The reason why I was first intrigued by this article was the concept of how to determine who is “gifted and talented”. Not everyone has the same learning styles and I believe our nation’s view on the “gifted” is wildly askew. There are so many schools where classes in the arts are not required. Art or chorus are classes you took in elementary school and they seem to get just as much credit as recess does. And drama is never offered as a class but as an after school activity with no educational credit given.
I have been struggling with my own battle with the way our school systems work. The only way people believe you can be successful in life is if you go to a four year college/university. However, I know there are so many capable people out there who do not go to a four year college because of the way they were taught as a child. If there is a child who is a kinesthetic learner, they will not do well in school because they have not been taught the way they need to learn: through hands on experiences. Therefore, they will feel like they are dumb because they take longer to finish a test or write a paper. Because of this constant feeling of failure they will not even try and go to school because they have been told they are not the brightest crayon in the box their entire life.
However, the reality is that we do not take into account the different learning styles each individual child needs. I think every child has the potential for greatness, so it’s time we stop pushing them into the “dumb” classes or the “smart” classes. The real gift all children deserve is for educators to discover what learning style is best for each child and not put such emphasis on who is talented and untalented.
