All people are gifted, so why am I identified as ‘gifted’? It doesn’t feel right

Imagine, only because of what you inherited from the union of your parents; you are now identified with a word that many, including yourself, have "a real problem with." Imagine hearing about people being upset that "the gifted" are getting special treatment, special funding that is "taking away from other programs" that need it more.

You hear about board meetings that are contentious with even hostility when addressing the needs of "the gifted" are concerned. There seem to be a lot of negative issues with that word and what is worse is that some people not only have no problem expressing their hostilities toward the word, but also toward the students and their families who are just trying to get their children’s needs met.

What if another word besides "gifted" were used? For some reason, at the high school, no one seems to have a problem with the title "advanced placement". Maybe that’s what we should do at the elementary level, just call a program "advanced placement". That seems to make a lot of sense.

The problem currently is this: whether it’s at the federal level or the state level, "gifted" is the operative word. It is the word that is used to describe programs designed to meet the need of students with high IQ’s. It is the word that is used to get funding for those programs.

Schools, by their very construct, are mandated to meet the needs of every child; every child regardless of their performance on an IQ test is entitled to have their needs met. Let’s not use the term "gifted" since it does damage to all. Let us declare that "every child is gifted by the universe and all creations of life deserve to have their life needs met."

I am forming a support and information group that addresses issues around the needs of the academically talented called "The Open Circle". Its mission is simple: find out what is needed by the group and find out how we can best meet these needs. The Open Circle is open to students, parents and teachers. We hope to hold our first meeting in mid March.