Teaching Teachers - Part 1

[joshwriting]

This past Tuesday, I gave an hour long presentation on giftedness to a staff meeting of public middle school teachers. It did not help that it was a mandatory meeting nor that it was after school, and least of all that it was on a day when grades were due!

That all said, I think it went reasonably well. I started them with a pre-test to try to both give a feel for such things as I was talking about them and to gather information at the same time! I asked for definitions of gifted and for when folks thought US schools started having G&T programs. 2/3 of the teachers (who said anything) believe that G&T programs started in the US since 1980! (More than half the teachers who filled out forms said 1980 or later - about 25% took no position on when.)

*shakes head*

Comments

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Er... DO US schools even *have* giftedness programs?? I thought it was pretty much left to private schools nowadays, what with No Child Left Undamaged Behind and all that.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

So when did US schools start having gifted programs? (I have no grasp of the modern history of US education, sorry. I know what was going on from 1978-1988 and that's about it.)

[matildalucet.livejournal.com]

I know there was a G&T program in the public schools in one district in PA in the early 70's. I'm not sure how long it operated before we got there or what happened after we left. I'm pretty sure there was not such a thing in Homestead FL at that time or in Leavenworth KS, really, either. Can you give us a brief capsule history?

[llennhoff.livejournal.com]

I was in a gifted kids program in 1967, and it wasn't the first year of the program by any means.

[moderately-mad.livejournal.com]

Hello Josh. I'm wondering if you have time to read a couple of pretty-long rants that involve my gifted son and some of the problems he's been having. I'd sure appreciate your take on some of the stuff that's been going on at home and at school.

There is an entry here (http://moderately-mad.livejournal.com/101184.html) from today and one here (http://moderately-mad.livejournal.com/100700.html#cutid2) from yesterday.

I'm also curious about your thoughts on IQ testing. MY boy hasn't been tested and he's finishing 4th grade. Last year, his school created a G&T opportunity for him based on his NWEA scores. He's just started to take some enrichment classes through the MN Institute for Talented Youth. We heard that he should be tested now, before it's "too late", if we are going to test him at all.