For Parents of Gifted Children
In the previous article about those who serve as administrators of gifted programs (AGP), the challenging nature of this role was explored, and the proposal set forth that the many demands that confront an administrator of a gifted program...
Praise is a powerful tool that parents and teachers can use to motivate their children. Furthermore, children appear to thrive on praise. Yet both the research on the effects of praise and advice about praise can be confusing. Praise...
As a district coordinator of gifted education for over two decades, I was continually surprised by the frequent exclamation, "I sure wouldn't want your job!" Although the reasons given for this utterance varied, the underlying sentiment reflected the perception...
Editor's note, winter 2009: For many parents with gifted children, motivation can be a struggle. This article offers explanations for why this struggle exists, and offers some recommendations for how to foster effort and help students reach their potential. One...
It’s the first week of school, and you receive the following note from your child’s teacher: Dear Parents, This summer I attended a workshop on differentiated instruction, and I’m excited about using it in my classes. My goal with...
Connections Educational Strategies Eidson, Caroline C. Volume 9 / Issue 1 / Fall 2008 Model Program/Schools
For many teenagers, fitting all their activities into a 24-hour day and getting enough sleep is an impossible dream. For their parents, rousing their teens every morning so they get to school on time is a big challenge. In...
Okay, confession time: my idea of fun (!) is to be thrown in a country where I speak 2 words of the language and have to navigate my way through it by speaking to the natives. Not in English. You...
A parent calls a bullying hotline because her eighth-grade daughter, who is bright and makes good grades at her school, is being singled out for taunts and hurtful rumors by a group of ninth-grade girls. Recently it’s gone beyond...
Connections Volume 7 / Issue 4 / Summer 2007 Lineberry, Susan
What does it mean to be gifted? Experts in the field of gifted education have long debated over a universally accepted definition. The federal definition of the gifted and talented first appeared in the 1972 Marland Report to Congress and...
Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Legislation/Law Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
In responding to a parent’s concern about a one size fits all type of programming for her fourth grade son in the Consultant’s Corner, I described two factors that influence services: identification and programming. In this column, I will further...
Connections Educational Strategies Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Johnsen, Susan K.
The desire to provide optimal and appropriate educational challenges has prompted many parents to consider homeschooling their gifted children. Parents routinely supplement their children’s formal education. However, the choice to withdraw them from the traditional classroom for all or part...
Boone, Sarah Educational Strategies Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Schoolhouse Options
The underachievement of capable children is an area of concern for many parents and educators. Although the study of student underachievement has a long educational history, it is more productive to consider what motivates students to do well. Students tend...
Volume 9 / Issue 3 / Spring 2009 Special Issue Volume 6 / Issue 4 / Summer 2006 Siegle, Del Social-Emotional Issues The Emotional Edge
An Associated Press–America Online poll of 1,085 parents and 810 teachers of kindergarten through 12th-grade students finds that they disagree on many aspects of education, from homework and the Internet to standardized testing and discipline. When asked about the subject...
Currents Volume 6 / Issue 4 / Summer 2006 Stephens, Kristen R.
For the rare gifted student whose educational needs have been met, individual assessment may not be a priority. However, for the vast majority who remain in inadequate programs, testing can be a potent ally. It can address parental concerns and...
Feature Gilman, Barbara Jackson Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006 Tests & Testing
For those who have witnessed sibling rivalry firsthand, the phrase “Me too!” is all too familiar. Offer one child a glass of chocolate milk and the other chimes in, “Me too!” Marvel over one child’s crayon drawing and the other’s...
Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
The Youth News Team is a Kentucky-based group of students and parents committed to engaging young people in education policy issues. The organization’s 2005 report, High School Students Have Parents, Too, explores the relationship between parents and their children’s...
Currents Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006 Phan, Dihn Xuan Research and Theory
Despite increasingly stringent federal regulation of public education, the individuals who influence children’s education most directly may be local school board members. As elected officials, they represent their constituencies at the grassroots level, balancing their districts’ needs against state...
Ned’s parents found themselves begging for greater challenges for their son from a school that prided itself on its “challenging curriculum.” It set a pace six months faster than other schools, but Ned’s abilities went years beyond that. They decided...
Educational Strategies Hassel, Bryan Hassel, Emily Ayscue Volume 6 / Issue 1 / Fall 2005 Schoolhouse Options
A new Web site, www.schoolmatters.com, provides the general public with search and comparison tools applicable to a wide range of data about local schools and school districts. Using these tools, parents can find high-performing schools and make more informed...
Currents Volume 6 / Issue 1 / Fall 2005 Stephens, Kristen R. Technology
The United States needs to develop the intellectual potential of its next generation to remain competitive in the world of tomorrow. Our top students generally do not perform as well as their counterparts around the world. Yet our public...
Connections Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005 Peters, Raymond F.
The February 13, 2005, Time cover story, “What Teachers Hate about Parents,” reports the growing frustrations that many teachers have with parents. From eager and pushy to protective and hovering, parents pose a challenge to teachers even greater than finding...
Caldwell, Susan Dobbyn, Dennis Expert's Forum Griffith, Alissa Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005
According to an article in Edutopia, about 11 percent of teachers resign before their first summer vacation, 30 percent after three years, and 45 percent within five years. The reasons? Surprisingly, salary is not one of them. A survey...
Currents Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005 Stephens, Kristen R.
Have you ever heard the following comment by your child’s teacher? “Johnny is so structured. His desk is neat, his assignments are color coded in a three-ring binder, and his homework is always ready on time.” Or do you...
Feature Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005 Social-Emotional Issues Stamps, Lisa
Challenging the belief that programs for gifted children are elitist, Being Smart about Gifted Children, by Dona Matthews, PhD, and Joanne Foster, EdD (Great Potential, 2004), shows that providing appropriate educational experiences for children of high ability is the right...
Book Reviews Collins-Perry, Bobbie Currents Educational Strategies Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005
You’re partway through the school year and looking to ensure that your child is having a positive and productive educational experience. Turn to the National PTA Back-to-School page at www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/bts/index.asp for expert guidance and resources. You’ll find advice in...
Collins-Perry, Bobbie Currents Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005
As summer draws to a close, swimsuits, shorts, and flip-flops are replaced with pencils, notebooks, and sweaters. Once again, you and your child eagerly anticipate the beginning of a new school year. Well, perhaps you are a bit more eager...
Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
A new Web site based on the book Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds, by Jan Davidson, Bob Davidson, and Laura Vanderkam (Simon and Schuster, 2004), pulls together an array of information often needed by parents,...
Currents Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Legislation/Law Stephens, Kristen R.
I’m smart, and smart people don’t have to study or work hard.” Does this sound familiar? How unexpected and frustrating to discover that your child who has been identified as gifted is underachieving academically! Twenty percent or more of students...
Feature Ford, Donna Y. Volume 4 / Issue 2 / Winter 2004 Trotman, Michelle Frazier
The parent-teacher conference is a unique opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on your child’s progress in school and to share your parental insights with the teacher. You will want to use this limited time to its best advantage....
One parent alone probably cannot do much to improve a school, but a group of parents working together can be a powerful instrument for change. That is the message from the Parent Leadership Association (PLA), an organization that provides...
Currents Volume 4 / Issue 2 / Winter 2004 Stephens, Kristen R.
As the Duke Gifted Letter begins its fourth year of publication, we enter a quest together: to fulfill your child’s aspirations. As the new editor in chief, I am delighted to accompany you on this adventure. As a former teacher...
Volume 4 / Issue 1 / Fall 2003 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
Most gifted children enjoy relatively good overall psychological health. Research supports the view that intellectually and athletically gifted youth have better-than-average social adjustment. However, we know less about the social adjustment of gifted children with talents in music, drama,...
Feature Volume 3 / Issue 4 / Summer 2003 Pfeiffer, Steven I. Social-Emotional Issues
Of course you’d like your gifted daughter to have a fulfilling career that combines creativity, challenge, and the opportunity to contribute, and you want her to establish a satisfactory family life and relationships. However, glass ceilings and sticky floors continue...
Feature Volume 3 / Issue 3 / Spring 2003 Rimm, Sylvia B. Social-Emotional Issues
Do you know your state’s policies regarding gifted education? Do some states do a better job of addressing the needs of their brightest students? Who oversees gifted education in your state? If you do not know, a recent survey of...
Volume 3 / Issue 2 / Winter 2003 Legislation/Law Special Focus Stephens, Kristen R.
Given the ever-increasing diversity in our nation and schools, it is essential for parents to address their children’s cultural development. Although engendering cultural awareness and sensitivity in all children is important, gifted students tend to have an especially keen sense...
Ford, Donna Y. Volume 2 / Issue 2 / Winter 2002 Social-Emotional Issues Special Focus
Many parents of the gifted provide their children with outside opportunities for challenging, accelerated learning. Supplemental courses of high quality have never been more engaging or available through so many venues. Computer-based or online courses, independent-learning and correspondence programs, and...
A U.S. Department of Education report reveals that parents of middle school children become less involved in their children’s education, because they feel that the children should do their homework themselves and that parents should not help unless they...
Currents Volume 4 / Issue 4 / Summer 2004 Stephens, Kristen R.
During the elementary years a close connection between home and school can result in positive interpersonal, emotional, and intellectual development for the child. Parents and school personnel are dedicated to the educational well-being of children, but they represent different perspectives....
Only 30 states have a full or partial mandate for identification and instructional programming for the gifted. While the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Student Act of 1994 funds projects and research, it does not protect the legal rights...
Volume 2 / Issue 1 / Fall 2001 Karnes, Frances A. Legislation/Law Special Focus