editorial: CHALLENGE OF THE GIFTEDAuthor(s): Carole GreenesSource: The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 76, No. 4, Gifted Students (April 1983), p. 220Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27963452 .

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editorial

CHALLENGE OF THE GIFTED

With the growing technological orientation of our society, the need increases for leader

ship in mathematics and science. Despite this need, the economic constraints now facing society have imposed limitations on the ability of educational systems to develop this

leadership. In the United States in particular, limited resources, both in terms of finances and the dwindling size of the teaching force, have caused education to focus primarily on the average student, thereby neglecting the special needs of the gifted. The challenge to

mathematics educators is to foster, create, and otherwise stimulate the development of these talented individuals and to find creative ways to initiate such programs within cur rent economic constraints.

This special focus issue of the Mathematics Teacher addresses two major topics. First, it characterizes the special needs of the gifted student in mathematics from the perspectives of an educator, a mathematician, and two gifted students. Second, it presents alternative

programs and curricula designed specifically to meet the needs of these students. In the opening article, Heid describes the specific abilities that distinguish the mathemat

ically gifted from their peers?abilities that must be considered when evaluating the rele vance of programs and curricula designed to develop the talents of the gifted. In "An Account of a Mathematician's Education," Charles Fefferman, the youngest person to be

appointed full professor at a United States college, relates his feelings, thoughts, and

experiences from childhood, when he first realized his love for mathematics, to adulthood, when he became a well-respected mathematician. Heid's article and Fefferman's essay indicate a need for alternative educational programs for gifted students in mathematics. A

variety of such alternatives, including magnet programs, special schools, special classes, summer programs, and mentor programs, are described by House, who also considers the

controversy of enrichment versus acceleration. The issue continues with an article in which Badoian suggests contests and competitions as vehicles for bringing together mathemat

ically gifted students and developing their interests. Badoian also gives us a brief overview of some of the more popular contests and competitons in North America. Meeting the needs of the gifted student from the perspective of a gifted student is the subject of two

essays, one by Primer and the other by Staples, both of whom are currently undergraduate students majoring in mathematics at Princeton and Case Western Reserve universities, respectively.

In his article "Mathematical Research in the Honors Classroom," Borenson describes how he gave talented students enrolled in a course in abstract algebra and number theory the opportunity to discover mathematics and pursue mathematical research. Jacobs's article "Mathematics and the Imagination" gives us twelve problems (including "Mae West's

Math Problem") for introducing lessons and stimulating students' interest. The issue con tinues with six articles devoted to the presentation of challenges for enriching the cur riculum: "Challenges for Enriching the Curriculum: Arithmetic and Number Theory" by Bezuszka and Kenney, "Challenges for Enriching the Curriculum: Algebra" by Giam brone, "Enrichment Activities in Geometry" by Usiskin, "Challenges for Enriching the Curriculum: Statistics and Probability" by Swift, "Computers and the Mathematically Gifted" by Koetke, and "Challenging Applications: Problems in the 'Raw'" by Agnew, Keener, and Finney. An interview with the gifted mathematician and Scientific American columnist, Martin Gardner, concludes this special focus issue.

Carole Greenes Editorial Panel

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