Hi, I'm new to the forum. My background: I was identified as gifted in primary school and participated in the pull-out gifted program in my public school. In middle and high school I went to a private school that did not have a gifted program and actually dropped out of high school before graduating (though I got a GED). I did a random smattering of college courses here and there over the years, and last year I began study at a very prestigious university that has a special program for non-traditional students. I'm doing well.

I study classical languages in university, and I want to work in gifted education. I know some graduate programs in education offer a speciality in gifted ed (Columbia, Univ. of Virginia, etc), but the number of schools seems very small.

So to anyone on this forum who works in gifted ed - should I pursue graduate work in classics or in education? What are the options for people interested in this field?

It's tricky. I think we recognize that there is generally an oversupply of people who are very talented and hard working in the classics. You might get a PhD and end up teaching Latin in a Catholic School like a brilliant and super-competitive (e.g. Jeopardy: Tournament of Champions) friend of mine.

There is a real--but unrecognized--shortage of qualified teachers of the gifted in the US, and there is very little support for them right now. Many public schools and districts either do not consider the education of their gifted students a problem that needs solving, or they consider it to be a problem that will go away--to the private schools--if ignored long enough. Seriously, most principals in my experience probably don't even think about it that much. At the flagship public university in my state, gifted education is a portion of an undergraduate course on differentiation for diverse learners. There is no graduate coursework offered in gifted education there.

I, too, am a former student in a gifted program. I am also a general education teacher in a middle school, who has much more experience evaluating students who may have a disability, and creating and implementing plans to deal with those. I would love to create and implement plans for gifted students, but nobody is asking me to do that.

I am talking to the folks at the University of Georgia about their online program in Gifted and Creative Education. There is a small possibility that I will not see any pay increase, even if I complete the degree. There is a significant possibility that I will never work with gifted students that don't happen to be randomly assigned to my classroom in the usual shuffle. There is a tiny possibility, if I complete the degree, that I will become the gifted coordinator for my state.

That's about the size of it. I've been reading some of the books listed in the syllabi of the program that interests me. Not a book I've seen listed there, but a good one nonetheless is _Living with Intensity_. I hear there are some Dabrowski enthusiasts at Georgia. _Methods and Materials for Teaching the Gifted_ is big and expensive, but valuable. I bought it as an e-book for my Kindle. You might be able to download a free sample.

Beckee,

Thanks for the generous reply and for the book recommendations. It is hard to be optimistic.

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA has a graduate program in gifted ed. They also produce quite a bit of curriculum for gifted students. See http://education.wm.edu/centers/cfge/graduate/alumni-features/index.php for alumni experiences. I live nearby which is the only reason I know a little about them.

Best of luck to you!

I don't have a background in either teaching or gifted education (other than what I know from having friends who are teachers, parents who were teachers, and from advocating for my kids at school)... but I have a background of having pursued a degree and career in a field that has had it's ups and downs in terms of jobs available, cutbacks, upswings etc. My advice is that the best thing to do is simply to follow your heart - definitely do your research into what options are available and what degree will help you get to where you want to go, so you won't be making *bad* choices - but if it comes down to knowing basically what you want, but being afraid that the road ahead doesn't look promising re employment or opportunities, keep in mind that having a passion for what you do really does make a difference as you move forward - so don't necessarily discount what *you* want to study and the direction you want to go - follow your heart!

And good luck

polarbear

I did want to add that I have been to a seminar by someone from William and Mary, and it was excellent.