In many states (including my own), NO prior knowledge about gifted kids and their learning needs is required to fill a gifted specialist position. We don’t hire football coaches who don’t know what a touchdown is. We don’t hire band directors who don’t know what an eighth note is. We don’t hire special education teachers who don’t have the required extra certification, knowledge, and expertise about struggling learners. We don’t hire biology teachers who don’t know the structure of a cell. And yet we’re somehow apparently okay with hiring gifted teachers who don’t know about twice exceptional, curriculum compacting, telescoping, asynchronous development, and perfectionism, let alone common characteristics of the gifted.

I loved this letter:

Gifted ed. is NOT a middle class retention program in urban school systems, nor is it an excuse to segregate white students from the rest of the school community. Gifted learning differences are NOT something that can be taught to a child with flashcards or simply the result of having middle class parents. Gifted children should NOT be in general ed. to "learn about" or contribute to the class' diversity or, worse yet, to "teach" other students. Giftedness IS identifiable in students of all races, classes and genders and gifted education should serve whatever populations need it. The problem with it right now in large urban areas is that giftedness is not identified well, so it appears as if G and T is an elitist segregation. That should not be an argument for its elimination, rather, a reason to rethink identification methodology.

Austin - LOL I didn't think things through when I chose Dazed&Confused. Several of us went to abbreviate it D&C, but if you're a woman, that can bring up bad memories lol. Well, maybe for DH as well since he had to rush me to the ER for one as I was blacking out while he was driving. We've all settled on Dazey for short.