Like the old gods, our nineteenth century educational model is also dead. Modern science has changed the way we understand the universe and high technology has changed the way people communicate.
Gifted children have longer periods of concentration than average students.
The school day should also be extended but again with classes scheduled in modules or blocks of time. Michael J. Barrett, writing in The Atlantic Monthly , makes a convincing case for more time in school when he compares the average American school year of 180 days with the Japanese average of 243 and West Germany's 240. The Civil War, for example, offers learning opportunities which connect to history, English, art, music, mathematics and science. Since many gifted students at the secondary level function and achieve beyond grade level, placement should be flexible - according to ability, not just age. So is the practice of challenging credit for courses by examination.