Gifted children need special schools

Gifted children need special schools

JAKARTA (JP): Noted psychologist S.C. Utami Munandar has
called for the establishment of special schools for the gifted,
saying they are needed to help Indonesia meet its target of
producing high quality human resources.

Utami said yesterday that the gifted and talented may become
underachievers unless they are given special, more challenging
learning programs.

"To produce high quality human resources, we need to provide
these children with a special education," she said.

"Otherwise, they may underachieve, and this will be a
disadvantage because, in the future, gifted children will be
expected to master sophisticated technology faster than 'normal
children'."

She defined gifted not only as possessing great intelligence,
but also talents in the arts, sports or other fields.

The professor at the University of Indonesia's School of
Psychology was speaking at a press conference about the Fourth
Asia-Pacific Conference on Gifted which will be held here from
Aug. 4 to 8.

The conference is being jointly organized by Utami's school
and the Indonesian Foundation for the Education and Development
of Gifted Children. It will be followed by a seminar in Bandung
on Aug. 10 and in Yogyakarta on Aug. 12.

Participants, including some gifted children, from 20
countries will attend the conference, Utami said.

A.S. Munandar, also a professor at the School of Psychology,
appeased some people's concerns that providing special education
programs for the gifted would discriminate against other children
or create an "intellectual elite" in society.

"People know there are elite groups in society, such as the
elite of the world of sports. So why be afraid of having an
intellectual elite? It's this group that can contribute greatly
to the nation's development," he said.

Keynote speakers in the conference will include several
experts on gifted children, including Eddie Braggett from
Australia and Wu Tien Wu, president of the World Council for
Gifted and Talented Children, from Taiwan. (31)