Gifted Education Policy Changes I’d Like to See – Part 2 of 3

All children should have access to a cost-free education that prepares them for life and careers

---

This is what I think and what I know can be done.

The benefits of an excellent education for everyone who wants to continue their training for the different goals people have, one that fits their abilities, needs, and interests, is ultimately a benefit to us all. Cost-free options must be available nationally. When people aren’t paying endlessly ballooning college loans, for example, they can purchase homes, start businesses, and become contributing members of their communities. And when they have good jobs and careers as a result, they can pay taxes to continue the support of a “good fit” education for those following them.

Cost-free post-secondary training does not mean only university-level participation because most people, even many gifted people, want job and career training, not a degree that gives them fewer real ready-to-go options. In fact, many of the book’s subjects saw it would have greatly helped them to have had a class or two about how to run a business before they tried to start a business on their own.

A more efficient use of the years leading up to the end of high school could be more suitable for many people. For example, one good option is to increase access to many life skills courses and make them accessible to all students who are interested during their middle and high school years. Let me be clear here: not everyone wants or needs a liberal arts education in their kindergarten through high schools years. Classes such as shop, business math, bookkeeping, family planning or living, home economics, computer programming, and anything else our young people need before they become adults, should be available to all students.

For gifted students, when they are facilitated in appropriate-for-them acceleration through elementary school at a pace they can handle (a Level Three gifted child, as an example, requires fewer than two years to finish the typical elementary curriculum, and a Level Five is often entirely finished with the elementary curriculum but the time they reach first grade), they have the extra time to not only finish their university admission goals but to learn life skills before they leave high school. Assuming they chose to stay in school.

One Level Five participant described how when a concurrent enrollment (a concurrent high school and college option that is paid for by district education dollars) at a community college did not work out well for him, he decided to go back to his public high school. A restructure of the middle and high school years, where public education is already free to families, would include this youngster’s (who has a Level Five, profoundly gifted, intellect) description of DECA, a student organization generally for the students who plan to work right after high school, not go to college. See https://www.deca.org/high-school-programs/. He said it worked out to be the best option he ever had:

I passed the AP courses and was supposed to go to 12th grade. I did, but since I’d already passed all required courses, I took courses like pottery, drafting, marketing (big one for me, got into it in senior year), then DECA [a program available in most high schools that prepares students for a variety of goals and careers], which I loved.

For years, gifted students have been discouraged from taking life skills courses. Instead, the college bound students have course completion requirements that take up all their time in high school. They already spent eight years waiting for challenging coursework to finally be available to them. Liberal arts courses, college prep courses. Those are fine, but why do students have to wait until high school for those when they are ready three to seven or so years earlier? (In book 1 listed below). And yet, during elementary and middle school, they were simply waiting for something to happen. Wasting precious time.

For introverted gifted youngsters, online learning works well, especially when supplemented by some in-person activities with mentors, age-mates, shared interest groups, and true peers. As a Level Two (highly gifted) study subject suggested:

I believe online learning will revolutionize higher education once people stop clinging to the past and the status quo and realize the exorbitant price of college is no longer worth it.

This would be an excellent option for many gifted youngsters not just for the post- secondary years but throughout their school years. At present, online learning is still not possible for large portions of our population until Wi-Fi hotspots become available everywhere. The Covid pandemic showed us how important that is when so many rural and urban families simply could not participate in the nearly year-long stay-at-home online learning the disease caused.

Just as technical colleges that aim for training people in industry and the trades are a good alternative option, so are community colleges a wonderful option. Additionally, online learning is an overall cost savings, as the subject stated.

As a Level Three (exceptionally gifted) participant stated:

I can’t tell you how many people I have been around who’ve lamented the fact that they weren’t pushed toward learning a trade as early as high school, and that it would have been appreciated if they had been pushed to learn a trade.

Each step in one’s education should fit the levels of students’ abilities and interests, personality, and level-of-activity profile. There are classroom management techniques and approaches that allow plenty of time for students to move around safely and respectfully during each day, for example, and many students — and adults — appreciate some physical freedom while they learn and think.

Also, high intelligence and creative and intellectual follow-through often cannot show up when the child is perpetually struggling with poverty or emotionally chaotic life circumstances. Such children often cannot earn scholarships because they are in no emotional condition to fill out the forms or show great grades in school. They are already feeling skeptical and hopeless. We mustn’t assume that all children have enough grit, confidence, and resilience to create their best selves while still steeped in unsatisfactory environments at home or school — or both.

---

My current published books about the gifted:

(1) 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009. Here are links to the 5 Levels of Gifted book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/5-levels-of-gifted-deborah-ruf/1126358834 and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-School-Educational-Options/dp/0910707987 or directly from the publisher: https://www.giftedunlimitedllc.com/store/p12/5_Levels_of_Gifted.html

(2) The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023). https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-Children-Grown-Up/dp/B0C9SHFRLH or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-levels-of-gifted-children-grown-up-phd-deborah-l-ruf/1143719859?ean=9798988323709. This is an 18-year longitudinal study follow-up about the original gifted child subjects in 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005, 2009).

Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child (2023). On Amazon, Keys to Successfully Parenting Gifted Children (2022, 2023) Print and ebook. The Nook version is also now on B&N. This is a short book 80 pages including pictures — that is a great starter for parents just wanting some answers … fast! The content was originally from a PowerPoint I created for the parents of gifted children presentations around the country. The contents zero in on some of the most important things about raising gifted children that parents want to know.

Losing Our Minds: Too Many Gifted Children Left Behind (Oct. 2024). The book provides a detailed analysis of the different levels of giftedness, the concept of "good fit" in educational settings, and the impact of various school environments on gifted children. ​It also includes personal stories and experiences of gifted children and adults, highlighting the challenges they face in finding appropriate educational and social environments. Available now on both Amazon and B&N. It is not the old purple book from 2005. Also, the Kindle and Nook versions are formatted so readers can click back and forth easily and find their place again. Follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL3BSC9X or this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/losing-our-minds-deborah-ruf/1146410968?ean=2940185888872

Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case Studies (D. Ruf, 1998) doctoral dissertation. Free PDF https://dabrowskicenter.org/ruf

---

Dr. Ruf is available for the following services.

Click for details and to schedule:
One-Hour Test Interpretation
Gifted Child Test Interpretation & Guidance
20-Minute Consultation
45-Minute Consultation
One-Hour Consultation
Podcast Interview