What role do guidance counselors play in assisting with the social and emotional needs of gifted?

What role do guidance counselors play in assisting with the social and emotional needs of gifted?

It’s interesting that you ask this question. After only one year of teaching gifted children, I realized I needed more information to assist them in reaching their potential. I entered a master’s program in counseling and guidance with the intent of applying what I learned to my gifted students in the classroom. The research I did in the course of my masters definitely acquainted me with the major theorists in gifted education and ignited my own quest to promote this underserved population. It also served my intended purpose of gaining the knowledge and skills needed to assist my students through the promotion of a secure classroom climate that allowed the gifted to grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.

In the reality of the public school, guidance counselors in the elementary grades have little to do with the gifted beyond placement unless the students present behavior problems. There are notable exceptions in communities that have well- developed and community- supported gifted programs. Unfortunately, with the advent of state mandated achievement tests, much of the guidance counselors’ time is now related to these tests as well as to the other special populations served in the schools. It is easy for the most capable students to be seen as needing the least help from a guidance counselor.

At the high school level, however, this situation often reverses itself with guidance counselors serving as college and career counselors pushing the gifted into AP classes, PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests, and other areas where their prowess could reflect positively on the school. Along the way, relationships can be formed with gifted students that are very positive for their adolescent development. Parents can be advocates for their children both at the elementary and secondary levels and request assistance from school counselors. In areas where parents have been more vocal in their requests for counseling attention for the gifted population, school districts have been responsive.