Each week we round up and highlight various articles, blog posts and links relating to or of interest to gifted children and/or education. Some of these may pertain to a specific region, others will be on a national or international level. We hope you find value in each of them.
Please let us know of any relevant articles/blog posts you find by contacting us.
Britain’s qualification spiral is beginning to unravel
For years, education promised to make us more equal. Finally, politicians are realising it achieved the opposite
Is our long love affair with education coming to an end? In a post-Christmas announcement that went largely unreported, Matthew Hancock, the skills minister, said non-graduates will be able to qualify, through apprenticeships, as lawyers, accountants, and chartered engineers. It marks a rare reversal of a century-old trend: for longer and longer periods of full-time education to be required from anyone aspiring to a professional career (defined in the broadest sense to include occupations such as journalism, publishing and management consultancy that aren’t, strictly speaking, professions). It has been called “the diploma disease” or “the qualification spiral”.
Can Money Buy Happiness? The Science of Materialism, Animated
In asking what you would do if money were no object, Alan Watts echoed Franklin as he advocated for liberating creative purpose from money-work. But what does science say? Count on AsapSCIENCE to illustrate the answer.
What’s Wrong With Straight A’s
Most parents want their children to do well in school, and that usually means getting A’s. They believe that good grades will help guarantee that their children will lead happy, productive, and successful lives. While good grades can be an indication that children will grow up to excel in life as they did in school, it’s far from a guarantee. In fact, straight A’s can actually be a sign that your child isn’t learning what he needs to learn in order to be successful in life.
[read more]
Top 10 Tips for Talking With Your Gifted Child’s Teacher
Parent-teacher conferences are a great way to get to know your child’s teacher and to let him or her know something about you and your concerns. While school-wide parent-teacher conferences and open houses may allow you to learn about a teacher’s policies and personality, they are usually too short to allow for any in-depth discussion of a child’s problems or needs. A better way to discuss your child is to set up a private conference. Here are some tips for a successful discussion.
The role of technology in gifted and talented education – live chat
Join us to explore how digital learning can engage and inspire gifted and talented students in a live chat on Tuesday 22 January, 6pm to 8pm
Gifted, Talented and Separated: In One School, Students Are Divided by Gifted Label — and Race
But the pink door on Room 311 at Public School 163 on the Upper West Side represents a barrier belied by its friendly hue. On one side are 21 fourth graders labeled gifted and talented by New York City’s school system. They are coursing through public school careers stamped accelerated.
And they are mostly white.
On the other side, sometimes sitting for reading lessons on the floor of the hallway, are those in the school’s vast majority: They are enrolled in general or special education programs.
They are mostly children of color.
Administrator Toolbox
The materials in the toolbox address:
the rationale for gifted education services
the critical elements of gifted education programming
accountability for gifted student learning, and
the connection between gifted education and other district and school initiatives such as 21st century skills and Response to Intervention
Racial Distribution of Hawaii’s ‘Gifted and Talented’?
A recent New York Times series looked into the racial distribution of students in NYC’s public schools and how that affected their performance and access to opportunities.
The final story focused on the schools’ Gifted and Talented program and found that the demographics of students enrolled in gifted classes significantly diverged from the racial distribution of the schools in general.
The reporter provided numbers for one school: Public School 163, located somewhere along Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Of the 652 students total enrolled in school, 63 percent are black or Hispanic, 27 percent are white and 6 percent are Asian.
But of the 205 students enrolled in the school’s nine gifted classes, 47 percent are white and 15 percent are Asian. A combined 32 percent are black or Hispanic.
Turkey, Kosovo reach out to gifted children
Gifted children are considered an asset for the region, but in Turkey and Kosovo, institutional support for their development has emerged only recently.
The state-owned Turkish Radio Television launched in October a weekly programme about gifted children’s success stories to raise awareness of them and their families.
Meanwhile, the Turkish parliament’s research commission on gifted children recently proposed legal changes allowing extraordinary students to take university courses earlier than usual.
[...] mentioned in our January 18, 2013 News and Resources list, the Administrator’s Toolbox is finally [...]