Gifted and Talented

Well, Gifted and Talented. Often shortened to GT, it is basically faster-paced classes and working above grade level. At a very early age, tests are administered to students, and those who score at or above a certain level are given the option of attending a GT center.



I have the somewhat unique perspective of being able to view this situation from both sides. When I first took the test, I didn't know that it would determine where I went to school the next year. I didn't know anything about GT. I just knew I was happy with my life and my friends at the elementary school I attended, and I treated it the way I would treat any test: seriously. A few weeks later, two of my best friends approached me on the playground, excitedly shouting that they had "made it" into the GT center school. They asked me if I had, as well. At this point I still had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and I informed them that I hadn't. They went off to the new school in the fall, and I made new friends, because I am pretty adaptable to change. I did feel a little left behind though.



The next year, I had the option to retake the test, and I did, and again didn't make it. My parents did a parental referral that eventually got me into GT by showing them some of my work. Some parents are the kind who will push and shove until they get what they want for their kid, even if their kid is unwilling -- not so my parents. They really did think it was the right place for me, as did I. I was very excited, and it certainly did end up being where I belonged -- I have had very good grades all my years of school.



I LOVED GT. Sure we had tougher projects, but they involved more creativity too. I wrote a diary on coffee stained paper from the point of view of a young girl in colonial Williamsburg for a Social Studies project -- that option isn't available to every 4th grade student. My only issue with it was standardized testing, but that is an issue everywhere you look these days. It limits teacher's creativity and forces students to simply memorize facts without looking deeper and learning application. And that's the type of learning I prefer: application.