Thursday, March 31, 2011

Teaching Gifted versus Bright Lights



I struggle with the term "gifted".  I have for many years.  I use it because is classifies a population of students I have the opportunity to work with, but I dislike the nuances that come with the term. 

It supposes that there are students with "gifts", and in having these "gifts" they are set apart or different from other students. However, in my role as the Challenge Centre Teacher for the District, I have to use the term in order to provide services to students.  I do not wish to get into a philosophical rambling about the term, however, I enjoy working with students and providing opportunities to children that are ready for a challenge and are ready to extend themselves in their learning.  

When students come to the Challenge Centre, they are "bright eyed and bushy tailed" and ready to learn!  They are ready to take a risk and extend themselves in their learning.  So, I have renamed my site Bright Lights, to emphasize the energy and "light bulb" moments I see with my students.  The lights are on and they are ready to go!

1 comment:

Pancakes For Recess (Pawan) said...

Hi, Marielle! Wow - very cool blog! So glad to come across other Vancouver teachers online. I'm sure we'll bump into one another sometime - I'm just down the road at Henderson:) Best of luck to you and keep up the awesome work!