"When New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani suggested ending gifted education for young children, the response was instant and intense. His idea to phase out gifted programs until third grade, in the name of equity, sparked a citywide debate that quickly spread far beyond the five boroughs. Parents and educators didn't just disagree; they were angry, confused, and fearful about what this might mean for their children."
"At the heart of this debate is a misunderstanding of gifted education. It's often portrayed as an elite advantage, something reserved for privileged children. But that's not what it's supposed to be. Gifted education is a form of special education for students who learn differently. Just as we create individualized plans for children with learning challenges, we should also ensure that advanced learners receive the depth and pace they need to thrive."
A proposal to phase out gifted programs until third grade provoked widespread anger and fear among parents and educators. Gifted education provides specialized instruction for students who learn differently, offering depth and accelerated pace matched to advanced learners' needs. Gifted children make rapid connections, crave complexity, and become restless when instruction is too slow, which can lead to loss of motivation, acting out, or withdrawal. Research (Pfeiffer and Petscher, 2008) found unstimulated gifted students can become bored, anxious, and emotionally withdrawn. Giftedness constitutes a difference requiring support; equity requires expanding access and individualized plans, not cutting programs.
Read at Psychology Today
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