The special education of the gifted ones can be seen as controversial, as the gifted are seen as privileged beings most of the times. In this paper, one sees the role of the teacher educating gifted students equal to the role of the teacher educating any student, that is, the role of establishing with them an educational relationship which respects the differences and fulfills the special needs of each and every student. It has been written having as a basis the research made for a dissertation which links a program for the education of gifted students with the development of their moral autonomy, and it presents a given concept of giftedness, as well as some difficulties that can be found in the identification of those beings. It also analyses the use of intelligence tests to evaluate gifted pupils, as well as listing other factors involved in their evaluation. Finally, it describes some kinds of programs seen as alternatives of education of the gifted ones, not only by experts, but by the government as well. One sees that the role of the educator is very important if one wants the gifted ones to become aware of their talents, trying to minimize the effects of being seen as a different student.
special needs; gifted; special education