Spotlight on Giftedness – October 2011

A collection of news articles regarding gifted children and education for October 2011.

October was a rough month for gifted education.  Many schools are feeling the budget pinch and gifted programs are on the chopping block.  One ray of hope was the number of school board candidates around the country who have publicly supported advanced learners receiving the acceleration they need.  Do you have Board of Education candidates who support gifted education?  Make sure you vote for them, but first let others know that these candidates will bring important programs to our schools!  Your vote and your voice could mean the difference for advanced & gifted students!

This month’s premier selection is from Psychology Today, titled The Power and Perils of Being Born ‘Gifted’ by David DiSalvo.

A close friend’s son was recently evaluated for the gifted program at his elementary school and tested out with an astounding 150 IQ and 99th percentile rankings for every subject category. The future possibilities for this young genius are virtually limitless. Any parent would feel good knowing that their child has a genetic advantage as he or she enters a tough world that doesn’t offer many do-overs.
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The flip side is that genetic advantages don’t guarantee success, and in some cases they may even undermine it.  We’ve all seen examples of incredible talent wasted—of the kid who was told from an early age how smart, athletic, artistic, etc. she is, but never develops those abilities beyond a basic level.  According to everyone around these kids, they were destined for greatness, but eventually they learned—often too late—that destiny is overrated.
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What went wrong for these would-be world changers? Social psychology research offers a few possibilities.

Many more great articles are provided in the links below!

Peoria Unified University High enables gifted to skip 2 grades
An Arizona school district creates a phenomenal gifted program – at no added expense!

The Power and Perils of Being Born ‘Gifted’
Genetics can provide an incredible platform for success, but not alone.

Maxwell: When high achievers shortchanged, we all suffer
No Child Left Behind has actually made things worse for high achievers.

Keep politics out of school
How political correctness harms gifted education

We’re going to Disney and you’re not. The have and have nots in gifted education.
Poorly implemented gifted programs make parents question whether gifted education is a good idea at all.

Gateway provides a place for the gifted students
A gifted program helps students learn at a faster pace … and that it is OK to be gifted.

St. Louis magnet school program breeding success
City finds its gifted magnet school so successful and desired, it has to open up another one.

Educator to speak on working with gifted students
Noted author James Delisle talks about gifted students in the classroom.

Superhuman or Extra Intelligent?
When you think of gifted individuals, is your definition very narrow?

Ratings start to ID effective teachers
Information gathered on teaching ability may allow students be assigned to classrooms based on teachers’ abilities — by placing low-, middle- or high-performing students with the educators best able to help them learn.

Peres initiative opens door to future scientists, inventors
To maintain an edge in science and technology, Israel creates a STEM gifted program.

Educating all special learners including the most gifted
A teacher states that ending tracking has harmed all students.

Program helps gifted kids build academic, social skills
Bowling Green’s BRIDGES program helps gifted students develop social skills too.

Science awards prestigious SPORE Prize to web site for exceptional students
Cogito, a web site for students ages 13-18 gifted in STEM, wins award

In IPS, competition is in the classroomIndianapolis reinvents itself with a number of magnet schools.

No Child Left Behind leaves behind too many
Will Obama’s redesign of NCLB help gifted students?  Probably not.

Did I miss any great articles?  Please post them in the comments below!

Thank you for reading Rochester SAGE!  Together we can make a difference for gifted children!