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WHY SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED STUDENTS?
We often think of gifted students as children who will be able to "make do" in just about any classroom
setting. Most people believe that they will achieve to their full potential regardless of the educational
atmosphere.
This belief is a fallacy. Gifted students are students who have educational needs that go beyond what
a regular classroom can provide. Of course, there are many gifted children who are academically
talented, but giftedness is not limited to academic pursuits alone.
Gifted students often view the world in a way that causes them to see many sides to a problem. It is
sometimes difficult for them to give a simple answer, or to accept a simple analysis. Nothing is "cut
and dried." Every question is a puzzle to be solved.
Gifted children need a classroom setting that allows them to delve into a problem as deeply as they
desire. A good program for gifted students should not only provide a broad curriculum, but should
allow for a truly meaningful depth of study, too.
Finally, gifted children need an atmosphere of support, respect, and acceptance. Just as an athlete or
musician is respected in a regular classroom setting, a gifted student needs the recognition and
acceptance of his or her classmates. All too often, creativity and intellect are hidden, driven under-
ground by a lack of acceptance or outright taunting—from classmates.
All gifted programs, whether in public or private schools, should address these issues. For more
information on gifted education, Gibson School's Gifted Program for 4-13 year-olds, or the free Gibson
Lecture and Discussion series (GLAD), contact: Gibson School, 12925 Fenton, Redford, Michigan
48239, (313) 537-8688.
GIBBON SCHOOL
A Quality Environment for The Gifted Student
12925 Fenton Rd., Redford, MI 48239
(313) 537-8688
Open to all regardless of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin.
the so-called peyote case that
vastly expanded the right of the
government to limit a religious
activity, is being attacked in at
least six court challenges in New
York state. Most of these involve
prison officials who are concerned
that the new law requires them
to make expensive and disrup-
tive accommodations to religious
inmates. This is the same issue
that almost sank the bill during
congressional debate. In three of
these challenges, the state insists
that Congress does not have the
right to restrict state powers.
"It's the most serious kind of
challenge that could have been
brought because it attacks the
very question of Congress' au-
thority to pass the legislation,"
said Aaron Raskas, a Baltimore
activist who has represented the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Con-
gregations of America on the pro-
RFRA coalition. "All the work the
Jewish community put into this
law is being jeopardized by these
challenges."
The Coalition for the Free Ex-
ercise of Religion, which includes
dozens of Jewish, Christian and
Muslim groups, last week an-
nounced that it is filing briefs in
all six cases. The briefs were pre-
pared by Marc D. Stern, legal di-
rector of the American Jewish
Congress.
Mark Mellman
I
n big-time politics, a business
commonly regarded as dirty,
Mark Mellman defies the
stereotype. Mr. Mellman, a top
Democratic consultant and poll-
ster, insists that his work for De-
mocrat politicos — present clients
include House Speaker Tom Fo-
ley, D-Wash., Majority Leader
Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo., and
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. — is a
natural extension of his Jewish
commitment.
Mr. Mellman got into the po-
litical consulting business almost
accidentally when a political un-
known asked for help running
against an incumbent congress-
man.
'1 was a grad student," he said
recently, "and said, 'Sure, but rm
going to charge you $2,000 to do
it.' We won, it was a big upset —
and the phone started ringing."
At any given time, Mr. Mell-
man and his staff work on six to
eight statewide races and on a
dozen or so congressional con-
tests. Roughly half his business
comes from candidates and half
from business and issue-group
clients.
Contrary to the popular view
of consultants as political hired
guns who care only about a pay-
check, Mr. Mellman works only
for selected Democrats.
"We need to like them on a per-
sonal basis and agree with them
on a political basis," he said. "A
member [of Congress] called me
several weeks ago — a leading
anti-choice, anti-gun control ad-
vocate. But he was too far from
where we are and we told him
no."
That selectivity stems from
viewing his political work as a
natural extension of his Ortho-
dox religious perspective. "I look
at my Jewish commitments as
a complete way of life that ought
to inform everything I do," he
said. "Pursuing justice and peace
— these are mitzvot. We can do
it privately through charity or
through the public political
process. I try to do both."
He said that the Jewish com-
munity, with its well-organized
fund-raising and political action
networks, is well positioned to
take advantage of a rapidly
changing political world. But
Jewish leaders, he advised, need
to be responsive to those changes.
"By the time the next Congress
sits down, we'll probably have
more than half of the members
elected in the 1990s," he said. "A
lot of the old relationships and
the old ways of doing things don't
cut it in the new environment. As
a community, we have to con-
stantly reinvest in developing and
deepening our relations with our
representatives. We can't simply
rely on old relationships to get us
through."
He admits that political con-
sulting is a chancy business. His
clients this year include Sen.
Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and
Joel Hyatt, who is trying to suc-
ceed his father-in-law, Sen.
Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio.
Both are in tough races.
"Instability is a reality," he
said. "In this business, you're only
as good as your last election
cycle." ❑
ews
Germany Axes
Two Judges
Bonn (JTA) — In the wake of in-
ternational outrage, two judges
who gave a lenient sentence to an
extremist right-wing leader and
subsequently appeared to defend
him were removed from the
bench.
In June, the judges found
Gunter Deckert, chairman of the
right-wing National Democrat-
ic Party, guilty on charges of in-
citing racial hatred. The court
sentenced him to a one-year sus-
pended sentence.
The president of the court,
Gunter Weber, sent a letter 'of
apology to Mannheim's Jewish
community.
The explanation of the ruling
triggered a chain of angry reac-
tions from all parts of the politi-
cal spectrum here, and was joined
by sharp criticisms from Jewish
leaders.