound bite version and it is good as far as it goes. It's not getting rid of honors classes just delaying it and giving everyone a neither wolf nor dog approach until they do. In a way it makes sense to do this at an age when the cognitive abilities have a much narrower gap and higher function that hasn't begun developing.
I would like to see the pre-school screening kept but with different parameters and the elementary testing added at the end of 2nd/3rd grade. The GA plan referenced is more detailed, but as the AP article implied the current leadership is putting forward the plan leaving it for the next crew to implement it. There is a lot of room between conception and realization. Hopefully student, parents, teachers etc will be consulted when deciding and hopefully each will do what is best. In the end it may look like a lot like the CA, GA or NY. plan with multiple periods of evaluation, references from teachers, staff and parents as well as students to tailor curriculum that plays to the students strength. At the very least it should be better than the old plan.
Above all we, as members of the education process, must remember that we can't make people do what they don't want to do. Not easily at least. And children are people as well. Cunning, manipulative sneaky little people.
Bobbie
Thank you Bobbie for your insight. From what I am reading, is that you would be For a gifted program as long as it occurred or was tested for later in development, while revamping the pre-school screening? As for "leaving it for the next crew to implement" isn't that a sneaky way of saying, I am doing this for show, as long as I don't have to deal with it in actuality? I do like what you say when you state, "The main factor in the equation of education is people." Again, to my point, 'People' are being held back instead of being lifted up. The article about New York claims their action are supposed to help minority groups. I don't believe that by lowering someone elses abilities that it is the best way to make everyone equal. I believe that scaffolding should be built to help strengthen those in need.
DeleteI'm sorry. There are some errors in my post and since I didn't post using Google I can't edit the above post. Let me try again.
DeleteI read your blog post and the links within it and did not see what you saw (Partly because I did not catch that the second article was talking about two mayors, not one.). I was confused and did a quick search. Here is how I understand the problem:
1) Three months from the end of his final term Mayor De Blasio arbitrarily came out with a new plan to reform New York Cities elementary schools.
a) The plan throws out a test that no one liked, but was the keystone to the entire old system.
b) The new plan has everyone starting on the same (hopefully elevated) standard, in the same classroom.
c) And teachers will receive training to cope with the broad spectrum of learning abilities in their classroom.
"Instead, the city will train all its kindergarten teachers — roughly 4,000 educators — to accommodate students who need accelerated learning within their general education classrooms. " (New York Times, De Blasio to Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted and Talented Program) "The city will instead train all kindergarten teachers to provide accelerated learning in which students use more advanced skills such as robotics, computer coding, community organizing or advocacy on projects while staying in their regular classrooms." (AP News, New York public schools to end gifted and talented program)
d) Evaluations for advanced placement will instead be made in third grade based on students previous work and teacher recommendations. "The city will also screen students going into third grade to determine if they would benefit from accelerated learning in various subjects while staying in their classrooms." (AP News, New York public schools to end gifted and talented program) "And instead of the admissions exam, the city will evaluate all rising third graders, using past work and input from their teachers, to determine whether they need higher-level instruction in specific subject areas, for one or two periods a day." (New York Times, De Blasio to Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted and Talented Program)
2) Everything is to be done in time for the 2022 school year.
3) The new Mayor, Mayor Adams, gets to make it happen. " It will be up to his successor to implement it." (New York Times, De Blasio to Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted and Talented Program)
4) The new Mayor, Mayor Adams, has no intention of following De Blasio's plan, but wants to supply the old plan in targeted area possibly increasing the number of students enrolled and increasing the number of Black and Latino students who are under represented. "Mr. Adams has endorsed a very different approach to gifted and talented: keep the classes, but increase them in low-income neighborhoods." (New York Times, De Blasio to Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted and Talented Program)
DeleteBoth plans suck, and neither would be possible in the time limit provided. But that's politics. Political leaders make grand statements and everyone else has to make it a reality.
What I would like to see is a plan that encompasses elements of the two plans, plus the Georgia plan referenced in your post and the California plan ("policymakers have unveiled a plan to address this issue by grouping students of different mathematical ability in the same classrooms until their junior year. Only then will students be able to select advanced math courses, such as calculus or statistics.") also referenced in your post. I understand my proposal would require unlimited time, money, and effort, but my proposal is strictly hypothetical.
Do away with the old test; it's rotten. Keep the elevated standards and bells and whistles. Evaluate via test at the elementary, middle, and high school level. Thus providing more flexibility and chances for advancement. Offer classes that cater to the students needs. Use teacher and staff references. Seek parent and most importantly student input.
Will it work for everyone? No; we have something similar here and students still fall through the cracks. Will it work for most? That depends on the school administration and staff, teachers, parents, students, and butterflies. "A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine.” (Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park)
And yes, I agree. It was a sneaky thing for Mayor De Blasio to do. He could say that he reformed the system, but he didn't.
DeleteHow do you feel about moving to New York and making sure your plan is implemented?
DeleteHere and now, I'm an armchair politician - I know enough to be a danger to myself and others and I don't have the authority of a political leader to tell others, "make it happen" - and I know it. The best I can do is stay out of it and pray for those who have to sort out the mess. Besides, I don't care for New York traffic.
DeleteCarlie, this is an excellent post with good information that will unfortunately be ignored.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was a Special Ed teacher for 30 years, my wife is a teacher by education and I have been a volunteer at a variety of schools for years. I have three children through or going though public school and I have had educators tell me I am unqualified to comment on the state of education.
What I know is this, the state of education in the US has been slipping for more than forty years. The best teachers are not supported or encouraged. Instead those who have their own agenda that fits with that of the Union have control. And the Teachers Union has made their position clear. Greta Callahan, President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, said the of ongoing strike: "Our fight is against patriarchy, our fight is against capitalism..." Politics, not teaching. Political ideology is more important in too many teachers minds than the children they are to influence.
Extracurricular Programs like Quiz Bowl, Robotics Clubs, Chess Clubs etc. foster personal excellence and team building. Programs like shop, home economics have left the curriculum due to cost... yet that money goes somewhere and it isn't to the benefit of the student.
Honors and College Prep programs help prepare students for life after High School but all too often those programs don't.
Education is like any other career field. There are good employees and bad ones. In education one can only hope that excellence outweighs mediocrity. Unfortunately in states like NY & MN the teachers Union is dominated by leftist ideologs who choose political ideology before their students. Excellence is replaced by Equality by punishing success and encouraging failure.
It is incumbent upon parents to step up and contribute to the education of their children, otherwise it is in the hands of people who have no real accountability to the parents and less to the children.
As a teacher candidate, I have been learning about the wonderful ways that education and how the training of teachers is expanding, changing, and trying to show students what the future of schools should and will begin to look like.
ReplyDeleteI am learning how to be one of the excellent teachers, and if all goes well educators at various levels and in all states will learn to help all students rise to their fullest potential.
Let's keep our fingers crossed, vote, and continue to hold hope.
I am a new Montessori educator & it seems to me that gifted classes are the most comparable type of public education. I guess in that way it kind of makes me sad that theyd rather banish these types of classes than expand the program itself which in essence would ALSO be more equitable to their point. Opportunities for publicly educated students to be a part of an environment where independently motivated studies are honored and a culture for loving learning can truly be cultivated is a genuine attempt at improved education. The idea that children in these classes are more "gifted" or can be deemed with "honors" also grieves me though bc it fosters competetively motivated learning. Montessori allows for all students to be creative in investigation & fosters intrinsic motivation, gives choice, and creates an appreciation for the truth that the beauty of education is that learning is a life long journey.
ReplyDeleteThese actions also completely disregard the need for more individualized education curriculums in all classrooms... ex IEP's and the MANY different approaches to education we know can benefit children on the spectrum that is expanding everyday. And yet this is going to create an even bigger gap between teachers & students by confining them ALL to overfilled sterile ridgid classrooms? These gifted classes may not be my own personal "cup.of tea" but at least they tend to be more modified in #'s and seem to cater to personalities that present great leadership qualities. Pretty sure educators can agree we need more leaders in these next generations!
Dear Montessori educator, Thank you for your insite with this touchy subject. What you wrote, "... they'd rather banish these types of classes than expland the program itself which in essence would ALSO be more equitable to their point." I will give a resounding Yes! to. I fully agree with you.
DeleteTo your point on a following thought, "These actions also completely disregard the need for more individualized education curriculums in all classrooms ... ex IEP's and the MANY different approaches to education we know can benefit children on the spectrum ..." I encourage you to look at the article link in the quote above about Gifted students from Jamie M. Kautz. Her article give the same argument, I believe, and I think you would enjoy reading it and looking deeper into this subject.
Thank you again for joining the discussion and giving us a different view point than I have previously considered.
I wonder, does your distaste for gifted programs stem from a stigmata that somehow students in gifted classes are perceived as "better" than students not in the gifted program? And do you see the expansion of Montessori classrooms in the upper level grades in the future?
DeleteCarlie,
ReplyDeleteThis is great information. I was not aware of this. I have 2 children in TAG and they both have benefited much from the program. My 4th grader thrives in a hands on/project based learning environment and this has been great for him.
Not all students learn the same way. Some students learn better by memorization and some by researching and projects. To force homogenous way of learning is a substandard way of teaching.
Dear Ligy, I wonder if advocates for doing away with the gifted program has more to do with the NAME of it, which indicates that those students many somehow bel ooked at as "better" than other students? You say that "Not all students learn the same way". I fully agree with you. Perhaps the stigma that underpriviledged students are considered "less" or "ungifted" makes some upset. But to do away with the programs fully, is doing a disservice to the students who need the challenge in thrive, just as much as some need the extended scaffolding.
DeleteThe purpose New York is choosing to take the gifted prgram away is because of the misrepresentation of minorities in the programs. I wonder, do you see this in your children's classes?
This is such a tough topic to discuss since there are so many intertwining factors that correcting one issue could severely damage others. Of course, there are no cookie cutter solutions to education. From my personal experience, I've noticed that everything fails when the government takes over because decisions are often made from political expediency rather than educational benefit (ie ways of means of getting votes to stay in office and remain in coveted committees). The Academically Gifted (AG) and Highly Academically Gifted (HAG) programs are good in scope, but it defeats the purpose when the government controls it. Case in point: My son qualified for the HAG program in NC. On the surface this was wonderful because we always want to provide healthy challenges for our children so they can learn to make wiser decision in life and have opportunities for growth. We found several factors that turned us away from choosing the HAG program and eventually away from public schools. First, the location of the school was not good. The playground bordered a very busy street. As a mom, scenarios of children breathing in car exhaust during playtime and a little chain link fence failing to protect the children from rogue vehicles filled my mind. We always think of the worst as moms, don't we? LOL! Second, we found out the reason why the HAG program was placed at that school. The school was academically failing so bad that there was a threat to close the school. The state government decided to put the HAG program in this failing school to bring its overall grade up to keep the school operational. You see my point about decisions being made between political expediency than educational benefit?? This caused us to look into other options. We had to make the decision to put our son in AG classes (step lower than his qualification) at the school he attended at the time, and eventually enrolled him in a charter school that we thought would best challenge his mind and come along side us parents in healthily challenging students.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not know the answer to deeply involved topics as this. I can only share my experiences and why we made the decisions at that time. My biggest concern is that choices are being removed. If parents want what's best for their children, what are the options? As options are removed, I'm concerned children's potential and motivation would fall by the wayside.
Thanks for diving into this tough topic, Carlie! You picked a zinger! LOL!
What an interesting story. I am sorry to read that your experience was politically biased and did not seem on the surface to care about the students in the program. On the other hand, let me play the other side for a second. Perhaps the attempt was to show the teachers and the students in the "failing" school an opportunity they could aspire to to, if the expectations were raised? Perhaps the teachers had given up? Perhaps the students felt left behind or forgotten, and this program would bring, so to say, a light to a dark place?
DeleteIt truely is a difficult situation. I do not blame you for finding a school to better suit the needs of your sons. I feel that all parents should be actively involved in their children's education and am proud of you for taking on that endeavor.
I am on the search for the spider while dusting away the cobwebs so the root cause can be exposed and dealt with, and more students from all demographics and socio-economic status can be lifted to higher standards of excellence from the start. As you stated, the answer to this "deeply involved topic" is not an easy one.
Last thing, your mom's imagination is common! I have that too! Thank you for commenting!
Excellent points, Carlie! What is clear in the article you reference is that this is a debate between administrative entities: “Mayor Eric Adams and the School Diversity Advisory Group commissioned by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.” This is all-too common; many ideological disputes about how to level the educational playing field result in academic rifts. Much like in a marital divorce, those who get hurt the most by these rifts are those whom both factions were trying to help—the students.
ReplyDeletePink Floyd sang: "Money--It's a crime. Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie." Everyone agrees in pursuing equity in the educational system; however, anyone who sees their budget reduced as a result won't be pleased. Property taxes are what fund school districts: if you want to predict how a student will perform on the SAT and where they’ll go to college, then count the number of bathrooms in the student's house. The harsh truth is that some school districts want to preserve their budgets so the students in a particular cluster are prospects for prestigious schools/colleges while other districts scrap and scrape for pennies simply to keep the lights on.
Arguably, of greater concern is the rationale that permeates the education system: hyper-competitiveness, from the administration down to the students, both internally and externally. Districts compete with each other for budgetary resources. There’s competition for teachers who haven’t had a raise in years to pursue meritorious compensation. There’s competition for athletics committees to make sure some teams have new resources while others don’t have a space to train. There’s competition for students to achieve higher marks than their colleagues under the “hey—my school’s ranked higher than yours AND has a dominant football team” attitude. As you said, this is an ongoing problem that cannot blamed on any one situation or person. This is, however, indicative of what many have come to see as the driving force behind education: pursuit of the almighty dollar.
My mentor commented that students come to school to learn four letter words: test, exam, pass, fail. These are the interactions by which students internalize their abilities. Through their interactions, “adolescents, in growing up, are repeatedly confronted with situations in which they have to commit themselves or have to reconsider their commitments in the light of changes” (Lannegrand-Willems and Bosma 88). Because adolescents are in a state of identity flux, they are highly susceptible to external factors that shape their sense of identity. As such, it’s not uncommon for students to develop misguided perceptions about their abilities—that they’re not English people because they don’t write “good,” they’re not math people because it takes them a little longer to think through a problem, or they’re not “smart” because they're not in a gifted/honors program.
But there’s hope, true believers! There are honors programs that are ideally designed to offer a varied perspective on education that is only possible by having a dedicated budget! Some of these programs boast largely diverse student populations based on gender, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status, and their students are rock stars! These programs are opportunities that instill a sense of achievement, pride, and reward through co- and extracurricular opportunities that reinforce learning and collaboration.
These are the sentiments that we need to cultivate in academia. As educators, we must challenge students to leave misconceived internalizations about themselves in the rear-view mirror, to encourage them to understand they have tremendous potential, to motivate them to succeed , and that education is not trial by combat.
Lannegrand-Willems, Lyda, and Harke A. Bosma. "Identity Development-in-Context: The School as an Important Context for Identity Development." Identity 6.1 (2006): 85-113.
First off, I am humbled that You would visit my page, Mr. Burton. ;-D Thank you for bringing to the conversation that education should not be a competition between students, parents' prestige, and especially political ideologies. Students need help and encouragement to do their very best no matter what level they "test" at. - AND - Every student should be provided with the best care they can be offered. It is true that the "number of bathrooms" is a factor at which college a student will or will not attend. That brings up a great point about why there is an underrepresentation of some socio/economic status students. Where then lies the issue? In the students, or does the issue go deeper?
ReplyDeleteWe cannot lower scaffolding for some students and expect other students to magically rise up. That is repeatedly dusting the cobwebs while never actually killing the spider. Perhaps the "hope" you write of that "offers a varied perspective on education" will come with a dedicated budgeteer! Where do we begin? I will keep advocating for all students to get the best help and to encourage to keep striving to do their best. Perhaps some day, that effort will make a difference?