I was in the attic looking for the Easter baskets when I saw the cardboard box. The box contains a wedding present, a very nice serving tray which was a gift from one of my best friends from college. My wife and I recently celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. The gift has been with us for those 26 years, it has survived 5 moves, and it has been out of the box for a sum total of 4 minutes; as in "Oh, do you remember this?" It is a very nice gift, from a dear friend, but I am ashamed to say that we have yet to integrate it as a useful part of our lives.
One of the questions for educators is how do we deal with the students who are uniquely gifted? What do we do to promote their ability, to showcase their talent; or do we just leave them in the box with the occasional acknowledgement of their importance? But first, what does the term 'gifted and talented child' mean?
Let me be careful about word choice. What are accurate definitions of the terms gifted and talented? John Feldhusen, past president of the National Association for Gifted Children concludes that we should discontinue the use of the term gifted to apply to school-aged children since the U.S. Department of Education now defines the term gifted as the mature achievement of one's special ability. So therefore the term talented becomes our identifier. The U.S. Department of Education's 1993 report, National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent, defines talent in this manner; "Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to their peers." Remarkable high levels of achievement when compared to their peers. This statement begs these questions: Which abilities? And how will we test for them? Various typologies of abilities have been constructed, but objective norm-referenced tests have not. Hmmm, that certainly is a dilemma. And now for the kiss of death, Howard Gardner warns against any test that purports to measure intelligence.
Another concern that I have is the part stating that the achievement can be demonstrated now or there may be potential to demonstrate it. Potential?! I thought every child had potential and that none were to be left behind. And for commentary on the academic programs put in place by schools, Feldhusen states that money spent on programs for talented students is not merited.
In summary, the term 'gifted child' is an oxymoron since being gifted means you have reached mature achievement, there are no tests to measure talent, and current programs in school attempting to serve this population have not proven their merit. Ouch. On the practical side, we as educators have come across students with abilities that exceed those of their peers. How do handle them? Or more commonly, how do we handle the parent that believes their precocious child is gifted?
There is no easy answer. This is one of the those areas where research has not supported consensus on theory. The cavalry is not coming to save the day. In situations like this the decisions should be based on local practice. The clarifying question then becomes; what is in the best interest of the community? The essayist, Wendell Berry, writes with great passion on the value of localized decision making. The final stanza from his poem, Damage, bears witness:
"I was careful to get expert advice. But this only exemplifies what I already knew. No expert knows everything about every place, not even everything about any place. If one's knowledge of one's whereabouts is insufficient, if one's judgement is unsound, then expert advice is of little use."
The school, the community, the family will decide how to showcase their children's talent and how to develop their potential. Above all the concerns is the need to take some action, because ignoring a gift is an insult and a shame.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. To read an excerpt of one of Feldhusen works see J. Borland's Rethinking Gifted Education by following this link: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIZJiXMUYS0C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=feldhusen+gifted&source=bl&ots=dHHSqa_EWy&sig=fhnXXRPRmoiN1PpUtCUXF17GtyQ&hl=en&ei=Xov7SZCpGom-MuzWsL0E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#PPP1,M1
PSS. One of Feldhusen's more recent books (2003) is Beyond General Giftedness: New Ways to Identify and Educate Gifted, Talented, and Precocious Youth
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
forever hopeful
My dog was attentively watching us eat breakfast yesterday. She is a beautiful well trained dog who knows that she will not be handed any table scraps, however, when my children were toddlers and wanted to show their independence they would pour their cereal into the bowls by themselves. The problem is that Cheerios bounce. While 90% of the cereal will make it into the bowls, the initial 10% that bounced will be pounced upon by an eager dog, who as Pavlov has well instructed us, will be alerted to the forthcoming feast by the mere sound of the cereal box being taken out of the pantry. My children are all young adults now and can pour a bowl of cereal without and any food shrapnel ricocheting out of the bowl, but the dog is forever faithful, forever hopeful.
The antithesis of this type of unabashed faith in a positive result is learned helplessness. The students afflicted with learned helplessness are forever doubtful. Doubtful of their competence, doubtful about their confidence. They are the Eeyores of the classroom. Theirs is a tale of woe.
A standard refrain of the student with learned helplessness is "I don't get it." That simple phrase can be devastating to the educational climate of a classroom. It is a refrain that can lead to a whole chorus of negativity, a virus that extends to students with lower self confidence. So, whenever one of my students would use this phrase my rebuttal would be "yet". As in: "I don't get it yet." This may sound like a trivial change to transtion to learned optimism, but after a short exposure, the other classmates would chime in "yet" if the student persisted in his or her use of the truncated phrase. I would only approach the student with assistance if they stated the anticipatory phraseology. I then ask them to define their problem, acknowledge it, and tell them I will check in with them after they have attempted an answer. This is usually enough for them to engage in some ownership in their learning.
A positive interaction with a student suffering from learned helplessness may have to occur 50 times to break the cycle. 50 times! How many educators have the patience to encourage the naysayer 50 times before becoming discouraged, frustrated, or angered by the child's refusal to engage in learning?
Educators must be forever hopeful, forever faithful. A student with learned helplessness is an opportunity for us to demonstrate what draws us to the profession; the chance to enrich the lives of children. The cry of "I don't get it" or hopefully "I don't get it yet" should be our Pavlovian symbol that triggers our eagerness to show our stuff.
Make a good day.
Tod
PS. Some good Eeyore quotations: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/4500/quo_eor.htm
PSS. List of books and articles by Martin Seligman on learned helplessness: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/lh.htm
The antithesis of this type of unabashed faith in a positive result is learned helplessness. The students afflicted with learned helplessness are forever doubtful. Doubtful of their competence, doubtful about their confidence. They are the Eeyores of the classroom. Theirs is a tale of woe.
A standard refrain of the student with learned helplessness is "I don't get it." That simple phrase can be devastating to the educational climate of a classroom. It is a refrain that can lead to a whole chorus of negativity, a virus that extends to students with lower self confidence. So, whenever one of my students would use this phrase my rebuttal would be "yet". As in: "I don't get it yet." This may sound like a trivial change to transtion to learned optimism, but after a short exposure, the other classmates would chime in "yet" if the student persisted in his or her use of the truncated phrase. I would only approach the student with assistance if they stated the anticipatory phraseology. I then ask them to define their problem, acknowledge it, and tell them I will check in with them after they have attempted an answer. This is usually enough for them to engage in some ownership in their learning.
A positive interaction with a student suffering from learned helplessness may have to occur 50 times to break the cycle. 50 times! How many educators have the patience to encourage the naysayer 50 times before becoming discouraged, frustrated, or angered by the child's refusal to engage in learning?
Educators must be forever hopeful, forever faithful. A student with learned helplessness is an opportunity for us to demonstrate what draws us to the profession; the chance to enrich the lives of children. The cry of "I don't get it" or hopefully "I don't get it yet" should be our Pavlovian symbol that triggers our eagerness to show our stuff.
Make a good day.
Tod
PS. Some good Eeyore quotations: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/4500/quo_eor.htm
PSS. List of books and articles by Martin Seligman on learned helplessness: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/lh.htm
Friday, April 10, 2009
sparky?
So the question is asked, what is the meaning behind the title of this blog?
I credit two influences, 1) my colleague and comrade in arms, Mike Dunn,who shared a quotation with me from Plutarch that goes something like this; "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited."; 2) The second attribution goes out to a web address (brainsonfire) that I noticed in the commentary section from Fast Company magazine. A little bell went off in my head that rang true: our role as educators is to stoke our students' intellectual passions, to set brains on fire!
However, I am afraid that the pressures for accountability for student performance on the standardized tests mandated by NCLB will dampen the intellectual spirit of students and teachers. Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink's 2006 book on sustainable leadership states that the drive for standardization is the Silent Springs of education, that there is a "looming danger as fast-paced, all consuming standardized education reform leaves plagues of exhausted educators and joyless learning in its wake (p.4)". It reminds me of the swarm of dementors from the Harry Potter movies, the demons that suck the soul out of their hapless victims. I believe that standards have a role in education, but the manner in which they are utilized is critical.
Knowledge which is devoid of context is of limited value and could never be classified as wisdom.
A wise man is only considered so based on his decisions in new circumstances. Alfred Whitehead cautions us to beware of inert ideas, "ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilised, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations." Here are some more wonderful quotations from Whitehead's book, The Aims of Education and Other essays, published in 1929:
"In the schools of antiquity philosophers aspired to teach wisdom, in modern colleges our humbler aim is to teach subjects. The drop from the divine wisdom, which was the goal of the ancients, to text-book knowledge of subjects, which is achieved by the moderns, marks an educational failure, sustained through the ages" p. 29
"The evocation of curiosity, of judgment, of the power of mastering a complicated tangle of circumstances, the use of theory in giving foresight to specialized cases-all these powers are not imparted by a set rule embodied in one schedule of examination subjects." p. 5
"The craving for expansion, for activity, inherent in youth is disgusted by the a dry imposition of disciplined knowledge" p. 50
The ages of 8-13 'is dominated by wonder, and cursed be the dullard who destroys wonder" p. 50
Alfred Whitehead understood the aims of education 90 years ago! Why doesn't his name resound from the lips of educators, administrators, board of education members, and from the personnel responsible for directing curriculum? Ask any teacher, newly trained or experienced veteran, about Whitehead and you are more likely to hear a wisecrack about pustules and personal hygiene.
Constructivist education is one of the current buzzwords that has its genesis in the essays of Whitehead from the previous century and from Plutarch from the previous millennium. The hope for education is that some of the fundamental tenets, like stoking the fires of curiosity and interest, will survive the deluge of of assessments required to satisfy the emphasis on accountability. Curiosity, augmented with knowledge and the opportunity to apply it in novel circumstances will escalate understanding to the level of wisdom. So go forth and set some brains on fire.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. For a synopsis of Hargreaves and Fink's views on the sustainability and unsustainability of leadership check out the powerpoint at http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Tapahtumakalenteri/2006/09/eu_28_2909/Andy_Hargreaves.pdf.
I credit two influences, 1) my colleague and comrade in arms, Mike Dunn,who shared a quotation with me from Plutarch that goes something like this; "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited."; 2) The second attribution goes out to a web address (brainsonfire) that I noticed in the commentary section from Fast Company magazine. A little bell went off in my head that rang true: our role as educators is to stoke our students' intellectual passions, to set brains on fire!
However, I am afraid that the pressures for accountability for student performance on the standardized tests mandated by NCLB will dampen the intellectual spirit of students and teachers. Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink's 2006 book on sustainable leadership states that the drive for standardization is the Silent Springs of education, that there is a "looming danger as fast-paced, all consuming standardized education reform leaves plagues of exhausted educators and joyless learning in its wake (p.4)". It reminds me of the swarm of dementors from the Harry Potter movies, the demons that suck the soul out of their hapless victims. I believe that standards have a role in education, but the manner in which they are utilized is critical.
Knowledge which is devoid of context is of limited value and could never be classified as wisdom.
A wise man is only considered so based on his decisions in new circumstances. Alfred Whitehead cautions us to beware of inert ideas, "ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilised, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations." Here are some more wonderful quotations from Whitehead's book, The Aims of Education and Other essays, published in 1929:
"In the schools of antiquity philosophers aspired to teach wisdom, in modern colleges our humbler aim is to teach subjects. The drop from the divine wisdom, which was the goal of the ancients, to text-book knowledge of subjects, which is achieved by the moderns, marks an educational failure, sustained through the ages" p. 29
"The evocation of curiosity, of judgment, of the power of mastering a complicated tangle of circumstances, the use of theory in giving foresight to specialized cases-all these powers are not imparted by a set rule embodied in one schedule of examination subjects." p. 5
"The craving for expansion, for activity, inherent in youth is disgusted by the a dry imposition of disciplined knowledge" p. 50
The ages of 8-13 'is dominated by wonder, and cursed be the dullard who destroys wonder" p. 50
Alfred Whitehead understood the aims of education 90 years ago! Why doesn't his name resound from the lips of educators, administrators, board of education members, and from the personnel responsible for directing curriculum? Ask any teacher, newly trained or experienced veteran, about Whitehead and you are more likely to hear a wisecrack about pustules and personal hygiene.
Constructivist education is one of the current buzzwords that has its genesis in the essays of Whitehead from the previous century and from Plutarch from the previous millennium. The hope for education is that some of the fundamental tenets, like stoking the fires of curiosity and interest, will survive the deluge of of assessments required to satisfy the emphasis on accountability. Curiosity, augmented with knowledge and the opportunity to apply it in novel circumstances will escalate understanding to the level of wisdom. So go forth and set some brains on fire.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. For a synopsis of Hargreaves and Fink's views on the sustainability and unsustainability of leadership check out the powerpoint at http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Tapahtumakalenteri/2006/09/eu_28_2909/Andy_Hargreaves.pdf.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
box of chocolates
With my apologies to Forrest Gump... "My momma always said, reading a blog was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
So what is in this box? The midst of my third decade of education I find the urge to share whatever craft wisdom that I have managed to accumulate with a wider audience. I will post my reactions to the latest fads and foibles that routinely distract competent educational practice and will also weigh in on the emergent trends that could have a meaningful impact. I will also speak of heirloom topics that were educational insights from the previous century that are reappearing with new labels and new enthusiasm. The systems in education are undergoing some serious paradigm shifts (e.g. say goodbye to special education as we presently know it) and I will share my expertise (read that as a combination of wisdom, bias, ignorance, and selfishness) in a manner that will hopefully induce some reflection in those readers with a sense of humor and an open mind. If you find yourself just getting angry, then you may wish to examine your own bias, ignorance, or selfishness to see which one served as the obstacle to new learning. Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead, stated it this way; "if a ray of light falls into a pigsty, it is the ray that shows us the muck and it is the ray that is offensive." The public, politicians, and pundits are not satisfied with the status quo, they see the muck for what it is, and are demanding to be freed from the quagmire. That demand is fueling the rise in homeschooling, charter schools, and magnet schools. New approaches to education are being mandated whether we like it or not.
Positive, evidence-backed change initiatives will enable educators to utilize tools to maximize the educational experience of all students. One of my heroes, Buckminster Fuller, phrased it something like this: if you want to create change, devise a system that makes the current reality obsolete. In the book, R. Buckminster Fuller on Education, he states that he wanted to be remembered as being more than a reformer, he desired the accolade of being a new former.
So what new forms will emerge in education? These new forms, as well as old forms, will be spotlighted in subsequent postings. Till then, make a good day.
Tod
PS. How about them chocolates, movie trailer for Forrest Gump: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3567517977/
So what is in this box? The midst of my third decade of education I find the urge to share whatever craft wisdom that I have managed to accumulate with a wider audience. I will post my reactions to the latest fads and foibles that routinely distract competent educational practice and will also weigh in on the emergent trends that could have a meaningful impact. I will also speak of heirloom topics that were educational insights from the previous century that are reappearing with new labels and new enthusiasm. The systems in education are undergoing some serious paradigm shifts (e.g. say goodbye to special education as we presently know it) and I will share my expertise (read that as a combination of wisdom, bias, ignorance, and selfishness) in a manner that will hopefully induce some reflection in those readers with a sense of humor and an open mind. If you find yourself just getting angry, then you may wish to examine your own bias, ignorance, or selfishness to see which one served as the obstacle to new learning. Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead, stated it this way; "if a ray of light falls into a pigsty, it is the ray that shows us the muck and it is the ray that is offensive." The public, politicians, and pundits are not satisfied with the status quo, they see the muck for what it is, and are demanding to be freed from the quagmire. That demand is fueling the rise in homeschooling, charter schools, and magnet schools. New approaches to education are being mandated whether we like it or not.
Positive, evidence-backed change initiatives will enable educators to utilize tools to maximize the educational experience of all students. One of my heroes, Buckminster Fuller, phrased it something like this: if you want to create change, devise a system that makes the current reality obsolete. In the book, R. Buckminster Fuller on Education, he states that he wanted to be remembered as being more than a reformer, he desired the accolade of being a new former.
So what new forms will emerge in education? These new forms, as well as old forms, will be spotlighted in subsequent postings. Till then, make a good day.
Tod
PS. How about them chocolates, movie trailer for Forrest Gump: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3567517977/
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