Will, Emma (SEN)
From:	Mary O'Dea [modea@bigpond.net.au]
Sent:	Tuesday, 27 February 2001 1:49 PM
To:	'eet.sen@aph.gov.au'
Subject:	Submission to Inquiry - Gifted and Talented Education
27 Greenway Dr
Pymble NSW 2073

Ph 02 9440 8791

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to submit the following to the Inquiry into Gifted and 
Talented Education:-

The current system for education of the Gifted and Talented in the State of 
NSW is dominated by the use of Selective Schools. This system selects 
students through testing and separates them from the rest of their fellow 
students.

There are numerous advantages in this system.
Students are learning in the company of others of high ability.
The pace of learning can be faster.
Bright students provide a challenge to each other when they are working 
together.

There are also some disadvantages.
Families often have a mix of gifted and average ability students and may 
not want siblings to see themselves being treated differently.
Our brightest students are often the leaders amongst their peers. There are 
only a small number of leadership places available at any one school, even 
a selective school, which means many who may have been leaders at a regular 
school will not have the opportunity to develop these skills at a selective 
school.
Separating young people from their friends often does not appeal either to 
the students or to the family. This may particularly effect some socio 
economic and/or ethnic groups.
Students will eventually need to be able to work and live in the world 
alongside people who are not quite as smart as they. There is much to be 
said for giving them the opportunity to learn to cope with this as part of 
their education.

Whilst a special program for educating gifted and talented students is 
highly desirable and the current selective school system in NSW works very 
well for some students, it does not work so well for all. Indeed many are 
excluded from the educational opportunities offered by the program  because 
their families are not attracted by the separation aspect of the system . 
Others gain admission but do not reach their full potential in a system 
which concentrates all the talents in one place.

A great improvement to the system would be achieved by introducing "Honours 
Classes", in all regular High Schools in addition to the current program of 
separate selective campuses.
Students should gain admission to these classes through a test. The current 
Selective Schools test may be suitable for this purpose.
These classes should offer the regular curriculum with extension. There 
should be a requirement for a substantial amount of extension work to be 
done outside the limits of the HSC curriculum. The implementation of this 
requirement should be monitored and funding should be tied to it's 
adequacy. The current practice of covering the curriculum more quickly than 
in a regular class and then stopping, with nothing but constant revision 
for the test from that point on, does nothing to broaden the knowledge and 
skill of the student. It is, in fact, a recipe for boredom.

There are a number of advantages to such a system of Honours Classes within 
the regular High School.
Students are able to access the Gifted and Talented program without the 
trauma of separation from the friends with whom they have grown up and 
attended Primary School.
Families are spared the difficult decision of giving one of their children 
great educational opportunity at the cost of sending all their children a 
message that one is more loved and more special than the rest.
Many more opportunities for gifted young people to develop their leadership 
skills will be created.
Having talented leaders remain in regular schools will be good for the 
students in those schools.
Gifted students who remained in their local school would be able to learn 
to live and work with other people of various ability levels.

A system of Honours Classes in regular High Schools, set up in addition to 
the Selective School system, would give parents and students a better range 
of choices than they currently have. The ongoing costs would be minimal as 
the classes would be part of an existing school and would be funded from 
the normal budget.

The Commonwealth should consider providing an establishment grant direct to 
any High School wishing to set up an Honours Class. An annual grant for 
providing the extension component of the program might be considered.
The monitoring of the quality and quantity of extension work provided could 
be undertaken by the Commonwealth by tying the funding to provision of 
satisfactory reporting.

Parents and students deserve to have access to a better choice of models in 
Gifted and Talented Education. Gifted students come with many different 
personalities and backgrounds. The current model does not suit everyone.

A system of Honours classes would make Gifted and Talented programs more 
accessible for people in country regions. It would be a splendid Federation 
Year gift from our generation to the next.

Many thanks for the opportunity to contribute,
Regards,
Mary O'Dea