There is no doubt that we live in a nation that cares deeply about education. With the “No Child Left Behind Act", our government proved to the world that the United States is a well-intended nation, and that we care about the education and future of our children.
However, every child is different; every child is unique. Our desire for all children to be 'equal' in academic skills and knowledge has backfired because this fact wasn't taken into account, and the strength of our good intention has become our greatest weakness in educating our most academically gifted children.
It is ironic. Our desire to be 'fair' and provide everyone with the 'same' opportunities is depleting financial resources to aid the less academically gifted while our greatest minds are 'left behind'.
Acceleration is greatly needed for students who excel in all areas. Why isn't it used more? If a child is capable in all areas, why should his/her body be 'left behind' in a class when his/her mind can excel and go beyond? And it makes sense financially for school districts because less school tax money would be used to educate the child from kindergarten to senior year.
From twenty years of research by Dr. Julian Stanley, creator of the Academic Talent Search. (Winebrenner, p. 187), there is evidence to conclude that highly gifted children benefit greatly from acceleration, and that the long term benefits far outweigh any disadvantages. Why do our education systems fight the evidence? Don't we want our smart kids to get smarter?
Every year, teachers are given a monumental task: to ensure that all students achieve "the standards". For the students with less academic ability, this plan benefits them greatly. These students receive special attention, individual education plans, tutoring, etc. and enormous resources are spent on them for this to happen. These children are working to achieve the standards. This is wonderful for them, and our nation can rejoice because we are raising the standards for them, and helping them to succeed.
On the other hand, what about the children with the greatest academic ability? Where is their benefit? Why are they not receiving special attention, individual education plans, tutoring, etc?
Academically gifted students have already achieved the standards and mastered the material. There is nothing new for them to learn if they are required to wait for the less academically gifted to ‘catch up’. Their talents are wasted.
This is tragic for a gifted child because our education system is teaching them how to only-do-as-much-as-you-have-to. For us as a nation, this is an even greater tragedy because we have lowered their standards. Shame on us!
Why are we teaching to a 'standard' anyway? What is so great about being average? Do we really want ALL of our children to achieve and get an 'average' education? Why aren't we encouraging ALL of our children -- teaching ALL of them (not just Special Education children) -- to go beyond themselves and their own average?
Shouldn't our current 'standards' be the minimum expectation of academic excellence instead of the maximum of what we are trying to achieve? How can our nation continue to lead the world in education, be progressive and innovative if we teach our brightest children with the greatest minds to be average?
Children with great academic capacity are discouraged by a system we have created, and the educational resources to meet their needs are not provided to them. The academically gifted are left behind. At the same time, children with less academic ability, who in all likelihood may never substantially contribute to our society are encouraged because they do receive resources to meet their needs. Does this description of the overarching problem really make us look like a nation who cares about education?
There is a lot of work to be done, and if we close our minds to the possibility of alternative ways of teaching our most promising minds, then we limit the possibilities of our nation.
Is acceleration a good idea? Is early entrance to kindergarten a good idea?
How will we ever know the answers to these questions if we as a nation do not strive to instill an expectation of academic excellence from everyone? If we do, I believe no one will be left behind.
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