‘Gifted and talented’ is a zombie. It is dead, but still walking around. There are new labels to stratify students – ‘more able’, ‘significantly able’, ‘high-aptitude learners’. New labels do not equal new thinking. The concept of ‘gifted’ is still stubbornly embedded in our educational structures, with its legacy of social immobility, racism and sexism. Students can be ‘more able’ when they have more financial resources, more access, more visibility, or more cultural acceptance. There are pervasive narratives that educators should prioritise extension for some students and not others. We can dispel the myth that pitching lessons judiciously to ‘middle ability’, and then differentiating up and down, is effective.
This book explores how we can provide every student with rigorous challenge. Challenge for all is an inclusive approach to teaching, whereby every student is invited, and given the tools, to reach a place of mastery. This can be through project-based learning, Harkness round-tables, oracy, adaptive teaching, inclusive enrichment programs, dynamic classroom strategies and a schoolwide mission for equity. Educators can embed powerful knowledge into the curriculum, reimagine teaching to the top, and stretch learners through personalised and responsive instruction. The shift to enrichment, challenge and equity creates magnificent possibilities. The message to all students is: you belong here.
