Are We Failing Our Geniuses? - TIME

Are We Failing Our Geniuses?

James sent this to me (I'd guess he got it from some of his nerd friends) but the title says it all. Here were some of the more poignant paragraphs:

"Since well before the Bush Administration began using the impossibly sunny term "no child left behind," those who write education policy in the U.S. have worried most about kids at the bottom, stragglers of impoverished means or IQs. But surprisingly, gifted students drop out at the same rates as nongifted kids--about 5% of both populations leave school early. Later in life, according to the scholarly Handbook of Gifted Education, up to one-fifth of dropouts test in the gifted range."

AND

"To some extent, complacency is built into the system. American schools spend more than $8 billion a year educating the mentally retarded. Spending on the gifted isn't even tabulated in some states, but by the most generous calculation, we spend no more than $800 million on gifted programs. But it can't make sense to spend 10 times as much to try to bring low-achieving students to mere proficiency as we do to nurture those with the greatest potential."

Anyway, this was one of the many stresses that led me to decline my previous employment. Driven by NCLB and a need to meet Reading and Math scores, educators are doing absolutely ludicrous things. I was told that because "each child learns differently, children who were good in Math would be pulled for extra reading." Right, because taking children out of things they are good at is a great way to motivate them. Additionally, by focusing on Math and Reading, we aren't giving children the great motivators of Science and Social Studies, the reasons to know how to read and do math. They were also using science as a "content reading" class. Reading about science and being a scientist are two very different things. Being a scientist requires a lot of reading and a lot of opportunity to practice reading skills. Unfortunately, if the way I practiced reading skills did not exactly mimic the state reading test, they were not valid.

I could rant about this for a while, but if you haven't read Animal School take a look. Here is just one version of it. Everytime I read it or think about it I think back to a young boy in my first K-2 class. He had been held back the year before I got there. He was not eligible for special services or extra help because he had a low IQ and was performing at that level, though his level was not enough to meet state standards. However, this boy was one of the best artists and fishermen in the class. His sketches of his grandfather's boat were accurate to every detail. He watched his grandpa fish and could describe in a very mature fashion how everything worked. He thrived in art, science and culture. Unfortunately, he will continue to be pulled out of these classes to "catch up" in other things. Imagine spending your day being denied the subjects you enjoy and excel in while being pushed to stay in subjects in which you fail and are not successful. What a terrible day.