Re:Separating gifted children hasn't led to better achievement
by chongli on Tuesday November 05, 2019 @12:55AM
(#21450019)
They do need special attention. The problem is that the average teacher is simply not equipped to deal with their level of need. Kids at the very bottom of the performance distribution tend to have major issues at home, mental health issues, and may even have personality disorders in the dark triad. These kids need serious help from experts. That's too expensive though, so they aren't going to get it and everyone who has to interact with them ends up paying the price.
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Re:Separating gifted children hasn't led to better achievement
by leetcrew on Tuesday November 05, 2019 @10:12AM
(#21453040)
a quick Google search shows that public school teachers get paid as much as or more than a typical LCSW, so I'm not sure why getting these kids help would inherently be super expensive unless you want to also increase the adult-to-student ratio for them by a lot.
even if it's a bit more expensive per student, my guess is it would be very cost effective at improving outcomes for the rest of the kids.
Re:Separating gifted children hasn't led to better achievement
by brewdad on Tuesday November 05, 2019 @11:18AM
(#21453730)
You would absolutely have to have more adults involved per student. My kid's HS has an average class size of 30 and some classes approaching 50 students. I can't imagine what a class of 35+ disruptors and only 1 instructor would look like but it wouldn't be pretty.
Ideally, something closer to the 5-1 ratio my district mandates for special ed classes would be more effective. These kids are going to need a lot of individualized attention if you want to help turn them around.