Abstract
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- Volume 25
- Issue 2
- Publication Date: Spring 2002
The Challenge of “Challenged” Books
Robert W. Seney
The joy of reading offers students the opportunity to explore this wonderful world through books. This seems to be especially true for gifted students. Many, if not most, gifted students are avid readers (Halsted, 1993). In fact, reading often becomes their coping skill of choice. They read to handle the lack of challenge and the boredom of classrooms that are not meeting their learning needs. The novel behind the textbook is a common scenario. Several studies have reported that gifted students read three or four times as many books as average children (Whitehead, 1984). In addition, gifted students read a greater variety of books and are more adventurous in exploring different types of literature (Hawkins). These students read to satisfy their own curiosity and to build their own knowledge bases at a depth that is way beyond what is covered in the classroom. They also read just for the joy of reading with reading frequently being their activity of choice. So, what happens when quality literature has been unavailable by special interest groups or school boards? The result is that another limit has been placed on gifted students. These students read with more sophistication and understanding than their same-age peers. They often need a book for their own research or to meet their own social and emotional needs. What happens if that book has been taken off the shelf?
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