Gifted Programs Are Under-Funded, But ... That's Not an Adequate Excuse for Doing Nothing

Generally speaking, "lack of funding" is a smoke screen because grouping and teaching kids at the levels they are ready for (both academically and social-emotionally) doesn't require money. It does require the educators to understand giftedness (highly intelligent, rapid learning students who are usually among the smartest two or three children in the typical aged-based classroom) and the needs of the gifted learners. Therefore, it's important to make sure that anyone who will work with students (of any ages) gets the background they absolutely need-to-have in the qualities, identification, and needs of gifted learners. This exposure and educator background should be part of any educator training (teachers PK through high school, as well as administrators throughout the grade levels) in all undergraduate and graduate programming. I'm a private educational consultant who specializes in high intelligence and the "best fit" for gifted learners. Most of my work is directly with families. The stories they bring to me all have so much in common. It is a constant struggle for parents and their bright children when it comes to dealing with educators. We need to push for training the educators ... at every level, which includes the administrators who could support the best set-up within the school, provide flexibility for grouping and regrouping, and individualize the options depending on the needs of the students they have in any given year.

Read the article I wrote for The Center of the American experiment in 2010, http://www.educationaloptions.com/resources/OtherAchievementGap.php, "How Can We Better Encourage and Reinforce the Most Entrepreneurial and Talented Among Us?"

What can you personally do about this issue when it comes to your own family? I created TalentIgniter's "Ruf Estimates of Levels of Giftedness Online Assessment", https://www.talentigniter.com/ruf-estimates-gifted-assessment, to give parents of young children (approximately ages 4 to 10 years old) easy access to what their children need in school. If you know ahead of time, before your child learns to under-achieve or begs not to go to school each day, just how advanced your child is compared to others of the same age, you have a real "leg up" when you approach the school. If school personnel tell you that your child is just "doing fine" and the other children will "catch up" with time, you'll know whether to accept and believe that or not. And again, having or not having a "gifted program" is not an excuse for failing to place a child (perhaps your child) in a classroom where his or her learning and social needs can be met.