Originally Posted by madeinuk
Quote
... when I asked about how she was being challenged in math a teacher replied, "Her handwriting is quite messy for a girl and perhaps she could work on working more neatly." I was stunned, since that had nothing to do with challenging her in math!
I am stunned.
Unfortunately, I'm familiar with frequent wordplay on the word "challenge"... where a teacher may be nit-picking, encouraging perfectionist tendencies, etc, rather than focusing on academic growth in the subject. This experience may serve to undermine the growth of gifted pupils and/or invalidate the academic needs and/or social inclusion needs of gifted pupils, making them collateral damage of the system.

In the context of education, especially gifted education to meet the needs of gifted learners, "challenge" aptly refers to advanced curriculum, pacing, and instruction at the child's level of ability and readiness... some may say in their zone of proximal development (ZPD). In reading the Federal Definition of Gifted and Talented from the website of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), we see:
"The term ‘gifted and talented,” when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities."
In this context, "challenge" would refer to the advanced academic curriculum, pacing, instruction "services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop" the high intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or academic capability.

Outside of the context of education (especially gifted education to meet the needs of gifted learners)... in general day-to-day usage, the word "challenge" can mean: (the situation of being faced with) something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person's ability (definition source: Cambridge dictionary online) or a variety of other things, according to other definitions of the word (such as challenge to a duel, legal challenge, etc). Using the definition from the Cambridge dictionary, a "challenge" can be a focus on a perceived deficit or the provision of any stumbling block or difficulty (which is the opposite of focusing on and encouraging the child's gifts/talents). Some may say that a focus on perceived deficits may encourage negative and debilitating perfectionism. For example, exacerbating gender inequality by focusing on a girl's penmanship in math class rather than teaching the girl at her ZPD.

Possibly when working with someone whose response seems to indicate a bit of wordplay regarding "challenge", a parent may want to respond by rewording the question to incorporate the contextual definition of "challenge" rather than the word "challenge". For example: Instead of asking "How is she being challenged?" ask: How is she being provided with curriculum, instruction, and pacing in her zone of proximal development to support and encourage fully developing her high mathematical abilities?

To further clarify, this is the type of challenge which kids need in order to learn work ethic, responsibility, coping with disappointment, self-worth stemming from the accomplishment of a challenging task, time-management skills, study skills, goal setting, decision-making and problem-solving skills, and sacrifice.

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Other links for Federal definition of GIFTED AND TALENTED:

1) NAGC Glossary of Terms
Originally Posted by NAGC Glossary of Terms
The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act defines gifted and talented students as “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.” [Title IX, Part A, Definition 22. (2002)] Many states and districts follow the federal definition. Find out more about how giftedness has been defined in the research.

2) U.S. Department of Education, Title IX - General Provisions
(22) GIFTED AND TALENTED- The term gifted and talented', when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.