Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Gifted students to get a fast-track education

(Are the schools finally giving up on the Leftist "all kids are equal" myth?)

By Rosemary Odgers

QUEENSLAND'S 48,500 gifted students will be able to fast-track their education under a new State government strategy to help ensure they reach their full potential. Under the plan, state schoolteachers and principals will be required to identify gifted students and offer them extra learning opportunities. This could include allowing them to skip a grade, study subjects one or two years earlier than their peers or excuse them from classes where they already know the work so they can study something new.

Education Minister Anna Bligh will release the strategy today, two years after a committee was established to review Education Queensland's policies on exceptionally talented children amid concerns they were being forgotten. "At least 10 per cent of all students are gifted and need help to achieve their best or risk disengaging from learning and becoming withdrawn or disruptive through boredom," Ms Bligh said. "Without recognition and specific support, they can face unique difficulties in education which are just as debilitating as for other students with special needs.

Gifted students are identified as having extraordinary intellectual abilities and capabilities well above other children their age.

Some state schools already have accelerated learning programs in place which have allowed teenagers to take university subjects while at school or to learn subjects from two different year levels at the one time.

The above is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) "Courier Mail" on Saturday March 20th, 2004, p. 16 but which does not appear to be online elsewhere

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