Applying gifted education pedagogy to total talent development for all students

Finally, parents must examine these questions with an eye toward the kind of education they want for their sons and daughters. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model is not intended to replace the schools' focus on traditional academic achievement, but it does emphasize the development of a broader spectrum of the multiple potentials of young people. Schools do not need to be places to which so many of our young people dread going. However, to make schools more enjoyable places, parents must have an understanding of and commitment to an education that goes beyond the regimentation and drill that is designed only to "get the scores up." Schools are places for developing the broadest and richest experiences imaginable for young people. The atmosphere is favorable for a broader application of the strategies and techniques that originated in special programs, and they can serve as a basis for making all schools laboratories for talent development.

Dr. Leon Lederman, the Nobel Prize winning physicist, said in 1990,

   Once upon a time, America sheltered an Einstein,
   went to the Moon, and gave the world the laser, electronic
   computer, nylons, television, and the cure for
   polio. Today, we are in the process, albeit unwittingly,
   of abandoning this leadership role (Berger,
   1994).

Every school and classroom in this country has in it young people who are capable of continuing this remarkable tradition. However, the tradition will not survive without a national resolve to invest in developing the talent potentials of all of our young people. Every school has within it students who possess the highest potential for advanced-level learning, creative problem solving, and the motivation to pursue rigorous and rewarding work. It is time to view schools as places that go beyond the acquisition of information that will make us look good on tests--schools are places for developing the talents of all students.

References

Berger, J. (1994). The young scientists: America's future and the winning of the Westinghouse. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley

Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1985). Developing talent in young people. New York: Ballantine Books.

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59-109.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H., & Walter, J. (2002). In a nutshell. In D. J. Levithin (Ed.), Foundations of cognitive psychology: Core readings (pp. 761-777). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

Jones, J. H., & Schwartz, C. (1994). Prisoners of time: Report of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning. Washington, DC: National Education Commission.

Lederman, L. (2000). Testimony about the National Science Education Enhancement Act (H. R. 4272). Proceeding of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, September 21, 2000. Washington, DC. Retrieved on July 6, 2004 from http://www.ed. gov/pubs/PrisonersOfTime/html.