In this installment of the Interview with a Gifted Kid series, we’ll meet Kassidy, a twelve-year-old from a suburb on the East Coast. I spoke with Kassidy on the phone, and I kept trying to think of things to ask her because she was so fun. She’s also one of my Vanstars (what I call […]
10 Steps to a Better Parent-School Partnership: Pre-action, not Re-action
Would you like to build a stronger partnership with your child’s school? If you’re an educator, would you like to consider how to build a stronger partnership with families? When I keynoted the Colorado Association for the Gifted and Talented Conference in Loveland, I attended a session by Lisa Girard with this title. It was […]
Trying to Make School Better for Gifted Kids
Here’s a newsflash: school is not designed for gifted kids. When you recover from the shock, read on. Depending upon who you talk to, school is designed to: Create an educated (and ideally compliant) work force Develop productive citizens Provide free childcare Correct all of the problems created by ineffective families and societies Right […]
Issues in Giftedness: What Won’t Fix Inequity
As of this writing, the mayor of New York is considering a proposal that would completely dismantle the school district’s Gifted & Talented program in the name of equity. A committee found that the system is inequitable, and in their report they advocated the destruction of services for gifted children of all races and ethnic […]
Why Self-Paced Computer Instruction is Insufficient Differentiation
The spread of one-to-one devices in schools has meant that some people believe we’ve waived a magic wand and solved the differentiation problem. It’s easy! Simply plug the kid in and let the computer program pace and level their learning. Mischief managed! This is wrong thinking, and here’s why. The 2nd Biggest Mistake in […]
How to Tell a Child He/She is Gifted
I wrote about how to NOT to tell a child he/she is gifted, and now I’m sharing my thoughts about how to do it well. Pick a time when you have time. There needs to be time for a real conversation, not a random comment tossed over a parent’s shoulder into the backseat of the […]
Let’s be social