Phase III Cohort: On-going learners with serious academic challenges but with visible or inherent talent /giftedness
Many classroom teachers will tell you that in a usual class there will always be a fast learner, medium term learner and a challenged learner.
The fast learner could be “bright” i.e. knows all the answers but the slow one could still have other potentials that may not be directly academic. In fact, they may be only slow in some subjects.
When such slow but potentially talented learners are put on the rigours of academics ,they feel that they may not manage and begin designing ways of getting themselves into trouble hence being shipped out of mainstream learning.
So they may create sickness or related problems if in the early years of learning or design revolutions ( commonly known in Africa as strikes) so that either their voices are heard or to get them out of the mainstream or traditional education systems.
Usually, school systems do not understand them and simply bring in punitive measures that end up worsening the situation. Such punitive actions coupled with administrative arrogance is what will finally make learners hate and ship out of education systems hence joining unworthy schemes.
Teachers need to be re-trained to be “Talent Scouts in the Rough” so that they can be able to decipher these “Potentially Lost Prizes” early and seek Talent Based Learning Support for them and avoid finally problems being solved at Phase I and II Cohorts.
This group will be assessed at the various stages of learning transitions so that that their talents hence careers are known in advance. Those found to be in great danger of drop out or would finally achieve very low grades would be challenged to Talent Based Learning early hence avoid the usual wastes and associated problems.
This Group/ Cohort is our Phase III because they are still young and somehow can still be managed in schools, as opposed to the Cohorts I and II that are in current and real danger of talent loss.
