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Who Should Teach Gifted Education?

Is it fair to ask regular education teachers to teach gifted education? The question is both simple and complicated at the same time. The variables are as great as the number of teachers teaching.

Let’s go with the simple answer first. No. No, it is not fair. It is not fair to the teacher and it is not fair to the gifted student.

In his recent , “Do We Know How to Teach Highly Able Learners”, Peter DeWitt states, “I often wonder if highly able learners are snubbed because teachers are unclear on how to challenge them. Given high stakes testing woes, increased responsibilities and higher class sizes, some teachers are burned out and cannot meet the needs of most gifted learners. So instead of finding something new, they give more of the same.”

I don’t wonder at all. If you’re going to teach students who have been identified as {{insert applicable word of choice for ‘gifted’}}, then you should at the very least be certified to teach gifted education. Now, before those of you who are teachers grab your mouse to send me a “who do you think you are questioning the teaching profession” email or parents poised to give me a round of applause … step away from your computers and sit down in your seats.

Here’s a reality check for everyone involved … education isn’t what it used to be. It has lost its way. It has been standardized in a world filled with children who are anything but standard. Who among you would say that your child is like everyone else’s; run of the mill? When did we forget the difference between equality and equity? Whose potential must be realized and whose potential is pushed to the side?

So … who should teach your child? If your school started hiring its teachers from the general populace … people with non-education degrees or no degree at all … there would be an uproar from the public! Why then are highly-abled children expected to be taught by someone without any background in gifted education? Why should we expect a teacher who has been trained in elementary education to be differentiating for someone who may need instruction in calculus?

It’s not easy being a teacher today. It’s especially difficult to teach in a school district with shrinking budgets, no professional development, and a lack of technology. How many parents would like to be judged and potentially punished for whether or not their children succeed or fail in life? Most teachers I know are dedicated professionals, but there are not enough hours in a day to adequately meet the needs of every single child … even with technology … in a classroom spanning 6 or more years of ability.

There are many ways to achieve an equitable education for your gifted child. Look for schools that require gifted education certification and provide a program specific to gifted children. When this is not available, research alternative education opportunities; many of which I have already written about in this blog. Should your child find themselves in a ‘full inclusion’ classroom, share information with their teacher about instructional strategies for gifted children. My blog post on the topic can be found .

Who should teach gifted education? Hopefully, this post has made you contemplate the options and inspired you to become pro-active in advocating for an appropriate and high quality education for your child.

Gagné’s Promise … Potential and Achievement

Recently, I was privileged to hear Dr. Françoys Gagné give a presentation on his Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent 2.0 (DMGT) in Second Life []. Although I had read many papers by Professor Gagné, nothing could replace listening to him explain it in person (virtually) and answer questions from the audience.

With all the recent discussion of talent development in the U.S., the timing of this presentation could not have been better. I was immediately struck by the different approach taken by Gagné and understood why those in other countries did not understand the resistance to talent development in the U.S. by many leading gifted education professionals.

Gifted children … our children … are more than a product to be exploited. They have feelings and needs beyond their academic abilities. As a parent, this is often seen as more important than raising the next Nobel Laureate … although a Nobel Prize in the family would be nice.

The DMGT addresses both giftedness and talent as a whole package. Fancy that! It’s always nice to see academics get it right. It is not an either/or proposition. Giftedness is the possession of natural abilities – a promise of achievement when coupled with effort. Will all children who are identified as gifted achieve? No. Is it the end of the world? No. Could a child’s achievement change the course of history? Sure. As parents, it is our role to learn about and understand giftedness so you can support and nurture your child. It is in the end, however, your child’s decision whether or not to make the effort.

Professor Gagné developed a chart [shown above] to show the process that transforms giftedness into talent via catalysts ~ environmental, intrapersonal and developmental. His model includes the top 10% of learners among age peers – he casts a wider net than many of his colleagues. This is reflected in his definition of giftedness, “Giftedness is the possession of outstanding aptitudes (natural/untrained abilities) in at least one ability domain, to a degree that places an individual among the top 10% of age peers.”

This model acknowledges the existence of ‘giftedness’ and ‘talent’ as aptitudes and competencies while defining three shared characteristics. As both are human abilities, they target those who are different from the norm, and that difference exists due to outstanding behaviors.

The DMGT covers many bases included in other models. It represents a child-friendly approach to understanding giftedness. The columns on the model are detailed and straight-forward. Gifted Education is a field of many different approaches and it is hoped that the reader will be helped to better understand them with information presented in this blog.

Being able to hear Gagné explain his model was priceless. If you would like to join me at the next Virtual Conference in Second Life, please take a moment to visit this to find out how. Hope to see you there!

Emotional Intensity and Overexcitabilities

Becoming the parent of a gifted child is not unlike getting married. Whereas, you initially think that you are starting a new life together with your spouse, you soon realize that you have actually married an extended family and their entire social network!

Parenting not only involves your child. You must also learn to deal with their peer network – both age-peers and intellectual peers, the parents of their peers, and those who educate. One big happy family … with one exception … the likelihood that they are all emotionally intense and exhibit overexcitabilities.

A popular book (and now movie) for soon-to-be parents is "What to Expect When You’re Expecting". Well, someone needs to write a companion book … ‘What to expect When You’re Expecting a Gifted Child’. The entire first half of the book would need to be about Kazimierz Dąbrowski and his theories.

I’ll admit that even two years ago, I had no idea who Dabrowski was. When I started reading about his theories, I quickly was asking … where have you been all my life? Suddenly a lot of things made sense. I felt like I was an ‘outsider’ who was becoming an ‘insider’ when it came to understanding giftedness.

I won’t pretend to fully understand Dabrowski’s theories. A good friend in Austrailia writes a blog called “” that does a fantastic job of explaining them. Also, Stephanie Tolan has an that explains them in layman’s terms. In a nutshell, gifted children and adults tend to take their emotions ‘over the top’.

What does this mean for the parent of a gifted child? Well, for starters, it would be advisable to be able to recognize their traits of gifted individuals which extend way beyond just being smart. And … you need to realize that the rules have changed. Frankly, you should probably throw the rule book out the window! Your child, their friends, their mentors and teachers … probably don’t fit in society’s expectations for run of the mill behaviors.

This isn’t meant to scare you. Think of it as a call to attention. Your life has simply been expanded to include a whole lot of people who experience life somewhat differently than the rest of society. Their intense emotions are the result of an often deeper understanding of the world around them; or at least a different understanding.

My point is that behaviors of gifted children need to be viewed in a new and different light. Although the sum of their parts, they often add up to a somewhat less than predictable result. Add in their asynchronous development and you soon realize that they are far more complex and so much more than simply a talent to be developed. Yes, as a parent or teacher, you do all that you can to assist them in realizing their potential; but that will be meaningless if you don’t understand their intense emotional side.

One last bit of advice … take a look inside and consider that you too may well exhibit intense feelings and overexcitabilities. Self-awareness can go a long way in becoming a much better parent. One day when that precocious little child grows up … they will thank you.

Elitism? Walk a Mile in My Shoes

In the past few weeks, there have been online discussions and blog posts concerning charges of elitism directed at gifted children and their parents. Honestly, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Looking back over the past 15 years, I’ve decided that 9 months of expecting the arrival of those precious bundles of joy was akin to waiting in line at Disney’s Space Mountain. Little did I realize what lay in store … the ups and downs, the fears and joys, the extreme range of emotions that were to come.

I’m often reminded of the saying, “walk a mile in my shoes.” Believe me … it was no walk in the park. Some days felt more like being on a field-mine retrieval team as you tried to avoid making a wrong move!

Elite? I don’t think so! Blessed? Definitely. Feeling alone? Often. Looking for answers? A never ending story. Dealing with extreme behaviors? Unfortunately.

Parenting a gifted child can be as much about sitting in the audience of an award ceremony as waiting in an emergency room. Gifted children come with their own set of rules, idiosyncrasies, special needs … almost from the moment they draw their first breath. There are over-achievers and under-achievers, profoundly gifted, highly gifted, creative types … the list goes on and on.

What does one say to the critics who think we “have it so good?” Ohmmmm ….. How do we cope with our situation? We become informed parents. By the time your child has grown into adulthood, you’ll be wondering why some institution of higher learning has not offered you an honorary degree ~ because you will have earned it! Nothing trumps a good education, and in this case; consider it to be an independent study.

Whenever confronted with an issue dealing with my gifted children, I would scour the Internet looking for articles; go to the library seeking books; seek out professionals who I thought might have ‘the’ answer … someone to solve my perceived problem. Too often, it simply did not happen. You see, all bets are off when parenting gifted kids.

Ultimately, you will find your answer. It becomes easier the more you learn about gifted children. You’ll also learn that charges of “elitism” are voices of the unknowledgeable. Always remember, you are not alone. Keep searching.

Gifted Education in Rural Areas

Does it make a difference where a child lives with regard to their education? Why, yes … yes it does! In fact, it matters a great deal. In the

U.S.

, 40% of American schools are considered rural; towns with populations of less than 2,500 people.In other parts of the world, the percentage is even higher.
    The University of Iowa conducted a of rural educators and found some strengths in rural education overall. As might be expected, the role played by the community-at-large was greater than that of an urban area. Smaller numbers of students allowed for more inclusive participation in activities of all kinds. Less mobility of students resulted in greater stability of cohesive classrooms. Teachers got to know their students and were more invested in influencing educational outcomes.
    What does this mean for gifted education? How do these factors influence the way in which teachers deliver services to gifted students? There are pros and cons to rural life when considering the education of academically gifted students.
    Many advocates today – me included – would like to see ability grouping in the classroom. In rural communities, multi-grade/age classes are more common than in other settings. It’s an easy transition for teachers to segue into grouping students by ability without regard for age. If truth be told … it’s a rather ‘natural’ way of educating children. Now if we could only convince other educators of the benefits of this method!
    For one reason or another, people in rural areas tend to value education more; another finding of the Iowa study. This is a huge benefit for schools; having the support of family and community members. Children are expected to work hard, complete assignments and generally to do their best in school.
    The cons of rural life for gifted students often involve lower actual numbers of students identified as intellectually gifted. In Mary St. George’s (New Zealand) excellent post, , she wrote,

“Whatever rural teachers in small schools can do, they can’t organise

rural parents to synchronise the delivery of gifted babies in convenient

batches so that gifted rural children can grow up rubbing shoulders

with others like themselves.”

Parents of gifted children often struggle to find intellectual peers for their kids, but this can become a more daunting task in rural areas. One response to finding peers for your child is to search online gifted communities. Parents need to be active participants in connecting their children, and it can be a very rewarding endeavor.
In an in The School Administer , Donald Kordosky suggested 4 key points to improving gifted education in rural areas. They were 1) raise awareness of the needs of gifted students, 2)establish clear standards for identification/eligibility for gifted programs, 3) professional development in gifted education for regular classroom teachers, and 4) GIEPs for all gifted students. Come to think of it … those are excellent suggestions for all gifted education.
Dr. Susan Assouline of Belin-Blank at the University of Iowa offers the following strategies for gifted students in rural school districts: 1) meet the child where they are at, 2) utilize acceleration when appropriate, 3) utilize online classes if available, 4)increase opportunities for students to come together (such as at competitions and conferences), and 5) consider mentoring or study abroad opportunities.

I would leave you with these sage words penned by Dr. Joy Lawson Davis in her blog post entitled, “” ~ “While we are considering the needs of gifted learners ... this is just a brief appeal to NOT forget about the young scholars sitting in 'the country' in classrooms where they are bored, looking out of windows contemplating the solar system, the earth's ecology, designing a futuristic vehicle, writing the next classic novel in their minds, creating poetic verse, or developing a solution to world peace OR the cure to cancer.. these students need our attention too.”

Gifted Education in Rural & Small Districts, ColoradoDepartment of Education, 2005.

Happy Birthday, Gifted Parenting Support!

Gifted Parenting Support celebrated 2 years of blogging this past week! It has been an adventure beyond our wildest dreams and has opened up a multitude of doors within the gifted community.

We are fast approaching 35,000 page views and we’re read in over 80 countries! Who would have guessed we would be here just 2 short years ago. It is a testament to the fact that parents of gifted children have a deep concern about parenting and educating their children. We are also pleased at the number of teachers who visit and comment on our blog. This is proof positive that parents and teachers can work together!

Since our first post, Gifted Parenting Support has expanded to Twitter ( @ljconrad ) and we now have our own page on . This has afforded us the opportunity to have an even greater influence with gifted parents, teachers, and advocates around the world. Social Media has added new meaning to the term ‘24/7’.

In the coming year, we hope to add new links and features to the blog. As with any new venture, it is a work in progress. The topics of interest within the gifted community seem endless. We’d be remiss if we did not draw your attention to our blog roll. There are many excellent blogs on the Internet dealing with the subject of giftedness. Please take time to visit them.

Another excellent resource for parents and educators is the weekly #gtchat on Twitter moderated by yours truly. Global #gtchat was offline for a couple months after founder Deborah Mersino moved on to a new position. She is deeply missed, but she will always be remembered for her innovative and collaborative work on Twitter in raising awareness of the needs of gifted children.

Fortunately, through the generosity of the , #gtchat is once again tweeting each week at 7PM EDT/6PM CDT on Fridays. TAGT has provided a page for gtchat on their as well as a weekly poll of potential topics for the chats and a transcript of each chat. You can follow the latest news on Twitter ‘ @gtchatmod ‘.

There are also two other excellent chats concerning gifted and talented on Twitter that you will want to check out if #gtchat’s time is not conducive to your schedule. The NAGC (US) @NAGCGIFTED has a chat on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 PM EDTand #gtie, a chat from Ireland, begins at 9PM on Sunday evenings (local time)/4PM EDT(US).

Our inspiration … the reason we blog … will always be the gifted children of the world. It is not about careers, our own prestige, or bragging rights ~ it is about our children! Special thanks to all those who join in the adventure!

Gifted Education Awareness Week – Namibia

I would like to thank Roya Klingner from the Global Center for Gifted Education for inviting me to blog as a part of Gifted Education Awareness Week in Namibia.

Namibiais a young nation which only gained its independence 30 years ago. It is a large but sparsely populated country located on the southwest coast of Africa. Namibia’s many natural resources include diamonds, uranium, and zinc () and recently discovered off-shore oil reserves. “Unfortunately, the country’s high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides one of the world’s most unequal income distributions.” () Fewer than 33% of its students complete grade 10. The USAID reports unemployment rates as high as 40% to 50%. Yet even in this less than perfect environment, there exist teachers who are motivated to identify and instruct gifted learners.

One organization, Namibian Dreams () founded by two aid workers in the country aptly describes the situation, “[There are a] saddening number of cases where children who had obvious potential found themselves demoralized by circumstances -- disease, poverty, or familial strife, to name just a few examples -- and resigned to a life without any hope for future educational or professional advancement. Far too many children in

Namibia

are prohibited from realizing all the possibilities available to similarly gifted children in more developed parts of the world. That does not mean they have any less potential than these more privileged children, only that some work is required to make the most of this potential.”

In a report from CfBT Education Trust on Early Childhood Care (), obstacles to providing quality education in southern Africa– including Namibia– were delineated. Many aid organizations seek to help the region, but “joint approaches are often cumbersome affairs, and organized largely by donors with little local ownership.” Furthermore, cultural differences affect how outside contributions are viewed by the indigenous population. “Although culture is always hard to define and locate, from a number of perspectives the North American/European emphasis on individuality, competition and consumerism is deeply antithetical to more communal ways of living and to respectful treatment of the environment. …African states…have produced their own African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which stresses the responsibilities children owe to their families and society and the obligation of the child ‘to respect his parents, superiors and elders at all times and to assist them in case of need’.” In short, cultural attitudes too often hinder awareness and consideration for the needs of gifted education in the region.

Gifted children exist in all regions and countries of the world. In virtually every setting, raising awareness of their existence is the first step in providing for their education and well-being. The next step is to ensure that teachers are provided with knowledge of how to meet the needs of these extraordinary children and then to implement appropriate educational programs. Thanks to the Global Centerfor Gifted Education () for taking the important first step!

Irish Gifted Education Awareness Week … May the Road Rise to Meet You!

It is an honor to be invited to guest blog for Irish Gifted Awareness Week 2012. This year’s theme is “Gifted Children Inside and Outside the Classroom”. As a frequent contributor to a gifted chat on Twitter, I have been privileged to get to know many people in the gifted community in Ireland. My own interest in global gifted education initiatives further prompted me to learn more about Ireland’s current state of affairs with regard to this community.

Irelandcan be proud of the many initiatives that are underway there. In addition to , Irelandis also represented on the Executive Council of the by of Dublin. An immensely informative website and source of excellent webinars, Giftedkids.ie, can be found . An exciting program supported by this site, , is yet another initiative based in Irelandthat supports a virtual reality for gifted children. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the blog by that developed from the friendship of two women who recognized the power of parents to make a difference in the lives of gifted children.

The current economic climate has been difficult for Irelandas well as many other countries. It is during times like these that a nation’s thoughts turn to the next generation and to a brighter future. Oftentimes, a country will experience a ‘brain drain’ in response to this situation. Fortunately, forward thinking educators and parents in the gifted community have been working hard to raise awareness of the need to provide an appropriate education in the classroom and activities outside the classroom to meet the social and emotional needs of the exceptionally-able student. The at Dublin City University, is a good example of this.

Every society needs to understand that nurturing these young minds is essential to growing a robust economy by putting university graduates into the workforce who exhibit leadership and critical thinking skills. It is a vital first step in competing on the world stage. Innovation and creative thinking have long been known as the path to a sound economic future.

As parents and educators continue to work together to support academically gifted and talented children in Ireland, I believe that the road will surely rise to meet you!

The Real Lesson to be Learned from Finland

The world of education is all a flutter about Finland! Year after year, Finnish students finish at the top of international assessments. Educators from around the world are beating a path to Finland in hopes of finding the magic elixir to their success.

Granted … Finlandis a great place to visit, but we all can’t live there! The fact of the matter is … that’s what it would take to duplicate its success. There are about 5.3 million people who call Finlandhome; 93% are Finns and 7% are not. 100% of its population attend or have attended school and 93% graduate. It boasts a 100% literacy rate. Wow-za! Who wouldn’t want those numbers? Throw in the fact that Finlandis one of the wealthiest countries per capita in the world and has the smallest gap between their lowest and highest achievers … and you have a grand slam!

Think this all happened by accident? Do the Finns possess superior genes? Is it something in the water? No. I don’t know. And no. And why would I be writing about this anyway? Finlanddoes not provide ‘gifted’ education per se. All children are included in the same classroom with few exceptions. The simple answer is that I believe there are lessons to be learned, but that it won’t work everywhere. This last point is significant because there are countries (my own included) that seem to think imitation will bring the same results to their shores.

After weeks of research on my part, it appears the Finns have managed to create a public education system that resembles homeschooling in the U.S., but on a grand scale … the best of both worlds. Finnish children are nurtured both at home and at school. They do not start school until the age of 7 and are expected to be reading by that time. 75 minutes of each school day is dedicated to outdoor recess. They are not bombarded with high-stakes testing and the avalanche of test prep that surround these tests. How ironic that other countries currently choose an approach to surpass Finlandthat is the antithesis of the Finnish system?

Teachers are well-educated; an education subsidized by the government. The majority of teachers in Finlandpossess master’s degrees. Teachers belong to a strong union. Teachers earn the respect of the public. They receive professional development on a weekly basis. At the elementary level, teachers and students bond by staying together as a class for up to 5 years. To ensure that each child succeeds, Finnish teachers are given the freedom to control their own curriculum and methods of assessment rather than dictated to by a national policy deeply entrenched in the numbers game. When teachers are encouraged to be creative and innovative, students are the benefactors.

In the U.S., a disturbing trend has emerged to eliminate gifted education by saying that all children should receive gifted education ala Finland. Perhaps in a perfect world where all children began life in a setting such as Finland, this could be an achievable goal; but they do not. To impose this logic on a school system without Finnish parameters is ridiculous.

This country is witnessing the loss of a generation to the lunacy of No Child Left Behind where the best and brightest were not only left behind but ignored. And we wonder where all the gifted under-achievers came from? This one piece of legislation alone is one of the greatest travesties bequeathed to our children from a system controlled by wayward politicians and the burgeoning peripheral industries that supported NCLB’s testing mania.

If the world wants to compete with the likes of Finnish students, it should look beyond the test scores to understand that the key to success is ‘mastery’ of content in the early years of education rather than ‘exposure’ to content because instructional time is reduced for test preparation. Pasi Sahlberg of Finland’s Ministry of Education and author of the book Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in

Finland

? states that, “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test.” This is the real lesson that should be learned from Finland.