THE “AT-RISK” GIFTED STUDENT FRIDAY NOV. 20, 2009

1. THE “AT-RISK” GIFTED STUDENTFRIDAY NOV. 20, 2009

2. Definitions of Underachievement "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What it is? Reis and McCoach (2000): a “discrepancy between ability and performance” McCoach and Siegle (2003): “students who come to school without books or homework, students who appear to choose not to study for exams, students who seem unfazed by parents’ and teachers’ pleas that their grades now will affect the rest of their professional lives.”

3. Questions: • Is a student who is excelling in one area but failing in another “at-risk”? • Is a student who is underachieving at school but excelling in an extra-curricular activity “at-risk”? • Is a gifted student who is passing grade level classes “at-risk”? • Are we using the right measures? "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What it is?

4. Statistics • Seeley (1993): • “Nationwide, it is estimated that 15-40% of identified gifted students are ‘at-risk’ for school failure or significant underachievement.” • Peterson and Colangelo (1996): • “Some researchers have estimated that the percentage of students with high ability who do not achieve well is as high as 50%.” • Time Magazine (2007): • Gifted students drop out of school at the same rate as non-gifted youngsters—about 5%. • 1/5 of dropouts test in the gifted range. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Who it is?

5. Groups • Girls: • May be limited by stereotypes • May see social disadvantages to being smart • Boys: • May underachieve at twice the rate of girls • More prone to chronic underachievement (Peterson & Colangelo, 1996) • Children in Poverty: • Lack experiences • Inhibited talents are not recognized "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Who it is?

6. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Who it is? Groups • Twice-Exceptional: • Often receive services only related to their disability and not their giftedness • Giftedness goes unrecognized • Highly/Profoundly Gifted: • Socialization takes precedence to advancement • Expecting a child with an IQ of 160 to achieve at the same pace as a student with an IQ of 100 is the same as asking the child with a 100 IQ to achieve at the same pace of the child with an IQ of 40. (Time Magazine, 2007)

7. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Who it is? Groups • Gifted Minority Students: • More likely to underachieve than white students (Ford, Grantham, Whiting, 2008) • Achievement = “Acting White” • “Acting Black” associated with behaviors that negatively effect achievement • Affects African American boys more than girls

8. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Profiles in Achievement

9. The Cost of Achievement: "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Why’s it happening? • Akeelah and the Bee: • To Achieve or not to Achieve • Achievement brings pressures • Underachievement is a way of coping

10. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Langston Hughes? A Dream Deferred What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

11. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Why’s it happening? The Cost of Achievement: • Disturbing Events • Chicago Murder • Richmond High School • Columbine • Unabomber

12. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Why’s it happening? The Call of the Street vs. the College Path

13. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Why’s it happening? The Call of the Street vs. the College Path: • The Call of the Street • Immediate Gratification • Immediate Recognition • Adrenaline/Adventure

14. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Why’s it happening? The Call of the Street vs. the College Path • The College Path • A-G Requirements • Rigorous Coursework • PSAT, SAT, (and later on: GMAT, LSAT, MCAT) • 17+ Years of your life (K-Bachelors) • Thousands of dollars in cost • Delayed Rewards: • Global Competition • Debt

15. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: Langston Hughes? The Garden of Love I went to the Garden of Love,And saw what I never had seen:A Chapel was built in the midst,Where I used to play on the green.And the gates of this Chapel were shut,And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;So I turned to the Garden of Love,That so many sweet flowers bore;And I saw it was filled with graves,And tombstones where flowers should be;And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,And binding with briers my joys and desires.

16. Educational Priorities • Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) • IDEA vs. Javitts • The Bar is Set at “Proficient” • Tier 3 funding • Grade Level Standards • Intervention "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What’s Causing it?

17. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What’s Causing it? Educational Priorities Children who are fit to proceed to a higher class may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma - Beelzebub, what a useful word! - by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Aeschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval's attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT. C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Proposes a Toast

18. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What can be Done? Suggestions for Gifted Advocates • The 3 Rs • Rigor: • Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. Abigail Adams • Relationship: • Richard Mullen, 2009 Teacher of the Year • Relevance: • When I first saw Yosemite at 16, I was blown away. I didn't think it was possible to have a place like this. It changed how I saw nature and my place in nature. • Mauricio Escobar, Park Ranger

19. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What Can be Done Suggestions for Gifted Advocates • Don’t reward mediocrity: • It’s psychotic. They keep thinking of new ways to celebrate mediocrity, but if someone is genuinely exceptional… • Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible • Teach Persistence • It’s not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well. • Rene Descartes

20. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What Can be Done Suggestions for Gifted Advocates • Focus on Effort not Intelligence • Those congratulated for their intelligence…shied away from a challenging assignment…far more often than those applauded for their effort. • Carol S. Dweck • Encourage Reading • The Ben Carson Story • Expect More

21. "AT-RISK" GIFTED STUDENT: What Can be Done Suggestions for Gifted Advocates • Teach Entitlement • Service Learning • Mentoring