GIFTED, TALENTED AND HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC

When teachers speak of the squeaky wheel getting the grease, it usually refers to the conventional problem student: the one having learning difficulties. We easily fall into the trap of thinking that gifted and talented learners are achievers, the superstars that buoy our classes along and serve as an example to others. Yet sometimes gifted and talented learners do not carry their gifts with grace. As educators, our responsibilities here move beyond teaching them information to equipping them with the skills to benefit from standard education and contribute socially at the elevated level a gifted person is capable of.

My dilemma this week is a bright young woman with a strong personality, a will of her own, an unusually powerful command of English and a serious attitude problem. Stuck in our Foundation Programme – which is intended to teach students English and study skills – she is intensely frustrated by work that is too easy for her (although classmates battle) and a course of study she did not choose. Her response has, sadly, not been particularly intelligent or at all considerate: disrupting classes, flouting regulations and most recently disrupting an exam session to the point where two of my highly trusted colleagues saw no option but to take her paper and remove her from the room.

At this stage, there are sufficient grounds for her expulsion, even from this lenient nationalized free education system. But if we expel here, have we done our part for this young woman who oozes potential (and, I have to admit, attitude)? Have we done our part for the country?

Although placed in the business programme, she insists that she wants a career in acting. In this society, that would be unacceptable. However, we may be able to coax her into transferring to the Communications programme, in order to start a career in broadcasting. Interestingly, this will put pressure on her English ability, which is great for a student but not quite ready for TV. However, she will have to sign an agreement to cooperate and participate for the rest of the semester. She will also have to do a demanding project – scripting and presenting a documentary – in the place of the exam she missed. And maybe, just maybe, a potential tragedy will be the making of one of Oman’s first female television superstars.

Because teaching English is not really my job. It’s just an alibi.