Reply to Ideas of “Giftedness” Hurt Students

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[quote=Anonymous]Having two huge groups of students, one labeled "gifted" and the other labled "regular," does a huge disservice to all kids.  Most kids labled gifted often are simply good at academics.  That doesn't always equate to giftedness, which is exceedingly rare.  They go through life thinking they're somehow more intelligent than everyone else, and their attitude reflects that. Then they find out along the way, in high school or college, that there are other kids who are far smarter and/or actually gifted, and they don't know what to do with that information after being told throughout elementary and middle school that they're "special."

The other group is clearly told at age eight that they're not "special" - they're only regular, normal kids and shouldn't dare to think of themselves as capable of more.  This group is told over and over that they're not as smart as the other group, and that they never will be.  The reality for them is that they often go off to high school, take more interesting classes, and realize that they are indeed capable of far more than anyone previously let on.  They go off to college and discover a whole world of possibility.  And they wonder why on earth they were told by the elementary and middle schools that they weren't just as special as the kids in the AAP group.

What a completely screwed up system.[/quote]

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