wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Erica Woolway from Brooklyn October 31, 2007 - 10:45AM

  John King is the managing director of Uncommon Schools Inc, not Inside Schools. The web address is http://www.uncommonschools.org/usi/home/index.html

  Thanks.

  
  
• [2] Pat from MAnhattan October 31, 2007 - 11:16AM

  As someone who grew up in NYC during the 1960's, I remember that the "Talented and Gifted" Program was the result of busing. Parents in Anglo-American communities rebeled against their kids attending schools in African and Latino neighborhoods, unless their children were all put in the same, i.e. segregated, classroom. They said that the white kids were so much more advanced than the other kids, therefore they were more Talented. These classes of all white students in black and brown schools, were then called "Talented and Gifted".

  Consequently, when black and brown kids were bussed into all-white communities, they, too, were put all together in one classroom, which was then called "Special Education".

  This was the concession that the Board of Education made to the Anglo-American parents, in an effort to keep them in New York City, because these were the times of White Flight to the suburbs. After the 4-month long teachers' strike, led by Abert Shanker, in the mid-60's, parents fled NYC schools in droves, and court-mandated integration made them fly faster.

  It makes perfect sense that T.A.G. programs are all white and Special Ed. programs are mostly non-white because that was their original mandate.

  Pat

  Manhattan

  
  
• [3] Gayle from Manhattan October 31, 2007 - 11:19AM

  I volunteer with a not-for-profit organization that attempts to address the needs of high school students of this demographic in NYC and 3 other cities. Minds Matter, which provides mentors for high achieving, low income students, helps students navigate testing and the overwhelming process of college applications. It's a fascinating study and topic.

  
  
• [4] Naomi Frame from Brooklyn October 31, 2007 - 11:19AM

  I worked at a public NYC school (6-12) where many of these high achieving, low-income students have left after speding a year with us because their parents did not find our program to be targeted enough in their direction. It's too bad because these studetns are a great asset to the school. At the same time, I understand that they need to be in an academically rigorous program.

  
  
• [5] steven kent from new york October 31, 2007 - 11:24AM

  Please identify the community college attended by the young man now attending Columbia.

  
  
• [6] Anne from Times Square October 31, 2007 - 11:27AM

  I am glad to know this kind of thing is happening for gifted kids.

  Growing up in rural North Carolina, I was a gifted child who fell through the cracks. I am a member of Mensa but have no college degree. Because I lack a degree, my husband's family views me as a person with lower status (even through my IQ is in 0.02% of the population).

  
  
• [7] paulM from nj October 31, 2007 - 11:28AM

  yes we need to identify the gifted -- BUT peer pressure overrides all efforts, what role does rap music and the gangsta life style impact the overachiever - he/she is accused of being white by their peers. how do you over come this bad influence when the kid goes home to that kind of an environment?

  
  
• [8] mmm from nyc October 31, 2007 - 11:28AM

  What about expanding the magnet schools like Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Stuyvestant?

  
  
• [9] Lisa in the East Village from east village October 31, 2007 - 11:30AM

  My son is 4 and is reading at third grade level and above. He is attending a school in the east village. I was told by the principle upon enrolling that I would be doing my son a disservice by senfing him to this school. After three weeks on the phone with the board of ed, I was told that the best they could do would be to enroll him and get additional material directed at my son. He has attended school now since mid september, and has been told that he could not read during nap time. He had complained of boredom to me during nap time (he hasn't napped since he was two), and had decided to read. I thought this was great. His teacher has made him stop reading because it is not fair to the other children. He now no longer gets a star for good behavior during nap time, because he has learned to cause trouble instead. The teachers philosophy on a bulletin board is that education is a journey, not a race. My son is slowing down to the rest of the class.

  
  
• [10] Diana from northern manhattan October 31, 2007 - 11:36AM

  What about retention of disadvantaged gifted students in highly selective gifted programs? Support is seriously lacking for these students and sadly quite a few end up leaving these schools.

  
  
• [11] ann kjellberg from manhattan October 31, 2007 - 11:43AM

  Given that we know that standardized testing as it is currently constituted favors white, middle class students, won't the DOE's new absolute cut-off of 95% scores on admissions test fill the G&T programs with white students? This has always been the complaint about G&T. Previously individual programs could practice affirmative action to diversify their student bodies, but this will not longer be possible under the new system.

  
  
• [12] Michelle from Rye, NY October 31, 2007 - 11:53AM

  I was a lower middle income valedictorian from Yonkers, NY. I graduated 20 years ago but was bored and unchallenged in my high school which was the best academically at the time. I remember going to my guidance counselor in 10th grade complaining about being bored, and that my classes were too easy and wanting to go elsewhere but she gave me no help or direction. I grew up with a single mom who was a first generation american with no college and could only say that she couldn't afford private school tuition. I wish I knew then about the financial aid scholarships available at private schools. Other than the couple of A/P classes that were available at the time in my school there was nothing else that prepared me for college. My first semester freshman year at college was a rude awakening. I was completely not prepared for the amount of reading and writing that was required and I had been an avid reader growing up. I did more writing the first month of my first semester in college than I did in 4 years of high school. I promised myself that this wouldn't happen to my children which is why I choose to live in Rye. It was a tough choice given the lack of diversity in this town which I valued growing up in Yonkers but a challenging valuable education is such an important foundation. There is nothing worse to me than a child not reaching their full potential and "falling through the cracks".

  
  
• [13] Joel from Long Island, NY October 31, 2007 - 12:49PM

  Two different groups of children are being discussed. "High-Achieving" children and "Gifted and Talented" children. The G&T children are a subset of the larger high-achieving group. Neither can nor should be ignored, but the G&T kids are uniquely defined by their extraordinary abilities. I'd suggest that some school districts, perhaps not all in NYC, do serve the high-achieving students reasonably well but that just about all schools fail to address the needs of the Gifted & Talented. As a nation, we have one national program supporting G&T kids that has been recommended for elimination for many years by the President, only to be saved by Congress but is funded at only about $10 million nationally.

  
  
• [14] Robert Pondiscio from NYC October 31, 2007 - 01:06PM

  If you spend even a short time in a typical struggling school, it's no mystery why these kids start off strong and fall behind. They are starved for oxygen in schools where just getting the majority of kids to a functional level of literacy consumes most of the institutional time and energy. As I implied in my NY Sun piece on this the other day, it's a natural tendency to view these kids as doing just fine compared to their peers who are struggling with basic literacy. But if you take the longer view, they are ill-equipped to compete for educational and job opportunities upon graduating....

  
  
• [15] Robert Pondiscio from NYC October 31, 2007 - 01:06PM

  Given the singular focus on literacy and math in our test-driven schools, it seems obvious to suggest that we can offer an additional level of academic preparedness to these kinds of students to close the achievement gap. The conventional wisdom, of course, is that by raising the bar for one group you lower it for the rest. This is well-intentioned nonsense, and overlooks the fact that there are tens of thousands of students in even our worst performing schools who are ready to take advantage of enhanced educational opportunities right now. At the moment they are virtually ignored as a matter of policy. Call it what you will -- TAG, tracking, enrichment -- it doesn't matter. But without it, we shouldn't be surprised if these kids fail to live up to their full potential. The fault is ours alone. It's easy to dismiss these children as the low-hanging fruit of the system. But even low-hanging fruit will wither on the vine if not plucked.