New York May Boost Gifted and Talented Education

There is an unpleasant fact that runs counter to the great equality myth in Western Civilization. There really are people out there who are smarter than average. Some by just a little, and a few by lots. It is amusing that, in a culture that talks about “excellence” until its blue in the face, genuine genius is discouraged – “if you’re so smart, how come you ain’t rich, nerd boy?” New York City is on the verge of actively encouraging teaching to the needs and interests of the smartest kids in the city thanks to a bill in the City Council authored by Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn), which would set aside 10% of city school seats for gifted and talented students.

Thanks to activist judges, children who fall short of average are guaranteed a seat in special education. New York has 1.1 million school children in its warehouse-like public schools. Special education kids (many of whom are minority males who are there because the educrats have decided that life is easier that way) have 172,000 seats. Gifted and talented number 30,100. Councilman Fidler’s bill would bring the two into balance.

There is, of course, no reason to doubt that the kids who are having a tougher time in school deserve extra or different help. One size doesn’t fit all, and it never did. But that applies to the kids who really get it as well. And to be brutally honest, who’s more important to society in a generation – the future genetic engineer, or the future part-time janitor from the halfway house? An unpleasant truth doesn’t become less true for being unpleasant.

Of course, with every good idea, there has to be some flaw. Enter the senior educrats. Last year, former Deputy Schools Chancellor Diana Lam thought the system should "expand the definition of what it means to be gifted and talented." If she meant that musicianship, theatrical talent, and sculpting genius needed equal treatment with mathematics and science wizardry, she’s right. But this is not the case. Joseph Renzulli, a University of Connecticut education specialist who is working with the system on G&T teaching, doesn’t like the word “gifted.” His preference is for “gifted behavior.” In other words, every child is gifted in some way, but those who exhibit certain behaviors, “schoolhouse gifted” as he puts it, aren’t the only ones with talent. This is not true. Most people, kids and adults, are average. There is nothing special about them. They are good citizens, beloved by friends, neighbors and family, but they aren’t going to change the fate of humanity because they don’t have the inherent wherewithal to do so. The truly gifted and talented have.

Of course, because they are smart, there is a belief that they will do fine and don’t need any extra assistance. Experts say 20% of America’s prison population is gifted, while 3-5% of the general population is. One needn’t be a genius to see Councilman Fidler’s efforts are as welcome as they are overdue.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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