The Gift

This past week with my students and this present week while in classes, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking about this idea of "the gifted class". There seems to be something wrapped up in that label that I haven't quite been able to unpack. This entry is my attempt at understanding what that label means and could mean, in relation to my class.

For starters, teachers and the students themselves seem to use that label as a threat or as some kind of an expectation. In the short 5 days that I was with my group, I heard more than one supply teacher say "You are the gifted students. You should get this no problem" - what if a student were in this class because she was gifted in language and verbal communication, but she struggled in math. If that comment were made to her while she was struggling with a math problem, I wonder what that might do to her developing sense of self.

Deena (her name has been changed) is a student in this classroom who is very much a leader, has a very subtle mean streak to her and is often rude and outspoken. Observing in this classroom, I saw her say the odd mean comment to another student, give "skunk eye" (as I like to call it) to another student and in general just act like not a very nice young adult. While she was leaving the class, she said to the supply teacher "aren't we a nice bunch of kids" to which the supply answered "Oh yes. Oh yes, you are a nice bunch of kids" - now, I'm not disagreeing with the fact that this is a nice bunch of kids, but hearing Deena say this made me assume that this is something that this class must be hearing often...often enough that the class can act however they want, always knowing that the teachers like us, so it is okay.

The other point that I've been left to ponder is that the students in this class are gifted when it comes to numeracy and language. Where are the students who are gifted musicians, gifted painters, students who are beyond average when it comes to bodily / kinaesthetic knowledge? These students are smart in one or two areas - I would not say that they are all well rounded or socially well adjusted. How do we decide students are "gifted"? Shouldn't we treat all students as the wonderful, "good", and gifted students that they are?