Analysis of Nurturing Giftedness in Young Children Too Young for Gifted Programs Article - Assignment Example

I agree with Roedell’s thesis that a child, gifted or not, should be treated as an individual. I believe that that is the fundamental idea of how to nurture children with their unique individuality and capacity for learning. Undoubtedly, treatment based on the individual’s individuality is essential. In analyzing Roedell’s argument, however, he fails to provide a prescriptive method on how to properly nurture children, especially the gifted ones.

I do not think that he offers anything new. Yes, I agree that developments among children are varied and different. Yes, I also agree that other children are fast learners while others are not. I could quote every line in Roedell’s article and say, “Yes, I agree with all of my heart.” It seems to me that Roedell merely states the facts but fails to offer any critical analysis. If Roedell made a critical analysis concerning what it means, or what are the ways, to treat a child as an individual, then Roedell could begin from there by offering a fresh perspective.

Response to the Summary Article entitled “Are Preschoolers Too Young for Gifted Programs?” I agree that all G/T programs offered in schools for gifted children should be promoted and fostered. However, I think that the child’s age before enrolling him or her into a G/T program should be a special concern for parents and the academe. The age of three, I believe, is not a good measure for allowing, or worst forcing, gifted children to study in a G/T program. That’s a very young age for a young child, gifted or not, to go to school.

A gifted child needs more than just intellectual stuff. He or she needs, among others, a social, physically-active, and emotional life. It also interests me why few schools offer G/T programs to affluent urban families. It implies, at least to my understanding, that G/T program is a money-making business for the learning institution. Moreover, it fascinates me why parents enroll their children in G/T programs. It sounds like they are doing it for the sake of prestige – namely, that their child is a “smart” kid.

My Answer to Question Number One. I think that tiered instruction is better than the traditional way of teaching. Tiered instruction is premised on the idea that individuals have different levels of learning ability and therefore require diverse teaching strategies. Different students are taught differently. For instance, a student who struggles to grasp abstract thinking will need a different treatment compared to an advanced student who learns easily. Although both of these students are taught in different ways, still the essential concept being taught is the same.

I think an enrichment program for gifted children is too much. Before academic professionals provide these children with a sort of enrichment, they should first consider the fact that these children are individuals with individual needs. I think that it is difficult to measure the acceleration phase of a child. IQ has flaws. Concerned academics should focus more on the interest and personality of the gifted child, and not on the intelligence purely based on his or her age level. My Answer to Question Number Four.

I think that gifted students will benefit from an educational system that promotes a learning environment that caters to “an inch wide and a mile deep.” The principle of establishing learning institutions is for learners to learn. To learn means to gain relevant knowledge that would help students cope with life’s challenges. There are many ways for students to qualitatively learn. Certainly, teaching at “a mile wide” pace is not one of them. Mile-wide learning sharply contradicts the very foundation of education.

I fear that such a teaching process results in a type of learning that is “an inch deep.” Pragmatically, it’s useless to teach numerous topics to students if they merely learn a little. Assuming that students learn a lot from a mile-wide curriculum, still genuine learning won’t occur because they merely accumulate several pieces of information that do not make sense to their worldview. For learning to truly occur, students should be taught to think “a mile deep” in a manner of teaching that is just “an inch wide.”