| Excerpted from the National Association for Gifted Children
There are many definitions for giftedness. They all have one element in common: A gifted person is someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of performance in one or more areas of expression . Some of these abilities are very general and can affect a broad spectrum of the person's life, such as leadership skills or the ability to think creatively. Some are very specific talents and are only evident in particular circumstances, such as a special aptitude in mathematics, science, or music. The term giftedness provides a general reference to this spectrum of abilities without being specific or dependent on a single measure or index. It is generally recognized that approximately five percent of the student population, or three million children, in the United States are considered gifted.
A person's giftedness should not be confused with the means by which giftedness is observed or assessed. A parent's, teacher's or student's recommendation, a high mark on an examination, a high IQ score, are not giftedness; they may be a signal that giftedness exists. Some of these indices of giftedness are more sensitive than others to differences in the person's environment. NAGC does not subscribe to any one theory of the nature of human abilities or their origins. We assert that there are children who demonstrate high performance, or who have the potential to do so, and that we have a responsibility to provide optimal educational experiences for talents to flourish in as many children as possible, for the benefit of the individual and the community.
We advocate that schools must provide educational experiences appropriate to the needs of all children, including those who are high-ability, gifted learners. Educational programs adapted to meet the needs of gifted learners are referred to as differentiated . In order to develop exceptionally high ability to its fullest potential, educational programs based on appropriate curricular and instructional modifications beyond that typically provided in most classrooms are necessary. Some of the needs of gifted students can be met in regular classrooms with adequate teacher training and support services. Some cannot. Further, gifted students, as is the case for all students, are not a homogeneous group with needs that can be satisfied through a single administrative adjustment. We support the use of a variety of educational services to enable educators to meet the needs of gifted learners, and, indeed all learners. |
