I have had the opportunity to see a number of students come out of the gifted and talented program at various high schools in our area and taken notice of their abilities when it comes to college. While they usually do better work than a lot of their peers, I have also noticed that they seem to have developed other qualities that make them very good students and interesting to work with.
One of the very first thing that I notice about students from a gifted and talented program is that there is a lot more individuality than there is in other students. They are comfortable with being themselves, because they don't feel a need to fit a particular mold, and because of that fact, are usually a lot more interested and involved in classes. They want to learn as much as they can, which is any professor's dream, and they participate during lectures.
I decided that I would allow one of the students who had come from a gifted and talented program give a presentation one day that none of the rest of the class was assigned. Why did I do this? Because he asked if he could give a presentation on a topic related to what the class was working on. I noticed that some of the students snickered and acted like he was a teacher's pet, but most of them listened and thought it was very interesting. I could tell that he was not just sucking up, either. He genuinely had something that he wanted to contribute that he had researched on his own!
What I like about the gifted and talented program is that students usually feel pretty comfortable being themselves, because they are around like-minded people who want people to afford them the respect to listen to their points of view and allow them to express themselves. Why? Because they are informed, and they have things to say. I think it is absolutely wonderful and I really commend gifted and talented programs for fostering that type of outlook.
I have seen a number of students who were part of their school's gifted and talented program go on to become doctors and lawyers and engineers and so forth. I have seen many such students receive advanced degrees and contribute greatly to society, and we need more people like them in the world to be problem solvers and help civilization continue to advance. They really provide a great opportunity for students to nurture their hunger for learning, and for that, I will always hold such programs in the highest regard.
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So now that you've had a perspective on gifted and talented programs from the perspective of a teacher or adult, let's look at how a student has experienced their gifted and talented school.
Going to a talented and gifted school was quite a privilege, but it also involved quite a few more responsibilities than other kids had. When I was growing up, most talented and gifted programs at school cost an arm and a leg. My parents didn't have a lot of money, so we were lucky we were able to find a gifted charter school in the area. It was actually not quite in our immediate area. It was a good half hour drive each way to school - not a problem for me, but quite an inconvenience for my parents who both worked 50 hours a week or more. Nonetheless, they wanted the best for me, so they made the commitment to drive me there. There was no bus that went there, so they had to carpool every morning. That meant that I would have to get there an hour before school and stay an hour late.
Of course, like any good talented and gifted school, the academy I went to gave out a lot of homework, so I made use of that extra time in school. It meant that, by the time I got home at night, I had a good start on my homework and that, if I did not get everything done before I went to sleep, I still had an hour to do it in the morning. At first it seemed like an inconvenience to get to school early and leave late, but soon I saw it was a blessing.
And classes at that talented and gifted school were out of this world. I was able to move way ahead in math class, taking courses I wouldn't have been able to for a couple years in public school. And the electives were even better. I got to study computer programming, learn a little bit about welding and construction, and even study some basic tracking and survival skills in an enrichment program. Perhaps the best part of it, however, was the other talented and gifted resources.
The school had one of the best libraries I had ever seen, and one of the most helpful librarians I have ever met. He would help find resources on almost any subject you can imagine, and he was always there to listen to any questions and give you helpful answers. The instructors were also pretty great too - at least some of them. There were teachers at the talented and gifted school who would be your friends as much as your instructors, giving you helpful advice and academic counseling. Some of them had engaged in other fascinating project before becoming teachers, so you could get help with out of school projects as well. I had professors, for example, with backgrounds in engineering. They came in handy when I wanted to design and build my own robot!
We hope that this information was helpful to you and that you'll be able to make good choices when it comes to deciding about a gifted and talented program.