Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Session 1 - Question 1

What were your “A-ha’s” as an educator while reading the selections, Preface and Introduction, written specifically for parents of gifted children?

18 comments:

  1. Initial post: I loved the very first quote about parenting a gifted child. The entire preface realistically looked at the mixed feelings and experiences that parents have in discovering an offspring is gifted. Yes, it is like living in a theme park full of thrill rides...but sometimes you can't do anything but cry.

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  2. I really appreciated the section about Myths about Gifted Children. As a parent of a gifted child as well as a teacher, I have heard many of them and I agree that the needs of gifted children are not recognized and not valued as much as they should.

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  3. response 1 to Adriana: So true...the needs of gifted children often are overruled by the "louder" or "greater" needs of children who are not gifted. It is such a blessing to have teachers who understand and value the strengths and weaknesses of all children.

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  4. By the way, I have 2 Google accounts like many in SBISD, so sometimes I will have the little reader icon, and others, the orange icon. Same person though!

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  5. Something that caught my attention was the fact that sometimes parents of gifted children might hesitate to ask for extra assistance for their child out of “guilt”, thinking about other students that might be struggling at school who they consider to deserve more support. I think it’s an important role for us as teachers to make sure that the parents of gifted children understand that their child needs support not only academically or in their talent area but specially in their social-emotional development.

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  6. Response 1 to Adriana: I did appreciate the section on Myths about Gifted children too. As you said, I've heard some of them and the gifted children needs are not understood or recognized.

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  7. I liked the section titled, "Is there a better term than 'Gifted'". I find that some GT kids are very proud of the label, and care more about the label than they do about their performance in class. A term that doesn't make them feel superior to "regular" kids would probably help.

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  8. AS a teacher for over twenty years, and having many GT students, I was in complete agreement that all children can learn but not in the same fashion as the true GT student. i have witnessed teachers who try and make these children stay "in the box," and I found this material in the preface to be very profound.

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  9. Ch.1/p.9-10 refers to the multiple intelligneces. I had not really thought about how schools are not meeting the needs of the GT students in all of these ways, particularly the intrapersonal intelligence area. Some are easily identified, but this one appears to be the most unreachable or teachable.

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  10. @Alvarado O: It is indeed very hard for parents of gifted children to find the help for our children, they might be advanced on some areas but still require help to reach their complete potential.

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  11. Initial Post: As a teacher I never really thought about how parenting a GT student could be a lonely experience. It also mentioned that parents of GT students also struggle to find resources on how to meet their needs. I thought the book made a good point when it said that usually parents can question other parents about advice and learning tips for their chuldren but GT parents struggle with the feelings of gloating, jealously and exaggeration.

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  12. Response 1 @ AlvaradoO: I completly agree with your statement about it being important to make parents aware that their child's needs are just as important as other students needs and that they should be advocated for their children.

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  13. I like the commet about a solid home foundation. It's so important for a gifted student to feel comfortable at home. When parents do realize they have a gifted child (not thinking he/she got lucky on a test) maybe asking for assistance from an educator is the first step in understanding what their child is going through.

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  14. PV: I appreciated the quote in the Introduction which stated that "Gifted children are like other children in most respects. They need acceptance, guidance, support ... They need to grow in an educational environment that prepares them to make sense of the world and gives them the tools to change it." Due to their advance intellectual capacities, sometimes we may overlook the fact that these gifted children are children nonetheless. I feel that this statement is a great reminder that all children need our support and encouragement to develop and become all that they can posibly be.

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  15. PV: I agree with the comments made by AdrianaO and Melanie as regards the gifted population being underserved.

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  16. PV: In addition to what AlvaradoO said about "parents of gifted children might hesitate to ask for extra assistance for their child out of “guilt”,... it is interesting to note how a family's socio-economic status can also impact how a family regards giftedness.

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  17. to Adriana N.
    Myths & Gifted Children, needs of gifted children must first be recognized then somehow met. I also have a gifted child and it is hard sometimes.

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  18. to Adriana N.
    Myths & Gifted Children, needs of gifted children must 1st be recognized then somehow met. I also have a gifted child and it its hard sometimes.

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