Institute offers pedagogical support to low-income gifted individuals in Rio

Giftedness, also called high ability, is still surrounded by stigma and misinformation. Therefore, young people with the condition and of school age often do not have their educational needs met. 

To break this cycle, the Instituto Apontar, in Rio de Janeiro, serves students from public and low-income schools with this characteristic. To achieve this, the entity works on two fronts: the  Programa Arcos and the Programa A+. 

In the first, a psychosocial team identifies 4th-year students with high-ability traits and, for two years, prepares them to enter the best public or private schools in Rio. Monitoring continues until the completion of high school, with pedagogical and psychological support. 

In the Programa A+, the focus is on students in the 6th to 9th year of elementary school. Isadora Tonietto, executive director of Instituto Apontar, explains that they go 3 times a week after school and the activities take place inside municipal schools, which provide the spaces. 

For the selection process, the Institute has a cooperation agreement with the Secretaria Municipal de Educação do Rio de Janeiro. A psychosocial team goes to schools to identify students with high-ability traits. In addition, a socioeconomic check is carried out and, finally, there is a conversation with the student’s family. 

For those in the 4th year, there is also a Portuguese and mathematics test, which is not eliminatory, but to understand the level of knowledge. 

“Sometimes, they (the students) don’t even understand the importance of what we are saying, but we started to plant that seed from the first conversation”, says Isadora. The organization offers, for example, English, mathematics, writing and robotics classes, as well as workshops and pedagogical support. 

Instituto Apontar also provides psychological support to families, as creating a bond between all parties is essential for the progress of those served.

Results

The institute’s students came first in several courses in the last entrance exam. There are also great results in school Olympiads or science fairs. “In 2022, a group of three students, during robotics class, created a portable sensor capable of measuring water potability. They went to Febrace (Feira Brasileira de Ciência e Engenharia) and came in 4th place”, says Letícia Stewart, responsible for the institutional development area, adding that one of them was approved in 1st place in Physics at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ).

Misinformation

Despite the ease of learning, when their educational needs are not met, students with high abilities lose interest and are labelled bad or messy. According to Isadora, it is common to confuse them with geniuses, who learn everything by themselves. 

“Sometimes, students will progress faster, but they need to have access to that content, they need to learn to enjoy studying, to be challenged. They are extremely inquisitive, interested and critical students,” she says. 

The lack of information is a barrier that the entity has to overcome when going to schools to identify. “We get tired of hearing during our identification process that that student ‘is from the mess’. And they are precisely those students who have enormous potential, who have traits of high academic skills, but are not being challenged”.

Cultural repertoire

Another concern is with the cultural repertoire, as the Institute only identifies students with high academic skills. To this end, once a two-month period an activity is scheduled outside the Institute. 

The students have already visited the Museum of Tomorrow, Casa Rui Barbosa, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil and Escola Naval. There is also a partnership with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, which, in addition to the students, serves families who accompany them. A choir was assembled with those responsible.

Do you want to support the project? 

Instituto Apontar accepts donations from individuals and companies. It is also possible to donate by deducting the amount of income tax. Furthermore, the Institute accepts occasional or permanent volunteers. To find out more, just get in touch via  Facebook, Instagram or the website.