Education: Bright Youngsters

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About 1% of U.S. schoolchildren have either superior intelligence or a specific talent beyond their years. Educators have long grappled with the problems of average and retarded students, but gifted children have been largely forced to pass through school at the pace of their less talented classmates.

Parents and educators have come to realize that this minority presents a problem of its own: unless a precocious child is given the extra challenge he needs, his talents may be wasted, and he may become lazy or unruly, end up as an undesirable adult. Many states and communities in the U.S. have tackled the problem by planning special programs for bright youngsters.

Pressing Need. Connecticut's problems are particularly pressing because a disproportionate 15% of its school children fall into the superior category. This week the state was hard at work on one of the most ambitious programs yet: a statewide survey of the needs of gifted children, in which laymen and professional educators will collaborate. Two groups will work on the survey. One. the Connecticut Committee for the Gifted, a state-appointed group, is headed by Author John (A Bell for Adano) Hersey, who has made the study of educational needs his avocation (he has four school-age children). The committee will try to focus attention on the whole Connecticut problem, set up workshops for teachers, introduce ideas that have worked well elsewhere, survey hitherto neglected rural areas.

The state has already made an impressive start toward helping its superior students. West Hartford's Alfred Plant Junior High School began an experimental program for them in 1950. At Hillhouse High School in New Haven, exceptionally bright students were put to work handling primary source material for a civic commemoration. Programs have also been set up in Darien, Fairfield, Norwalk, Cheshire, Stratford. Almost all Connecticut schools, in varying degrees, have begun to give special attention to superior students.

Progress Report. This week Connecticut had a mine of information on the gifted child that should prove useful to it and other states facing the same problem: a progress report by an eight-state-Committee on the Gifted and Bright that has been sent to 350 prominent educators in the Northeast, will be published in December as a booklet. Some of its points: ¶Contrary to common opinion, superior and talented children are more stable emotionally than the average child, and more mature physically. ¶Such children should be given a minimum of practice in the fundamental skills (e.g., arithmetic, reading), should be al lowed to create and solve problems, concentrate on research and reading. ¶Any extra time they have on their hands during school should be used in making contributions to the common wel fare, e.g., leading discussions, planning and conducting school programs and drives.

¶In school, they should not always be allowed to lead, should be encouraged to join in activities in which they do not excel, learn not to feel unhappy when they are not running things.

¶The teacher of gifted children need not be as bright as her brightest student, but she must be sympathetic and skillful in guiding the selection of studies.