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.
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The 16-Year-Old Who Created A Cheap, Accurate Cancer Sensor Is Now Building A Tricorder With Other Genius Kids
via Co.EXIST
The $10 million Tricorder X Prize asks entrants to create a handheld mobile platform that can diagnose 15 diseases across 30 patients in just three days. A NASA Ames-based startup called Scanadu is working on a model that will cost under $150. But Scanadu is about to have some competition: a three-person team of Intel Science Fair finalists, led by Jack Andraka, the 2012 winner. The group of kid geniuses–they’re calling themselves Generation Z–is working on a smartphone-size device that can, according to Andraka, “diagnose any disease instantly.”
Ten SENG Articles to Help You Be a Courageous Parent
via SENG
One of SENG’s greatest services to parents of gifted children is its free online library of articles. I have compiled of a list of my top 10 articles for courageous parenting.
Topics covered include:
Caring Parenting – practicing caring action through listening and empathy
Creative Parenting– using new approaches to do parenting problem solving
Courageous Parenting – standing up for your children in difficult times
You Know Your Child Is Gifted When . . . Free eBook Download
via Free Spirit Publishing
Parenting a gifted child can be a mixed blessing. It helps to know what to look for, what to expect, and what other parents have experienced. This light-hearted introduction to life with a gifted child is a great place to start.
Monitoring Anxiety in Your Gifted Child
via Malibu Patch
It’s customary for gifted kids to be advanced in their thinking, have strong imaginative and creative abilities and oftentimes, to be highly sensitive. The combination of these characteristics however can often give rise to experiences of worry and anxiety. Because I subscribe to the adage, “A problem is not a problem unless it’s a problem,” even anxiety can be par for the course for the gifted child but when it starts to interfere with a child’s life experiences, performance, and/or your family relationships, then what?
Bootcamp for Determined Advocates
via SENG webinars
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2013
Cost $40.00Are you determined to advocate for the best education possible for your children? Do you want to learn more about the legal, political, and educational aspects of advocacy? If you do, this SENGinar is for you.
Many times when a child’s educational needs are satisfied, social and emotional problems are alleviated. So come fill your advocacy toolbox with new and creative advocacy ideas from a lawyer, political scientist, teacher, and long-time education advocate.
Different than the rest: Social challenges of gifted adolescents
via Gifted Challenges
“I hate being different,” she lamented. “It’s nice being smart and all, but sometimes it would be better just to be normal.” The girl who voiced this complaint is not alone. Many gifted adolescents feel this way. They garner praise for innate talents considered an accident of birth, and must shield themselves from smirks and ridicule about their nerdy interests. They are labeled overachieving perfectionists when they rack up accomplishments, and slackers when they fail to meet their potential. They are often held to a higher standard, and social failings are rarely treated with compassion.
Sorry, But… Your Exceptional Child Might Not Be “Gifted” (Gifted identification is not nearly so straightforward. This could get messy.)
via Psychology Today
And yet if the parents of both children—the lower and higher enrichment households—could somehow look ahead into their child’s third or fourth grade school year, they might be surprised to find that each child is reading now at the same level. Why would this happen? Simply put, the enriched child’s household gave him a leg up on his peers, but true “giftedness,” as we might typically define it in most schools, was never really at play.
And so you see why the second debate point arises: This begs the definition of what true “giftedness” really is.
That conversation is a hard one to navigate and it’s made no less difficult when you find yourself in a strip mall store with a person you have met only fifteen minutes ago. Another reason why I have decided to let this mother speak her mind as I, mostly, nod my head.
This weekly roundup is a valuable resource. May we have permission to link to it on our website’s section of Latest News?
Thanks,
~Terry for IAGC