Neglected Brain Power

Are U.S. schools, preoccupied with the "average" child, neglecting the training of uncommonly bright children? Schoolteacher Katherine P. Chambers raises the question after a year-long study of 341 "gifted" (I.Q.s of 135 and up) men and women who attended St. Louis public schools during the '20s. Among her findings:

P:Because of run-of-the-mill teaching and subject matter, some high I.Q. pupils were bored in school, failed to get top grades. Nor did most feel that skipping grades had helped much; in fact, separated from their friends, they often suffered isolation as "teacher's pets" and "brains."

P:Of the bright pupils reporting, 7% failed to finish high school; another 14% never got to college, and of those who did, only 76% got degrees. Main reasons for this high fallout rate: financial difficulties, lack of interest, parental resistance to "useless" further education.

P:As adults, although all have jobs at a higher level than the general population, too many are working at jobs (e.g., machine operator, mail carrier, freight handler) that do not utilize their full abilities.

Teacher Chambers believes that, despite progress made in educating gifted children in the past two decades (notably in California, Ohio and New York City), much brain power is still going to waste. Among the possible remedies: special counselors to identify high I.Q. pupils as early as the first grade, advanced courses or classes, parent-teacher cooperation to encourage the gifted child's development without alienating him from his school pals. The U.S. is now spending disproportionately more time and effort on the handicapped than on training the children who should be its future scientists, scholars, spokesmen.

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