Starting from the beginning: On building a school and community-based system supporting the gifted
Starting from the beginning: On building a school and community-based system supporting the gifted

Summary/Abstract: Special education for the gifted has become necessary when more countries and societies have “joined the club” not only as believers in compulsory education but also as actively practicing it. This process has been accelerated with the increasing population strata understanding the importance of basic and postelementary education, and showing willingness to postpone the financial benefit of the younger generation joining the work force. The result has been the rewarding of the more educated socially and politically, in addition to the increasing salary gap between the more and the less educated. At this point it was made clear that the time of special education for the more able has come. The distribution of intellectual abilities, areas of interest, inner motivation, and persistence to “make it” in spite of outer and inner difficulties is equal among all nations and societies. Thus, it is of special importance in less-advantaged countries to have the double-edged benefit of those who are more talented. First, such people are the most-valued asset of society; they can contribute both to the welfare of many others, and to the economics of the country. Second, gifted children and youths need to fulfill their high potential in order to become highly qualified adults for their own physical, mental and financial well-being, sense of completeness, and satisfaction. Education for the gifted is indeed a win-win situation. The preliminary stages needed for starting a whole system of gifted education are: 1. Awareness of the necessity of gifted education being available to all suitable students; 2. Reasons for the special importance of having gifted education in Nigeria I. Compulsory education is spreading II. The Gaussian distribution is a mathematical-statistical fact, valid everywhere and in all times. 3. Adopting an identification-of-giftedness system with minimal 104 cost and maximal effectiveness I. The need to learn from history II. The need to learn the main existing programs III. The need to learn the basic giftedness models 4. Starting teacher education courses in all aspects of giftedness for kindergarten, elementary, junior high school and high school teachers; 5. Offer health and education experts to participate in a variety of activities for identifying and nurturing the gifted. These experts will include psychologists, school counselors, headmasters and headmistresses, nurses and pediatricians. 6. Building a dynamic evaluation system that will produce and supply advancement reports at every stage of the work, in order to be able to make the needed changes immediately in case the results or outcomes do not reach the highest possible levels. These stages are to be described at length in this lecture.

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