Metaphor for the Gifted

Stephanie Tolan’s article "Is it a Cheetah?" is an interesting and entertaining read about giftedness that uses a cheetah metaphor.

While the gifted is not as simple as one thinks, focusing on speed as the mark of a cheetah, makes it a unique and only trait one expects from this spotted creature lest his identity be lost with the rest of the cat family. Educators fall in the same trap identifying different gifted children, only to look for the most obvious – academic achievement. The metaphor somehow falls apart because cheetahs belong to the wild, gifted children don’t.  The gifted also need structure to be “tamed” in the context of raising a generation who should know the purpose of their gifts.  How tragic it is for the gifted individual to become lost in the wild and his purpose.

The article has generalized schools as zoos that contribute nothing more than the survival of the endangered species. Why schools have played the role of a warden seems to be because gifted children are increasingly shaped by different environments; oftentimes dysfunctional such as the family, neighborhood, and the cyberworld.  Schools and even parents have a responsibility not only in nurturing but also in instilling the values and ethical principles in them.

As knowledge and technology continue to expand exponentially, our students face more challenges, the responsibility we expect education to assume only continues to build up.  More than the curriculum and testing, there is a conscious effort in the classroom to replicate conditions outside the school that children may soon encounter to prepare them for the world (the “wild”).  As a teacher, I see myself doing a balancing act. As I recognize the importance of knowledge and competence, I also see the need to nurture talent, imagination, creativity, but most importantly, ethical behavior among my students. There is always a dilemma between exposing them to the “fun” and “wild”, pushing them beyond their natural abilites, and restraining them to follow the norm especially in discipline and conduct, which I must admit is a different matter yet ingrained in the dynamics of a diverse classroom. 

Amidst the expectations from the state and other stakeholders, the demand for students to achieve across many different gifted domains has never been higher and the functions expected from teachers may be even more complex. Identifying the most appropriate environment (whether “zoo” or the “wild”) for the gifted is necessary to human progress, and maybe even to survival itself.

Social Media Revolution

Thanks anonymous blogger for sharing this powerful video, hoping the revolution permeates more classrooms and affects more teachers. 

I Blog therefore I Am

In between moving to a new apartment and packing for the long awaited summer vacation in the Pacific is a “to do” list of technology course requirements, one of which is to follow an edublog. Caught instantly by David Warlick’s 2c Worth, his insightful prose on humdrum concerns, current events, and technology issues of educators never fail to spark a discourse in my mind.

Take for instance, “Zero Tolerance” http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2513. Written in simple yet sarcastically fun fashion, he lists down common suggestions he culled from participants on how to inspire neophobic teachers to integrate technology such as “giving support to the teachers, providing professional development, taking small steps, and giving them time to play” – a worn out battle cry we often hear in schools and training conferences. Then he chastises “No more excuses”. Ouch!

It’s not future shock, it’s a harsh reality check. There is no more escaping the social networks, flickr, wikis, RSS, blogs, and podcasts. No more alibi of intimidation or technology replacing teachers. These are lifeless tools but have come around to haunt us if we don’t start clicking, exploring, and using them in our classrooms. Resisting them will just cause us our own extinction.

Should time still be given to accept and adapt? We are after all just like our learners who are different; not cut out the same way. How can we keep up with a 3G when the next morning we wake up with a 4G and don’t even know what all these versions mean? Am I going back to a list of excuses?

Or should schools enforce a Zero tolerance policy? It’s a battle for survival and one has a choice.

But as for me, I have no choice. "I am Blogging Now Because My Teacher Told Me To......" (title of our blogging homework).

There is zero tolerance in our class.

So I blogged and now I live.

A Blog is Born

"Schola" is Latin for school. Having a penchant for etymology, I thought of using an old language to achieve a semblance of sophistication in this seemingly mundane blog. Scribbles is self-explanatory.

It is my hope that what starts out to be a requirement for an online technology class (yes, I was forced by my teacher!) will produce a meeting of the minds among scholars, teachers, experts, parents, even friends, and anybody who is interested in the future of our students in the classroom. Heavy stuff? Not necessarily. We can be fun and creative too.

I blog to learn and expand my schema of the world.

I hope you do too.