Grades 9-12 can be frustrating for gifted teens. Too often schools believe that offering
AP, IB or honors courses of one sort or another will adequately meet the needs of all
gifted high school students. Truth is, secondary schools need options now fairly common
in elementary schools like differentiated instruction and curriculum compacting.

This frustration comes through loud and clear when bright students are allowed to air
their gripes. Usually they're pretty generic like these from students in a recent self-
advocacy workshop:
• I hate it when it takes forever to teach something
• Classes simply move too slowly
• I'm bombarded with homework when I already know the answers
• Teaching me stuff I already know is a waste of time
• It's hard to act like I’m paying attention in class

But helping them to focus on the specifics and choosing just one thing at a time to change
is a good place to begin.

I like to use a format like this that puts the student in the pilot's seat:

This example is just the beginning of the year-long plan and it may
feel like baby steps to only address one need. But often success
breeds success . . . for oneself and those following along behind!

In November I joined many WATG members from around the state at this year’s
NAGC conference in Denver. This is a gathering place for everyone whose books
you’ve read or research you’ve cited, making it a fun place for “star-gazers” like me.
Here's a brief list of some of the experiences I learned from this year:
• Thinking Like … A Master Teacher with Sandra Kaplan
• Gardner, Renzulli, and Sternberg: In Their Own Voices in Our Time
• Creativity is a Decision (Robert Sternberg)
• Bright Not Broken: Maximizing 2e Minds (Temple Grandin)
• The State of Education Going Forward (Deb Delisle, Asst Sec, US DoE)
• Sharing an elevator with Julia Roberts
• Plus casual conversations with the likes of Marcia Gentry, Sylvia Rimm,
Jim Webb, Ann Robinson, Judy Galbraith, Jim Delisle, Nick Colangelo,
Diane Heacox, Rich Cash, Karen Rogers.

Fellow WATG board members Pam Clinkenbeard, Scott Peters, Seth Sondag and I
attended the NAGC State Affiliates Breakfast. Although 7 a.m. is not my favorite
time of day, I loved waking up to the energy of colleagues from across the nation
who share our passion for gifted education.
You can find out more about the info shared with the Affiliates:
• Unlocking Emergent Talent: Supporting High Achievement of Low-
Income, High-Ability students
http://www.nagc.org/emergent_talent.aspx
• NAGC Leadership Initiatives:
http://www.nagc.org/StrategicPlan.aspx

Special thanks to you our WATG members for making my attendance at this
conference a possibility. I trust I represented you well.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s WATG conference so successful . . . from our wonderful, hard-working board members to the enthusiastic attendees. Networking with you all engaged and enlightened me and I left feeling more empowered than ever as I enter year two of my term as president. What a great job I have!

“Gifted kids __________ (fill in the blank)”

It was a beautiful September day when I visited Green Bay's School for Academically Gifted Learners. It's housed at Langlade Elementary as a new school-within-a-school. Their principal, Tammy Van Dyke, is one of WATG's honorees this fall for her work in making this happen.

During the afternoon the students (grades 2-6) became "myth-busters" as they helped me prove that gifted kids are not all alike and that everything is not always easy for them. At the end of the day they made statements about what they know to be true about themselves and others like them . . . things they think adults should know. I read their thoughts to parents that evening and have selected a few to share here.

• Gifted kids can do more than you think. Jess gr. 2
• Gifted kids want to have a chance to show their teachers their abilities. Breanna gr. 4
• Bullies are big problems for us. Stronger rules/disciple will help us not to be afraid or worried. Samantha gr. 4
• Gifted kids need to be recognized and not like an old rag that has been used for over 5 years. They cannot be pushed around like they don't matter. Kelley gr. 4
• Gifted kids are not geniuses from the start. In order to grow, they need their individual needs to be met not based on how educated the rest of the class is. Michaela gr. 6
• Gifted kids need: more time to do reading, more gym time, more holidays! Varsitha gr. 4
• Gifted kids want fun with the challenge, not boring.
• Gifted kids have a imaganashon!
• Gifted kids want to be treated the same as other kids. Gavin Gr. 3
• Gifted kids aren't perfect, the same, or have the same gift. We're all different colors on a rainbow. No one is the same shade. Camryn Gr. 5

And finally, in true Green Bay style . . .
• In my head, life is a big football game. I think of the gifted kids as a full time QB. The QBs have to have the right strategy and they will succeed in the game of life. Simon gr. 5

Thanks to Tammy, the teachers and all the kids at SAGL for a wonderful afternoon.

Beyond a doubt, teachers want all kids to learn.  But since many pre-service programs include only a passing glance at the needs of advanced learners, many educators may not realize how to create and maintain a gifted-friendly classroom.

When I first began exploring giftedness, Dorothy Kennedy was director of the Network for Gifted Education at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.  I learned much from her years of experience and have kept this gem since it was first published in May/June 1995 issue of The Roeper Review. Her suggestions below are as pertinent today as they were 17 years ago.

1.  Resist policies requiring more work of those who finish assignments quickly and easily. Instead, explore ways to assign different work, which may be more complex, more abstract, and both deeper and wider. Find curriculum compacting strategies that work and use them regularly.

2.  Seek out supplemental materials and ideas which extend, not merely reinforce, the curriculum. Develop inter-disciplinary units and learning centers that call for higher level thinking. Don't dwell on comprehension-level questions and tasks for those who have no problems with comprehension.

3.  Encourage activities that call for analysis, synthesis, and critical thinking, and push beyond superficial responses.

4.  De-emphasize grades and other extrinsic rewards. Encourage learning for its own sake, and help perfectionists establish realistic goals and priorities. Try to assure that the self-esteem of talented learners does not rest solely on their products and achievements.

5.  Encourage intellectual and academic risk-taking. The flawless completion of a simple worksheet by an academically talented student calls for little or no reward, but struggling with a complex, open-ended issue should earn praise.

6.  Provide frequent opportunities to stretch mental muscles.

7.  Help all children develop social skills to relate well to one another. For gifted children this may require special efforts to see things from other viewpoints. Training in how to "read" others and how to send accurate verbal and nonverbal messages may also be helpful. Tolerate neither elitist attitudes nor anti-gifted discrimination.

8.  Take time to listen to responses that may at first appear to be off-target. Gifted children often are divergent thinkers who get more out of a story or remark and have creative approaches to problems. Hear them out, and help them elaborate on their ideas. 

9.  Provide opportunities for independent investigations in areas of interest. Gifted children are often intensely, even passionately, curious about certain topics. Facilitate their in-depth explorations by teaching research skills as needed, directing them to good resources, and providing support as they plan and complete appropriate products. 

10. Be aware of the special needs of gifted girls. Encourage them to establish realistically high-level educational and career goals, and give them additional encouragement to succeed in math and science.

See my personal blog at http://giftedselfadvocacy.blogspot.com/ for more ways teachers and parents can support gifted students

What Would You Have Said?
 
I recently heard an interview with Jackie Hooper, author of The Things You Would Have Said.   She also manages a blog (http://wouldhavesaid.com/) where people post letters they never wrote: “Whether the person has passed away, contact was lost, or the strength needed at the time was lacking, this is a chance to say what you have always wanted them to know.”   The letters are sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, but always poignant.
 
Of course I always hear things through my “gifted self-advocacy ears” and as I listened to the interview my mind drifted back to my own school days, my classmates, my classes, my teachers.  What could I have said or done that would have made school better for me? 
 
The first thing that came to mind . . .
Dear Mrs. Bryce.  About that round-robin reading of Romeo and Juliet we’re doing in English class . . . I love the play, but the slow, slow pace is driving me crazy.  Could I do an independent project instead?
 
And then I thought . . .
Dear Mr. Swanson.  I really don’t get this sine/cosine/tangent stuff but I’m afraid to ask for help. I don’t want you or the other kids to think I’m as dumb as I feel right now. Do you know a good math tutor?
 
Of course finding an appropriate academic challenge isn’t a new concern.  We all probably struggled with it at one time or another and so did our parents and their parents.  But in an age of budget cuts, staff reductions, and gifted program elimination we MUST empower our students with the skills to advocate for themselves.
 
So now it’s your turn. What do you wish you’d said to an educator?
 
Let’s create a list to share with the students at the Teen Conference next fall.  Revealing our own academic frustrations may give them ideas on how to improve their lives.
 
Post your own “note to my teacher” in the comments below.   Then check back often to read what others have to say.
 
And trust me.  Getting it off your chest feels pretty good!

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