ABSTRACT
The field of gifted education is obsessed with finding measurement procedures which can be used to identify those few youths who are 'truly gifted' and destined to high level, creative achievement in adulthood. The picture of Latino immigrant students often depicted in the both the popular media and in the mainstream professional literature is one of a new group of residents of the United States who has a disinterest in both learning English and obtaining an education. The focus on language in recent political and public spheres has shifted attention away from the various factors known to impact education such as poverty, prejudice, segregation, school financing, and parental education. This chapter presents the condition of education of Latino students in American schools. It provides a context for a discussion of the barriers and opportunities that might be faced in working toward the recognition of the high performance capacity of young interpreters.
