One teacher in Pennsylvania won’t stay quiet anymore on a recent tidbit she learned. And as a result, she says “We have got to stop lying to parents.” In her TikTok video, she believes schools are going too far calling children ‘gifted’ and think of it as one big scam.
TikTok user Badlandshfk (Ms. Williams) says she’s been working as a student teacher at various schools. One of the students in her classroom was in the gifted class but she couldn’t figure out why. Apparently, this particular student was failing every class he was in. When she went and spoke to her mentor, she found out the student’s parents were responsible.
Normally, a child is tested and if they pass, they get said classes. However, the problem stemmed from the parents “requesting” him to be put in the ‘gifted’ class. And the school actually listened! Ms. Williams says in her video, “So we’re putting kids in gifted that are not gifted to please parents? And then we are shocked when our kids have straight A’s and B’s but then they graduate high school and we find out that they cannot read.”
According to Ms. Williams, this has happened to her personally, and parents even get upset with her. For example, when it comes to reading at a specific grade level. She tries to explain to parents their child is behind on their reading level, but parents shut that out, not wanting to hear it.
Unfortunately, she’s seen other teachers fold when parents get angry. They’ll say, “Okay, I’ll just give the kid 100” without getting to the root of the issue. She said this is bad for their “psyche” because “now the kids think they’re smarter than they are.” On top of that, the parents also think their children are ahead of where they actually are. That can be a massive inflation to one’s ego!
People Online Reacted to Ms. William’s Video With Shock
Ms. William’s TikTok video opened up several discussions on the way students are tested. Some commenters even shared their own experience being tested for gifted classes, stating how difficult it used to be. Among the top comments, a TikTok user wrote that they had to be “thoroughly vetted” and “there wasn’t even an appeal process.”
Others in the comments shared a similar experience, noting how schools used to “pick you” before you were tested. And that “parents did not get any say.” However, teachers could “refer” any student they felt qualified.
One viewer offered insight on their experience, stating that they were “tested every year.” And any student in ‘gifted’ classes saw their grades lowered, “they were sent back to regular class.” Ms. Williams agreed, commenting back with, “This is how it should be 😭”
Another commenter spoke of a possible reason: funding. They noted that school districts will get “extra funding for gifted kids.” It’s a cynical view, but stranger things have happened. However it’s sliced, parents shouldn’t be having any input on their children being in gifted classes.
