SHERBURNE – The Talented and Gifted Program at Sherburne-Earlville is unique in every aspect. With student driven curriculum and little emphasis placed on grades, the students in the program are allowed to examine whatever topic peaks their curiosity.
“Students are selected for the TAG program based on three criteria; extraordinary grades, 90 or above, phenomenal creative problem solving and a passion to learn new information,” teacher and coordinator Jonathan Sherry said. Students who demonstrate all three characteristics are nominated for the program by their teachers and pulled from their regular schedule.
Approximately 150 students from kindergarten through the twelfth grade participate in the program, which is based on student driven curriculum, with Sherry acting as an intellectual advisor. Sherry explained how the program works, saying students can pick any topic, and once they’ve discussed their topic with Sherry, they until they have become an expert.
“They don’t get bored because they’ve chosen the topic,” Sherry said. “Once they’ve become an expert on their topic, they begin working on a project to share the information they have acquired.”
The students have created web sites, power point presentations, timelines and posters in enthusiastic ways. “It’s the culmination of their curiosity,” Sherry said.
Students in the kindergarten through eighth grade portion of the program aren’t given grades for their work. “In an age when so much is driven by standardized tests, they get to come in and they don’t have to stress about a grading rubric,” Sherry said. “It gives them more freedom to experience a topic.” Because colleges look at the level of difficulty of courses during the high school years, the program becomes a little different for students in ninth through twelfth grade. The students opt into an independent study, and a grade is assigned, but the students work with Sherry to develop their own grading rubric, making them a more active part of the experience.
Through the program, the students have the opportunity to take AP courses and to attend seminars at Colgate University. Not only does this process prepare students for college, but according to Sherry “it also encourages them to look at the world around them and blaze a path with confidence.”
Many activities fall under the umbrella of the TAG program, such as the Odyssey of the Mind competition – a competition that focuses on creative problem solving. S-E sent nine teams to the regional Odyssey Competition on Feb. 24, and of those nine, six came in first place for their respective division and problem. They will be going on to the state competition on March 31 at Binghamton University. “It’s unprecedented,” Sherry said. “It speaks volumes about what the district celebrates, creative problem solving.”
Sherry has been working as the coordinator of the TAG program for eight years, but he says it is hard to say how long the program has been in effect, since it has taken so many different twists and turns over the years. “The student driven curriculum gives students an authentic ownership of their education, and inspires a really strong sense of self confidence and intellect with the world around them,” Sherry said.