Teaching at GHP

Let’s talk about the students you’ll be empowering this summer.

Yes, they’re gifted. (Gifted? Honey, Please…) Let’s parse what that means in terms of being prepared to deal with them effectively.

First, be aware that your students are coming from all different kinds of backgrounds. A few may be coming from The Magnet School for Kids Who Read Really Good and Can Do Other Stuff Really Good Too, but you will also have a few from Podunk Tri-Counties Area Comprehensive High.

In all seriousness, you may have a kid come up to you in the first week or so and tell you he doesn’t belong here. Feel free to remind him of all the hoops he had to jump through to get here. And offer him a counselor.

Likewise, the kid who’s truly advanced may cop an attitude of being “unchallenged.” Feel free use the line we give the parents: “I see. What are you going to do about it?” Empower that student to make it more challenging for himself.

Offer yourself for lunchtime “tutoring” or after-minors sessions. Refer the fast learners to source materials or further reading. You know what to do.  (Do you know what not to do?  Don’t take it as a personal attack on your teaching ability—even if the student means it to be.)

The second thing you need to be aware of is that these students have a very short attention span for banality. They are expecting “different,” and they have every right to do so. Don’t be giving them worksheets.

They’re very good at role-playing and self-parody: have them stage a Senate Agricultural Committee hearing or compare GHP to the Weimar Republic. They delight in whimsy: let them play childhood games in French. They seek patterns and tools: show them “here”s how you use… archetypal analysis/gas spectrometry/three-point perspective.”

Third thing: they are of course much much better at receiving and digesting information than regular kids, but even they may not get it the first time. Double-check that they’ve got it before moving on.

NEXT: The nature of the beast, part II