A major challenge facing every teacher is how to deal with
the wide range of children in his class. If he relates to the
faster children of the class, he will lose the slower ones.
If he gives time to the slower children, the brighter ones
will become bored and might start to make trouble.
Behaviorally, a gifted, creative child can display many of
the characteristics which would categorize him as suffering
from ADD or ADHD. Advice and remediation directed to ADD and
ADHD children (including medication) can be counter-
productive for -- and even destroy -- a gifted, creative
child. Therefore, when going for advice, it is essential to
ensure that the consultant is able to recognize the
characteristics of a gifted, creative child and not simply
relate to what seems to be problematic aspects of the child's
behavior.
The ideal solution is to take the bright ones out of the
class and give them private tutoring. The brighter child
needs a more varied and faster-moving curriculum than a
regular child. He also needs his own timetable which will
allow him more physical exercise and more sleep at night.
It is easier to find tutors for bright students than to find
tutors for slower students. Furthermore, it is better to have
to find a tutor for one or two bright students during school
time and direct the teaching to the main body of the class
than to direct the teaching to the bright children and
require many of the other students to have extra tutoring
after school because they cannot keep up.
Another approach is to give the brighter students extra work
to do while the teacher is dealing with the slower pupils.
For example: while the teacher is going over the
Chumash again, he can direct the brighter child to
look at a Rashi, or if the teacher is repeating a
gemora, he can tell a student to try and work out a
Tosefos.
One melamed comes to class with difficult questions
prepared for his brighter talmidim.
If a talmid knows how to use a word processor, he can
be appointed the safra d'diyna, and he can take notes
of the questions and answers which arise in class. Then he
can make a weekly news-sheet of highlights from the class.
For the end of the year he can prepare a collection of the
best chiddushim. Appointing him to this position will
help him pay attention during class and he will get a boost
from seeing his name on the published booklets.
