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Kim's Blog
“Passion, I see, is catching.”
Kim Kleeman, President and CEO of Shakespeare Squared, is a former educator and knows what works—and what doesn’t—in the classroom. This blog contains her thoughts on everything from the pending teacher shortage to No Child Left Behind to entrepreneurship and working parents.
Boosting Student Achievement
Posted on February 3, 2010 at 01:23 PM
Now that we have officially rung in the new year, it is time for me to make some new predictions for 2010. And as I look back into my crystal ball, I have 10 predictions for what the coming year will look like—both for Education and content.
What is my fourth prediction for Education?
Curriculum for gifted students will expand, and states will allot money for programs and technology for them.
As a subcategory of Special Education, gifted programs are often put on the backburner in school districts. I know many parents who had to fight for their child to be tested and for courses to be designed for their gifted child. In fact, gifted programs were some of the first to be cut under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The problem I have with NCLB is that it fails to recognize the potential of gifted students to raise standardized test scores—by giving them an opportunity to participate in programs that will really motivate and challenge them.
When my 11-year-old daughter was recommended for a gifted program (at age 6), we were told to go to the Center for Talent and Development at Northwestern University. Since our school did not have any programs to help her, and she was starting to display signs of boredom in the classroom, we decided to check it out.
The center aims to integrate rigorous coursework with fun learning activities to both interest and stimulate students—courses like Adventures & Fantasy, the Computer Gaming Academy, Robotics, and Poetry Slam. Many of these courses included collaborative learning methods, inquiry-based learning, and self-discovery.
These courses sound great, but we need to find a way to offer these types of classes in mainstream schools and to translate them to every student in some capacity. And unlike NCLB, Race to the Top seeks to boost student achievement through the implementation of more innovative and creative curriculum. With this in mind, and with technology and STEM in the forefront, we are truly poised to focus on children who may not have been left behind, but who were definitely forgotten.
To find out my next prediction for Education, check back next week.
