The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

it is likely that more children will be found to reveal artisticgifts and talents requiring nourishment. Third, gifted childrenremain widely misunderstood or ignored as a category.We do not accept the charge of elitism in this contextbecause we are not postulating the gifted versus the nongifted.All children may have gifts of some kind. These needto be discovered and developed to the best of their, and our,ability. Thus there are two dimensions to the question ofgifts and talents at school:a how to increase general exposure to the arts and theopportunity to enjoy and participate in them to anextent that we can say the educational process genuinelyprovides an opportunity for gifts and talents to revealthemselves in every area at every social level? Thesolution to this problem is implicit in our considerationof the arts and the curriculumb having provided this opportunity, how best to identifygifts and talents and encourage their development?166 Helping No firm line can be drawn between the gifted and talented.gifts and All the more important, therefore, that local educationtalents: the authorities should create the circumstances at authority androles of the at school level within which the artistic talents of all youngschool people can be encouraged.100a IdentificationThe very gifted frequently identify themselves at anearly age. Others need the help of identification byparents, relatives or teachers. It is the school's job to beable to recognise such gifts and talents and to arrangeappropriate support with help from parents and thelocal education authority. To help in this the Devoneducation authority, for example, now provides guidancein identification and has established two centres towhich primary-age children, thus identified, can go forhalf a day a week for extra tuition.b Extra tuitionIn the later years of primary education and throughoutsecondary education children gifted in the arts willneed special training in their art and special arrangementsto balance this training against the demands of generaleducation. Such arrangements in ordinary schools mayinclude, dropping some subjects to provide more time topractise a particular skill, or time off for specialisttuition.Arts specialists seem undecided whether this trainingcan be best given within the ordinary school system or