Nancy Flanagan of Teacher in a Strange Land counters the increasingly trendy notion that schools today are not giving enough attention to “gifted children.” Among her observations:
[I]dentifying giftedness in kids is an exercise akin to nailing jello to a board. Drawing the line between “gifted” and “not gifted” is often an exercise in parental politics as much as determining appropriate instructional practice. ... The identification process often amounts to restriction of resources based on some pretty shaky premises and indicators.
What makes the argument especially interesting—you might say telling—is that Flanagan herself has a master’s in gifted education.