DATE:
EDITION: THIRD: Globe South
SOURCE: BELLA ENGLISH
BRIGHTEST STUDENTS LOSE OUT
public school students.
million. And
whose capital is the self-proclaimed "Athens of America" spends?
Zero. Zip. Zilch.
Not a cent of the state budget goes to our brightest children. A
few
months ago the Legislature, along with Acting Governor Jane Swift,
slashed the budget from a negligible $437,000 to zero. For most school
systems, the state was the only source of funding for gifted and
talented programs. It was piddling, but at least it provided a teacher
here, a training program there. And at least the state could say it was
doing something for its brightest kids.
Now, the dirty little secret is out.
bottom - 50th of 50 - in state aid for gifted and talented kids. You
can't go lower than zero.
In
out of the four teachers were reassigned to regular classrooms this
fall. Only Beverly Quilty-Dunn, who directed the program, remains,
thanks to local funding. And she's at a loss. She's got students who
need special attention, but no one to give it to them.
This is precisely where special education was a generation ago,
until
parents lobbied, laws were passed, programs were mandated - and they
were funded, generously. Those students' special needs have been met, as
they should be.
"We didn't know about autism and Asperger's syndrome 25 years
ago,"
says Quilty-Dunn. "We had to learn to accommodate those differences.
We're going through the same thing now with gifted students. So they
need to be accommodated within the classroom just like any other special
need. Of all the kids in a regular classroom, those who probably learn
the least are your most advanced students, because they're almost never
given the opportunity to demonstrate what they already know."
That's because it's easy to ignore the brightest. They'll do just
fine on their own. They don't need extra help. Or, in one
educator's memorable words: "Servicing a gifted child is like screwing
in a light bulb that's already lit." To which Quilty-Dunn replies:
"You
could be holding a 300-watt light bulb in your hands, and if you don't
make the connection, nothing turns on."
In a perfect or recession-free world, there would be enough money
to
provide for all special needs adequately. But even in the booming
economy of the '90s,
issue of equity," says Quilty-Dunn. "People mistakenly think these
kids
have more of something, so they don't deserve special attention. It's
not out of malice. It's out of ignorance. Meanwhile, these kids are
invisible and voiceless."
Well, not exactly. They're often bored in regular classrooms,
racing
through problems other students struggle with, going over material they
already know. So they act out. Get bored. Drop out. Underachieve.
Sometimes, they may even be mislabeled as having attention deficit
disorder or dyslexia.
Mark Andersen is the president of MAGE, the
for Gifted Education, a nonprofit advocacy group. As
such, he surely has
one of the most difficult jobs in the state. A
engineer with three young children, he says it's not only about money
here. It's about philosophy. Unlike most other states,
doesn't even have a formal definition of a "gifted" student, nor does
it
have a law mandating the identification of such students.
"We might have been better off with the Colonial system of
the
one-room school house," says Andersen.
Today, it's called "curriculum differentiation." It
means that the
classroom teacher, faced with 25 students of various abilities, gives
each group work at their various levels. It doesn't take money, it takes
will. Of the many fine colleges and universities in this state, not one
offers a teacher certification program in gifted and talented education.
Andersen attends national conferences on gifted and talented
education and comes back embarrassed. "
region in the country with respect to gifted and talented. It's stodgy.
There are attitude issues. The education funding system here is
terrible. It's all out of line with where our state is
socioeconomically."
There are a few bright spots. Despite state cuts,
to maintain its gifted and talented program. It has a 45-year track
record of success; some parents who went through it now send their own
children.
The New England Conference on Gifted and Talented Education was
held
at the Quincy Marriott Friday and yesterday. Sponsored by MAGE, it
featured a slew of distinguished speakers from
all over the country.
Quilty-Dunn, who put the conference together, received the award for top
gifted and talented educator in the state.
Ironically, her stellar "Catalyst Program" for fast
learners in
For more information on gifted and talented education, visit
www.massgifted.org.
Bella English writes from
or via e-mail at english@globe.com.
© 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. (Reprinted with
permission of author.)