http://educationnext.org/challenging-the-gifted/

Thanks for focusing on gifted kids.  Long overdue!  It’s too bad, however, that this is the label we use–as the retort is that everyone is gifted in something, that it is elitist, and that the so-called ‘gifted’ will take care of themselves. Clearly, this article tells us, that they need our focus for their sake and, I would add, for our country’s.

I have always believed that we can get more traction to focus on these students if we use a more attractive ‘label’ for them. Words have meaning and convey message.  How about ‘future leaders?’ or ‘America’s promise kids?’ or ‘potential reachers?’ or  ‘A-Z students?’  or  ‘Achievers’? or ??????  None of these suggestions is the final good choice, but we do need a new label that focuses on the outcomes we wish for these students, rather than the potential they bring to education and our future.

About Miriam

Miriam Kurtzig Freedman, JD, MA—an expert in public education, focused on special education law— is a lawyer, author, speaker, consultant, and reformer. For more than 35 years, Miriam worked with educators, parents, policy makers, and citizens to translate complex legalese into plain English and focus on good practices for children. Now, she focuses her passion on reforming special education, with her new book, Special Education 2.0—Breaking Taboos to Build a NEW Education Law. Presentations include those at the AASA Conference, Orange County (CA), Boston College (MA), CADRE (OR), and the Fordham Institute (DC). Her writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, Education Next, Hoover Digest, The University of Chicago Law Review on line, DianeRavitch.net, and The Atlantic Monthly on line.

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