In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Our board and the audience had some fun at our Fall 2019 WATG conference when we sang (a new version to) the old folk song Big Rock Candy Mountain.  This was a favorite song of mine growing up, with the words and melody conjuring up a magical place… a place that any child might beg to go!  It hit me that gifted children might be looking (begging) for a similar magical place where their needs are met. I asked my daughter if she would rewrite the song to reflect what the that mountain top might look like for gifted children.   Please try not to think of it as a “mountain” that is difficult to climb, where reaching the summit is impossible.  Rather, think of it as a place that we should all be striving to reach… a continuous movement of one foot in front of the other.  Just think of the fun of doing this together with a common goal in mind! That’s almost as much fun as an impromptu folk band jamming at the fall conference!           
~Cathy Schmit

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain- (Gifted Style)
One evening as the sun went down
And the summer fire was burning
Down the path came along a dream
And it said, I’m not leaving
Until there’s a land not far away
In which giftedness is counted
So come with me, we’ll go and see,
The Big Rock Candy Mountains

In The Big Rock Candy Mountains,
there’s a land that’s fair and bright
Where parents, kids, and teachers
don’t ever have to fight
about curriculums or funding
Because everyone agrees.
About grades and tests
And which is best,
And what should count
It all works out
In The Big Rock Candy Mountains

In The Big Rock Candy Mountains,
The whole world has been trained
In differentiation
and the needs of gifted brains
And every student’s needs are met
Without exacting pain
You can learn at a pace
That makes sense for your place
Your aptitude
Is rightly viewed
In The Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
You’re never shamed or shunned
For having quirks and tendencies
At which other kids poke fun
Learning has no boundaries
So the rules are flexible
You can wiggle and grove
When you need to move
You need to think
or have a point to prove
In The Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Group projects can be fun
Everyone does all the work,
It’s not left to only one
Dropout rates all disappear
Politicians understand
They need to see our kids
Hear them too,
Teach them all
With a challenge or two
In The Big Rock Candy Mountains

I’ll see you all, Yes, I’ll see you all!
In schools throughout Wisconsin!

Gifted text by Hannah Schmit
 (Original text and tune by Harry McClintock)