Two weeks ago, I received the January 2007 issue of Teaching Pre K–8 (one of the largest circulation magazines for teachers). The cover of the magazine read, "Highland Park? Really? At the Barber School of the Gifted and Talented, children thrive while a city struggles." I quickly opened the magazine to read the article, titled "School Story."

The article profiled the Barbar School for the Gifted and Talented and offered a positive look at a school that is succeeding in a difficult environment. The school's staff and students are to be commended. However, The Barber School is a neighborhood school that services a broad range of students—not just those who are gifted and talented. Adding "Gifted and Talented" to the name of the school was a decision by the principal because she feels that all students should be labeled gifted and talented.

Gifted and talented is a label used for children with specific learning needs. There are methods for identifying such children, national guidelines for servicing such children, and methods for supporting the unique social and emotional needs of such children.

I've seen kids fester in classrooms because they are years above their age-peers in knowledge, skills, and ability. I've seen what can happen to kids who spend years in classrooms "learning" material they already know. Being able to identify such children is the first step to getting them relevant and appropriate services.

The label gifted and talented has specific meaning and invokes a set of services and counseling approaches that have a research base to support their use with these types of children.

When Everyone Is Gifted, No One Is

I often see school administrators attempt to eliminate programs for gifted children by saying something like, "we don't need a special gifted education program because all children are gifted." Well, they are not—not any more than all children are autistic or dyslexic. Every time I hear someone pronounce that all children are gifted, I can bet money they are going to start talking about eliminating programs for gifted children in a sentence or two. If they can relegate the term gifted and talented to a phrase that applies to everyone, then special services for gifted children are provided to no one.