It takes four days for the mainstream media to pick up the story covered here Friday about Governor Dennis Daugaard’s wrong-note performance at the Gifted Education Summit in Vermillion last Friday.But at least reporter Patrick Anderson is taking time to look at the lack of educational programs specifically targeting South Dakota’s best and brightest K-12 students. Anderson confirms what we heard here from students and parents who attended the event, that the Governor conveyed no interest in real gifted education issues:
…[M]ost school officials and state lawmakers don’t think gifted education is worth the investment.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard spoke on the last day of camp, at the state’s first ever Gifted Education Summit.
His words seemed to offer little solace for some of the young campers. He pitched SDMyLife, the state’s career building website. After, students said they distrusted the service because it leaves them short of their true potential [Patrick Anderson, “Kids Want Gifted Education, South Dakota Saying No,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2015.08.04].
Anderson reports that 21 out of 151 South Dakota school districts spent money on gifted education last school year. That means 131 school districts failed to offer the individualized education that would serve those students well and encourage them to stay in South Dakota:
Educators today are stressing the importance of individualized learning, of different tiers for different types of learners, of small group reading instruction, online lectures and so-called “interventions” for students who struggle in class.
Gifted children need that specialization, but fewer South Dakota classrooms can offer it, summit Director Elliot Johnson said. He believes a lack of gifted education programming is hurting this state, which has focused on workforce development, and building careers in science and technology.
“Unfortunately, the kids who actively pursue those in our state are leaving because they don’t feel challenged,” Johnson said [Anderson, 2015.08.04].
Come on, Governor Daugaard: gifted education is an economic development issue. If we can spend money robocalling ex-pats and luring cheese factories with corporate welfare to keep workers here, we can spend $7.5 million to hire a gifted education program coordinator for every school district in the state.
It’s an absolute travesty. Now, not only will the best and brightest liberals leave upon graduation but the parents of the best and brightest will now move their children to another state BEFORE they graduate. (it’s not a conspiracy theory but it’s true that most gifted kids will become liberals) Maybe the state can direct some of the funds needed to nurture the really smart kids to their favorite childhood preoccupation ….. TARs Camp.
When my wife and I were first married, she was teaching in Spencer, IA. They had a gifted program at the middle school. Since I was subbing that first year and my wife was teaching in both high school and middle school while coaching debate, I talked to the coordinator of the program to set-up a middle school debate option. We had about 20 8th graders learning the basics of Lincoln Douglas debate, the categorical imperative, and utilitarianism over the course of a quarter of school. The one stipulation was that it needed to be open to all students willing to make the commitment. When you give students a chance to participate in something interesting to them, when labeled gifted or not.
The casual disregard Daugard showed for the smart students in attendance ought to be infuriating to South Dakotans. In fact, SD Republicans show the same careless disinterest in SD’s citizens overall.