Our Priorities Backward?

Over the years billions of dollars have been spent on ELL programs in schools and rightly so. These programs help students who have a different home language than English to get up to speeed in regular schooling. In addition, billions are spent on Title 1 programs to provide day care, after school programs, and school meals to students from under-priviledged communities. This spending is equally neccesary to improve scholastic performance and create safe environments for children to function properly. Add to that the discretionary spending of $5 billion dollars by the Secretary of Education in the Race to the Top money (to improve schools, student assessment, and teacher development), and it is clear that education speding is doing well.

Obviously a lot of tax payer money goes to the upliftment of our student population so it is with trepedation to learn about federal funding for gifted education being on the verge of elimination. Christina Samuels from Education Week reports that the ONLY funding at federal level for gifted education (Jacob Javits Gifted  and Talented Education Act) might be cut. If it was to the amount of billions one could emphasize with such a decision but it is a measly $7.5 million - a drop in the education-spending bucket. To blame the current administration will not be fair as the program was repeatedly dropped during the previous administration.

Two issues comes to mind:
1) How can we afford not to support the one segment of our student population that will guarantee academic performance;
2) Why is the amount so small to develop the gifted in our society who has the best potential to become leaders in any field they choose?

It is unimaginable that China or India place such a small premium on their best and brightest. It is equally unimaginable to assume that gifted students will excell without any help. But the most scary part is the fact that there is no federal mandate to provide gifted education. This means local districts dictates the services provided and a lot of the Javits program money goes to teacher training to accommodate gifted students in some shape or form.

I was not a gifted student but I grew up with a few. One committed suicide in our junior year because he hated school and was bored out of his mind. The system failed him. How many others with such potential has suffered as well?
Michael Cordier