Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Why More Than Gifted?

As a gifted education teacher, I have so many roles. I am not just someone who does math and reading enrichment with students. At my school, I serve as more of a coaching role for our teachers. I work with them to create lessons and activities for students. So often the things that I do are "behind the scenes." I may have provided a resource for a teacher to use or helped create a Breakout Edu lesson.

I also wear many other "hats in the building where I work." I teach a Mastery (enrichment) class to students that have varying levels, including gifted.  I am the sponsor for our Student Government Association and also our Junior Beta Club. But then I also serve on our MTSS team which helps determine how we can best support all students and meet their needs. My role has many roles.

And then there are my gifted kids. They are way more than gifted as well. They have special social-emotional needs. They have amazing talents in the arts. Sometimes they need acceleration in a subject and some days they just need a hug to know that they can get through the day. I counsel kids who are perfectionist, have test anxiety, can do math I could never dream of doing and the list goes on. My students may be gifted in reading and or math but they are also so much more.