Confessions of a Public School Teacher

If anyone has talked to me in the past two years, you KNOW how much I adore being a teacher!  I am shocked at the joy that it brings me to teach a lesson on the Cold War to 28 wiggly, noisy, chatty twelve year olds.  Yes, I know, it is bizarre.  Yes, it may be a mental issue from which I suffer.  But I love it.  And honestly, I think I am pretty decent at it.  But a recent experience has shown me some gaps in my teaching that I did not know that I had.

God bless Fulton County,;they are providing the opportunity for me to earn an "endorsement" for teaching TAG students.  "TAG" is Fulton code for talented and gifted.  The endorsement involves four classes during a 12-month period.  Each class is somewhat like a Masters' Level course in terms of work and internship hours.  So, to say the least, it is kicking my proverbial tail.

When I was growing up, I was one of those TAG-types.  I am not entirely sure that I would have literally tested as gifted, but I definitely had the motivation and hard work pieces of the puzzle.  Yet, strangely, when I teach, my heart has never been inclined to the kids-like-me, but rather to the ones who struggle academically.  (No doubt our adoption experiences also play into this.)  Having TAG kids on my radar is something new, and having them in my heart is even newer.  

TAG kids come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are the classic, type A, a -teacher's-joy-kind-of-kid.  But some are a mess.  They may not "look" right because of poverty, for example.  They may not act right because they are bored out of their minds in on-level classes.  They may be lacking in vocabulary because they are new to the English language.  But there are typically characteristics that will be seen in them, and those are clues to their giftedness.  

Gifted learners have at least some of the following traits:

*"adult" humor

(I love to make a joke in class that is way over a sixth grader's head and then see who laughs.  Those are the gifted ones!)

*high motivation to learn

(These are the kids who get mad at me because I don't give enough homework.)

*high need to do well

(They cry when they get a B.)

*prolific vocabulary

(I pretend to understand the words they use.  I can't have them thinking that they are smarter than me.)

*outside-the-box thinking

(They think of a solution that never entered my mind!)

*strong reasoning skills

(They make connections that take some serious thought.)

*exceptional organization, physically and/or mentally

(This is a perfect binder.  Or it may be a remarkable ability to memorize.)

TAG kids learn differently.  They thrive on higher level questions that really make them think; they get bored with too many bland details.  They love to work with each other and feel challenged (sharpened) by the others' intelligence.  They love to compete, and they love to win.  (In fact, some are afraid to fail and they will even withdraw, as that is better than trying and failing.)  Some of them need visual learning, others must hear it to get it, while others must draw it or sing it.  Really, this is true of all learners.  But because TAG kids love to learn, they may feel a higher need for this.

This class has changed my mind about TAG students.  I used to see them as capable and not in need of my direction or special attention.  I felt that my time was better invested into the ones who struggled.  The TAG kids will be ok, I thought, because they are smart and can take care of themselves.  But good teachers don't think like that.  Good teachers want to give EVERY student what they need, not just the students that they are drawn to.  I see it better now:  TAG kids are often the ones who have the potential to change the world when they grow up!  Many will lead our country; one might cure cancer; others may save the planet.  But first they must be led, cured of their own struggles, and saved!  That is where a good teacher comes in, providing hearty questions, problems, and assignments...meeting those learning needs!  I see them completely differently than I did just a few months ago.  

And can I tell you a secret?  Promise you won't tell?  I thought that TAG teachers had it easy.  I mean, who would not want to instruct a class of 20 brilliant and highly motivated little people?!  They must have put in their years working with the hard classes and now they have arrived to the easy work.  Again, I was wrong.  I mean yes, there are probably some perks to teaching TAG, but I imagine none of them would say their job is "easy".  Kids are kids.  All middle school kids are hormonal, self-obsessed and human,  TAG or not!  I really have respect for these TAG teachers.  They are constantly accelerating a lesson to the next level so that they can meet the needs of their students.  That takes some serious brain power and thinking on your feet.  I have observed a few of them in action and hope to do more of that.  I feel like they have a lot to teach and I KNOW that I have a lot to learn!

P.S.  In case you couldn't tell, this post is dedicated to my Taylor Road co-workers who invest their lives in their TAG kids!