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My son, a sophomore at Gustavus Adolphus College, had the opportunity in early January to participate in a College Panel Discussion organized by CESA #1 PAGE (Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education) in the Milwaukee area. He had attended past events as an audience member and was very much looking forward to being on the panel. He was one of five panelists, each representing a different major and college/university spanning several states.
I spoke with him the day after the event, and he bubbled over with how much he had enjoyed it. One of his first comments was, “Wow, we were all really different.” Really? I had exactly the opposite reaction; I thought there was a tremendous amount of commonality. These were all high-achieving students who could have chosen a large number of paths. One point they all stressed was that they each did a lot of research to make their college choice and prepare for it. Here are some other points on which they all agreed. The Application Process
For my son, the decision to take a deep-dive into prospective schools came down to a few criteria which did definitely shorten the list. He wanted a small school (< 5000 students) with a reputable accounting program, a nationally-competitive Division III tennis program in which he would be middle of the playing field as a freshman, and a very high rate of graduation in four years among the athletes. Our requirement was that it be within a 10-hour drive from home. The school he chose met all those criteria. Admittedly, he first became aware of the school because he was recruited for their tennis team, but he made sure the other factors were true as well prior to committing. He had opportunities to speak candidly with several alumni and current students to get a genuine feel of the school, tennis program, and community. The lack of opportunity to have such discussions eliminated one of the other schools he was considering; all he got, as he said, was brochure-type information. On the drive home from our first day-long, organized visit to the campus, he announced all other scheduled campus visits could be cancelled. He was that sure it was “the one.” As a parent, my advice would be to not underestimate that intuition. Other parents had told me it would happen, but I doubted that until the moment it happened. It has turned out to be an unbelievably great choice for him. Preparations in High School As I listened to the five panelists at the CESA #1 PAGE workshop, I noticed many things. Again, there was substantial commonality across the five panelists, including:
One panelist shared a powerful and profound experience from his high school years, showing that courage is sometimes needed. He had traditionally struggled with writing. His first two years of high school, he took non-Honors Language Arts classes. He said he realized he had not improved to the level he wanted. So, he took the challenging leap to AP Composition in his junior year. He said he struggled for a while, as he expected he would, but at the end of the school year, he recognized that was exactly what he had needed to improve. Anyone in attendance could see how proud he was of what he had accomplished. Well deserved! My son couldn’t remember how many AP and CAP classes he took in high school, but I agree with his assessment that it was “a lot.” He has experienced a number of benefits from them. He, along with the other panelists, used those credits to cover Gen Ed requirements, reducing the number of classes required outside of his areas of interest. My son opted to take two classes in college for which he had credit because they were in his major area of study. He wanted to make sure he is prepared for future classes which build upon those prerequisites. As it turns out, he probably could have used the CAP credits and not had any problems. However, it allowed him to review the material while getting to know the professors, college life, and peers in his major. He has no regrets. His AP credits have also allowed him to pursue a minor unrelated to his major without requiring super heavy class loads while still on track to graduate in eight semesters. Summary Woven in the answers of the panelists were some gems that should not be missed:
Kudos and gratitude to CESA #1 PAGE for annually hosting this event. What did you think? Did you attend the event? I’d love to get your comments on their differences versus commonality. What was the best advice they had for high school students? What surprised you? Mary Budde WATG Treasurer (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) *************************************************************** Preparación para la Universidad: Una retrospectiva del Panel Universitario Mi hijo, estudiante de segundo año en Gustavus Adolphus College, tuvo la oportunidad a principios de enero de participar en una Mesa Redonda Universitaria organizada por CESA #1 PAGE (Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education) en el área de Milwaukee. Había asistido a eventos pasados y estaba deseando estar en el panel. Fue uno de los cinco panelistas, cada uno representando a una especialidad diferente y universidad / universidad que abarca varios estados. Hablé con él el día después del evento, y se desmoronó con lo mucho que lo había disfrutado. Uno de sus primeros comentarios fue: "Wow, todos éramos muy diferentes". ¿Realmente, tuve exactamente la reacción opuesta; Pensé que había una enorme cantidad de punto en común. Todos estos eran estudiantes de alto rendimiento que podrían haber elegido un gran número de caminos. Un punto que todos subrayaron fue que cada uno hizo mucha investigación para tomar su decisión universitaria y prepararse para ello. Estos son algunos otros puntos en los que todos estuvieron de acuerdo. El Proceso de Aplicacion
Para mi hijo, la decisión de profundizar en las futuras escuelas se redujo a algunos criterios que definitivamente acortaron la lista. Quería una pequeña escuela (< 5000 estudiantes) con un programa de contabilidad de buena reputación, un programa de tenis de la División III competitivo a nivel nacional en el que estaría en medio del campo de juego como estudiante de primer año, y una tasa muy alta de graduación en cuatro años entre los atletas. Nuestro requisito era que estuviera a 10 horas en coche de casa. La escuela que eligió cumplía con todos esos criterios. Es cierto que primero se dio cuenta de la escuela porque fue reclutado para su equipo de tenis, pero se aseguró de que los otros factores fueran ciertos también antes de comprometerse. El tuvo oportunidades de hablar con franqueza con varios exalumnos y estudiantes actuales para tener una sensación genuina de la escuela, el programa de tenis y la comunidad. La falta de oportunidades para tener tales discusiones eliminó una de las otras escuelas que estaba considerando; todo lo que obtuvo, como él dijo, era información tipo folleto. En el viaje a casa desde nuestro primer día de visita organizada al campus, anunció que todas las demás visitas programadas al campus podrían ser canceladas. Estaba tan seguro de que era "esta era su universida". Como padre, mi consejo sería no subestimar esa intuición. Otros padres me habían dicho que pasaría, aunque tuve mis dudas. Al final, esto a resultado ser una gran opción para él. Preparacion para la escuela secundaria Al escuchar a los cinco panelistas del taller CESA #1 PAGE, noté muchas cosas. Una vez más, hubo una similitud parecida entre los cinco panelistas, incluyendo:
Un panelista compartió una experiencia poderosa y profunda de sus años de escuela secundaria, mostrando que a veces se necesita coraje. Tradicionalmente había tenido problemas con la escritura. En sus primeros dos años de escuela secundaria, tomó clases de artes del lenguaje sin honores. Dijo que se dio cuenta de que no había mejorado al nivel que quería. Así que dio el desafiante salto a la composición de AP en su primer año. Dijo que luchó por un tiempo, como esperaba, pero al final del año escolar, reconoció que eso era exactamente lo que necesitaba para mejorar. Cualquiera que estuviera presente podía ver lo orgulloso que estaba de lo que había logrado. ¡Bien merecido! Mi hijo no podía recordar cuántas clases de AP y CAP tomó en la escuela secundaria, pero estoy de acuerdo con su evaluación de que fue "mucho". Ha experimentado una serie de beneficios de ellos. Él, junto con los otros panelistas, utilizó esos créditos para cubrir los requisitos de Educacion General, reduciendo el número de clases requeridas fuera de sus áreas de interés. Mi hijo optó por tomar dos clases en la universidad para las que tenía crédito porque estaban en su área principal de estudio. Quería asegurarse de que está preparado para futuras clases que se basan en esos requisitos previos. Resulta que probablemente podría haber utilizado los créditos del PAC y no haber tenido ningún problema. Sin embargo, le permitió revisar el material mientras conocía a los profesores, la vida universitaria y sus compañeros en su especialidad. No se arrepiente. Sus créditos AP también le han permitido agregar una especializacion adicional con su especialidad sin requerir cargas de clase súper pesadas mientras todavía está en camino de graduarse en ocho semestres. En Resumen Tejidas en las respuestas de los panelistas había algunas joyas que no se debían perder:
Felicitaciones y agradecimiento a CESA #1 PAGE por ser sede anual de este evento. ¿Qué te pareció? ¿Asististe al evento? Me encantaría recibir sus comentarios sobre sus diferencias versus lo común. ¿Cuál fue el mejor consejo que tuvieron para los estudiantes de secundaria? ¿Qué te sorprendió? Mary Budde WATG Treasurer (WATG desea extender un gran agradecimiento al Dr. German Diaz de las Escuelas Públicas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo al español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs de sitio web.)
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Collected ideas over time
Beth Fairchild, WATG board member
10 consejos, trucos e ideas para enseñar a niños con talentos especiales Ideas recopiladas a lo largo del tiempo Beth Fairchild, miembra de la junta de WATG 1. Evaluaciones preliminares: Por el amor de todo lo que es santo... esto es un DEBE! La investigación afirma que la mayoría de los estudiantes superdotados no aprenden nueva información hasta enero. No haga que un estudiante que ya ha dominado un concepto se siente a través de la lección de nuevo. 2. Pon atención a las leyes de trabajo infantil: Los estudiantes on abilidates exceptionales que terminan temprano no deben ser automáticamente el ayudante del maestro. Los estudiantes dotados pueden ser algunos de los peores estudiantes para ayudar a otros porque sus cerebros a menudo funcionan de manera muy diferente. 3. Permitir agrupaciones: No todos los estudiantes con talentos especiales están destinados a ser el director del proyecto. Permita a los alumnos la oportunidad de trabajar solos o en grupo. A veces, estos estudiantes necesitan agruparse con estudiantes en niveles de grado más altos, ya sea para una sola asignatura o para todas las asignaturas. Hable con su escuela acerca de la aceleración de grados. 4. Modela estrategias de organización: a los estudiantes con talentos especiales les gustan las opciones, y ver cómo funcionan en el "mundo real" es muy útil. Por ejemplo, muestra a los alumnos cómo usar las notas para organizar las cosas, cómo el calendario de Google, el cual es mi salvavidas. He utilizado planificadores en el pasado, y mostrar esos ejemplos también sirven de mucho. 5. Toma descansos: Ofrezca a los estudiantes con talentos especiales un pasatiempo que pueda ayudar a calmar sus mentes ocupadas. Fomente tejer, colorear, crear origami o un instrumento musical autodidacta, cualquier cosa que les permita centrarse cuidadosamente en los detalles puede ayudarlos a calmar parte del ruido extra en sus cerebros. Mi hijo se enseñó a tocar la guitarra y sé que ha tenido un día estresante cuando escucho el rasgueo proveniente de su habitación. Cuando termine, estará tranquilo y listo para afrontar el desafío. 6. Encontrar mentores: Los estudiantes dotados necesitan mentores dentro de sus áreas de interés. Los mentores pueden enseñar a los estudiantes cómo navegar a través de las profesiones e incluso pueden permitir acceso a oportunidades. ¡Nosotros encontramos a nuestro mentor en una universidad local! 7. Localizar audiencias auténticas: El trabajo que los estudiantes crean debe tener una audiencia real y ser apreciado por aquellos que auténticamente se beneficiarían de su finalización. Los estudiantes más jóvenes son un primer público auténtico. 8. Enviarlos a Campamentos de Verano: Encuentra campamentos que les permitan conectarse con otros estudiantes que comparten su pasión. Cuando mi hijo tenía 8 años fue a un campamento de matemáticas para niños con habilidades en esta área. Allí pasaron un balón de fútbol con los demás mientras discutían el Teorema de Pitágoras. Dijo: "¡Es la primera vez que encontró a alguien que realmente le gusta lo que hago!" 9. Permítales leer libros de bajo nivel: ¿Por qué esperamos que cada libro que lean los alumnos con habilidades excepcionales sea de libros por encima de su nivel de lectura? Digo, si un estudiante está disfrutando de un libro, ¡léelo! Sí, se necesitan libros desafiantes para desarrollar la capacidad de lectura, pero no descartes un libro solo porque este está por debajo del nivel de un estudiante. Leer un libro con un propósito diferente puede aumentar la dificultad de un libro sin cambiar el texto. Ellos también necesitan una "lectura de relajación o placer". 10. Conviértete en un espacio seguro: Proporcione un espacio seguro para que los estudiantes dotados tomen riesgos sin ser puestos por debajo. Los estudiantes dotados a menudo son tímidos cuando responden a algo de lo que no están seguros debido al estigma social asociado a no responder correctamente. Cree una cultura en el aula donde las respuestas incorrectas se conviertan en una oportunidad para celebrar diferentes maneras de pensar. ¡Promueve una mentalidad de crecimiento! (WATG desea extender un gran agradecimiento al Dr. German Diaz de las Escuelas Públicas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo al español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs de sitio web.) Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, WATG Board Member
If hindsight is, indeed, 20/20, then 2021 promises to become a year of growth for us all. WATG continues to promote a deeper understanding of the needs and realities of all gifted individuals in Wisconsin. We believe that gifted people have existed throughout history and are demographically diverse. However, we recognize that children from low socioeconomic status or minority backgrounds often fail to receive appropriate opportunities for talent development. Further, we are troubled by reports indicating that some school districts in Wisconsin are cutting advanced programming in the name of equity, including gifted programming, honors classes, and Advanced Placement classes. Is it possible that social justice advocates believe giftedness does not exist in people of color? What would Maya Angelou, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kamala Harris, or Carmen Diaz have to say to that? Erasing programs that support student growth rarely solves a problem. Indeed, we argue, loss of appropriate learning opportunities exacerbates inequity. We must learn to SEE POTENTIAL and commit to assisting all learners to reach their dreams. Indeed, to dismantle structural and institutional racism, we need to promote scholarly discourse in all of our students. Students must learn the skills of critical analysis and synthesis. Advanced and challenging programming must be offered in an equitable way. We adults must learn that giftedness is never limited to one group, or to those who score well on one test. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater rarely helps. Recognizing who our students are and what they bring to the table begins with the growth model. Multilingual children, for instance, exhibit higher neuro-plasticity (Skibba, 2018). Similarly, students with strong ethnic ties learn to assimilate aspects from the dominant culture while maintaining their unique heritage. We need to embrace strengths and provide students with positive growth opportunities. Of course, honest solutions are rarely simple. A critical look at the issue must start with local demographics. Who are the students in each individual school system? Where do they come from? What are their stories and histories? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wisconsin is 83.9% White, 6.2% Black or African American, 6.4% Hispanic/Latino, 2.6% Asian, and 0.8% American Indian and Alaskan. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, 1,276,103 minors live in Wisconsin. This population breakdown is similar to the overall demographic, although Wisconsin’s children are more diverse: 70.4% of the minors are White, 12.0% Hispanic, 8.8 Black, 3.7% Asian, 4.0% two or more races, and 1.1% American Indians/Alaskan Native. These numbers belie the multi-dimensional aspects of inequity in our state. Dedicating time to develop deep inquiry leads to stronger understanding of the individual needs of local communities and individual students.. Rather than eliminating programming, discovering and fostering promise builds hope in our students and their families. As a first-generation immigrant from a low-economic status enclave, strong public school TAG programming provided the catalyst propelling my siblings and me out of the cycle of addiction. For this reason, and so many other reasons, eliminating gifted programming for the sake of equity makes as much sense as throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Let’s cast a wider net, and prospect for talent in all children, and then provide the services that they need. Resources Cited: Children’s Defense Fund (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/resources/soac-2020-child-population-tables/ Skibba, R. (2018). How a second language boosts the brain. Retrieved from: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2018/how-second-language-can-boost-brain (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found in our website blogs.) Satisfaciendo las necesidades de TODAS las personas con habilidades esc excepcionales en Wisconsin Si la retrospectiva es, de hecho, el año 2020, entonces el 2021 promete convertirse en un año de crecimiento para todos nosotros. WATG continúa promoviendo una comprensión más profunda de las necesidades y realidades de todas las personas dotadas en Wisconsin. Creemos que las personas con talentos excepcionales han existido a lo largo de la historia y son demográficamente diversas. Sin embargo, reconocemos que los niños de bajo nivel socioeconómico o de origen minoritario a menudo no tienen acceso a oportunidades apropiadas para el desarrollo de sus talentos. Además, nos preocupan los informes que indican que algunos distritos escolares en Wisconsin están cortando la programación avanzada en nombre de la equidad, incluyendo los programas para estudiantes con habilidades superiores, clases de honores y clases avanzadas. ¿Es posible que los defensores de la justicia social crean que el talento no existe en las personas de color? ¿Qué tendrían que decir Maya Angelou, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kamala Harris o Carmen Díaz? El deshacerse de programas que apoyan el crecimiento de los estudiantes con talentos especiales, rara vez resuelve un problema. De hecho, podemos argumentar que la pérdida de oportunidades de aprendizaje apropiadas exacerba la inequidad. Debemos aprender a VER POTENTIAL y comprometernos a ayudar a todos los estudiantes a alcanzar sus sueños. De hecho, para desmantelar el racismo estructural e institucional, necesitamos promover el discurso académico y el pensamiento crítico en todos nuestros estudiantes. Los estudiantes deben aprender las habilidades de análisis crítico. La programación avanzada es un paso más para lograr obtener un desarrollo equitativo y justo. Los adultos debemos aprender que el talento nunca se limita a un grupo específico, o a aquellos que obtienen los grados más altos en los exámenes. El tratar de deshacernos de aquello que funciona junto con lo que no funciona no es una buena estrategia. Reconocer quiénes son nuestros estudiantes y lo que traen a la mesa es una señal de un cambio de crecimiento mental. Los niños que hablan varios idiomas, por ejemplo, exhiben una mayor neuroplasticidad (Skibba, 2018). Del mismo modo, los estudiantes con fuertes lazos étnicos aprenden a asimilar aspectos de la cultura dominante manteniendo su patrimonio único. Necesitamos adoptar un cambio mental que nos permita reconocer los dotes y talentos que nos ayuden a incrementar el acceso a oportunidades para todos los estudiantes de comunidades minoritarias. Por supuesto, las soluciones honestas rara vez son simples. Una mirada crítica al problema debe comenzar con estudio demográfico local. ¿Quiénes son los estudiantes en cada sistema escolar? ¿De dónde vienen? ¿Cuáles son sus historias y sus pasados? Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, Wisconsin es 83.9% blanco, 6.2% negro o afroamericano, 6.4% hispano/latino, 2.6% asiático, y 0.8% indio americano y alaskano. Según el Fondo de Defensa Infantil, 1.276.103 menores viven en Wisconsin. Este desglose de la población es similar a las cifras demográficas a nivel nacional. Aunque los niños de Wisconsin son más diversos: el 70,4% de los menores son blancos, 12,0% hispanos, 8,8 negros, 3,7% asiáticos, 4,0% dos o más razas y 1,1% indios americanos/nativos de Alaska. Estos números desmienten los aspectos multidimensionales de la inequidad en nuestro estado. Dedicar tiempo a desarrollar una investigación profunda conduce a una comprensión más coherente de las necesidades individuales de las comunidades locales y de los estudiantes de cada comunidad. En lugar de eliminar los programas que existen y que dan fruto, debemos descubrir y fomentar la promesa que genera esperanza en nuestros estudiantes y sus familias. Como inmigrante de primera generación, quien viene de una familia de bajos recursos económicos, se que la programación de las escuelas públicas proporcionan el catalizador que impulsó a mis hermanos y a mí fuera del ciclo de la adicción. Por esta razón, y muchas otras razones, eliminar la programación que ofrece sus servicios a estudiantes con habilidades excepcionales en nombre de la igualdad no tiene ningún sentido. Deberíamos extender nuestra visión y perspectiva de talento, el cual se encuentra en estudiantes de todos los grupos y estratos económicos, para poder ofrecer así, los servicios que ellos necesitan. Fuentes citadas: Children’s Defense Fund (2018). Sacado de: https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/resources/soac-2020-child-population-tables/ Skibba, R. (2018). How a second language boosts the brain. Sacado de: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2018/how-second-language-can-boost-brain (WATG desea extender un gran agradecimiento al Dr. German Díaz de las escuelas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo al español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs de sitio web.) By Alyssa Roth, Student
These are trying times. There’s no questioning that. Things are changing more rapidly than we even believed to be possible. Masks have become a necessary evil, people are divided over politics and social issues, but most importantly, the future is up in the air, and there are so many questions that are left unanswered. Yet in this time of change and division there are things that do remain the same, and some change has even been for the better. My world turned upside down on March 17th. That was the day we found out school was closed. I was honestly kind of excited. It’s like an extended spring break, we’ll be back in no time, I thought. What I didn’t see was that it would get so much worse before it got better, and about 9 months later we would still be sheltering in place. After summer vacation my family made the decision to go completely virtual and learn from home for my Sophomore year. This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I was in between friends and had just started fitting in, which is saying something as I had been with the same kids since 6th grade. I missed my friends and I missed the teachers. I missed everything. I received daily emails from the school, telling me what I was missing, whether it was club activities, spirit week, an outdoor movie, and so much more. I didn’t find joy in learning anymore, and I fell behind in my classes. Then I had an epiphany. When I go back to school, I don’t want my grades holding me back from doing things I love. So I started working harder. I worked for hours and put all my energy into loving my classes and learning new and interesting things. Even the classes I don’t like, I still powered through with the promise that they will benefit me in the future. As of this moment I am almost done with all my classes for the semester. Working hard in my classes has been fantastic. It’s given me opportunities I never expected. I have the freedom to explore my interests and try new things. I’ve cooked, I’ve started learning a new language, I’ve written stories, I’ve even picked up a guitar for the first time in years and played until my fingers were raw. It’s an amazing feeling, being able to try so many things I’ve always wanted to do. Another thing quarantine has made me notice is how hard my mom works. She’s always either been at home or worked part time, and just from what I saw before quarantine all she did was household chores. When we started learning from home I saw the other side of the story. She had meetings with the police and fire commission, the school board, and even WATG. She worked (and still works) so hard to make Altoona a better place for everyone. “I don’t know if I can change the world, but I do know I can make my tiny corner of it a better place,” she always says. And she really has. She advocated for me to get the classes I need, she advocates at a state and national level for kids like me to get the education they deserve, and through all that she still manages to put dishes in the dishwasher and fold blankets and let the dog out. This quarantine has been hard for her too. When this all started she was supposed to go to Washington D.C. to talk with legislators about gifted education. Unfortunately her trip got cancelled. Some things have remained the same though; even though it’s completely virtual she’s still meeting with senators and representatives, trying to get the resources we gifted kids need. She still attended the annual WATG conference, (virtually of course), despite technology issues and complications. She’s still advocating for me and for everyone, and now more than ever she’s taking care of my family when we need it the most. Of course many bad things have happened this year, but as a new budget cycle approaches, my mom and everyone in WATG is working harder than ever to ensure success in obtaining resources and funding for gifted students. It does not go unnoticed, and I’m pretty sure I speak for all gifted kids when I say thank you all for your hard work. Even if you’ve only done something seemingly small and insignificant, it’s a step forward. Plus, as my personal hero says, “I don’t know if I can change the world, but I do know I can make my tiny corner of it a better place.” Post Script by Hillarie Roth, WATG President-Elect: As Alyssa stated, there have been many changes this year, but WATG continues working tirelessly to advocate for gifted individuals everywhere. Please stay connected with us as we move into a new budget cycle for Wisconsin, choose a new State Superintendent in the spring election, and navigate equity issues in gifted education. Change is always happening, let’s work hard to make it a change for the better! I’m a mom of two gifted kids. I spend most of my time volunteering at my children’s school, for their extracurricular activities, and advocating for educational opportunities that will lead to their academic growth. Food, however, is my passion. I love to cook for my family and friends, discover new restaurants, collect and study cookbooks, grocery shop for the best available ingredients, and learn about food history, culture and policy. It is my hope that writing articles about food will get the Gifted and Talented community thinking more about the link between our diets and our brains.
History and science have demonstrated that diversity in a human’s diet has led to brain growth and development. Incorporating as many types of whole foods as possible into a family’s meals is key to healthy, strong, and clear brains in which new synapses are able to form, allowing for deeper and more complex thought. This was the subject of an article written for the WATG October Newsletter, Is a Diverse Diet Key to Brain Development? I often get asked how my kids are such good eaters. Below are some food rules and practices that we have implemented into our house to make sure everyone eats a diverse diet.
Finally, I’ll ask you to consider this. If you were able to afford a full-time chef, what would you instruct the chef to make for you most of the time? Would you instruct your chef to make mostly healthy meals? Would you do this because as an adult you are aware of the overall health benefits of balanced and nutritious meals? Now consider the fact that you are that chef for your children. If they had the knowledge of adults, what would they instruct their chef to make for them? By Jessica Albrecht-Schultz, WATG Board Member By Jessica Albrecht-Schultz, WATG Board Member We have all heard the old adage “you are what you eat,” but does that apply to your brain as well as your body? Can a diverse diet play a role in your child’s neurocognitive development? Diverse diet in the evolution of the human brain First, let us review some human evolution to see how our big brains came to be. Between 1.9 and 2 million years ago, the brain size of our human ancestors increased dramatically. Stephanie Pappas, in her article Ancient Brainfood Helped Humans Get Smart, discusses how bone fragments and fossils from various animals found in northern Kenya during this time period adds evidence to a theory that these pre-humans owed this brainpower boost to fish. The Omega-3 fatty acids found in the fish could have provided the nutrients the hominins needed to evolve larger brains. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal published a study that also revealed a huge variety in the hominids’ diets. Aquatic animals are believed to be part of early hominid diet and likely helped with the evolution of large brains, but it may have been the diversity of diet rather than single food groups that pushed hominid evolution forward. [1] Our ancestors had seasons of abundance and those of hardship due to Nature’s relentless cycles. When fish, meat and fruit were scarce, our ancestors relied on whatever was available, which oftentimes was not much more than plants, nuts and seeds, tubers, wild grains, and bugs. [2] They ate what they could get their hands on which led to a diverse diet. According to the “cooking hypothesis,” the advent of cooked food again altered the course of human evolution. By providing our forebears with a more energy-dense and easy-to-digest diet, it allowed our brains to again grow bigger. [3] Eating better made our ancestors smarter, and being smarter now allowed them to feed themselves more efficiently. Little by little, as the brain grew larger, man grew taller… eye-hand coordination improved, and planning skills became more sophisticated… allowing for better hunting techniques to catch bigger and… fresher game. This high-quality diet further increased our ancestors’ fat consumption and available energy, which proved crucial for this rapid brain evolution of Homo erectus. [4] In Kelly Brogan’s book, A Mind of Your Own, she argues that carbs as well as fish have been key to human evolution. She says there’s no way we could have developed such big brains had it not been for our access to carbs, in addition to high-quality protein. Carb consumption, particularly in the form of starch from tubers, seeds, fruits, and nuts was the key to the rapid growth and development of our brains over the last million years. [5] If a diverse diet is thought to be crucial to brain growth and development, humans should have a very diverse diet today as we have the easiest access to a variety of food in history. Simply go to the grocery store at any point during the year and you can get high-quality foods such as fresh wild fish, grass-fed animal protein, local and exotic organic fruits and vegetables, and any type of grain, nut, or seed. Over 300,000 foods and beverages are available with 30,000 to 40,000 available at supermarkets; [6] however not all are considered healthy. Diversity in our diet is available to us, but the typical American diet is less diverse than ever. The majority of foods in grocery stores are processed forms of commodity crops, mainly corn, soybeans, and wheat, none of which are sold in their original form from nature, and are often high in sugar, manipulated fats, refined salt and chemical preservatives. Still, the availability of whole foods, in a state similar to how they are found in nature, are more available to us than ever before. Naturalists regard biodiversity as a measure of a landscape’s health. [7] Should diversity at our local supermarket be a measure of our physical and mental health? I believe it can be, but only if we consume that diversity as nature intended. … humans can live just about anywhere on earth, and when their familiar foods are in short supply, there’s always another they can try. Indeed, there is probably not a nutrient source on earth that is not eaten by some human somewhere – bugs, worms, dirt, fungi, lichens, seaweed, rotten fish, the roots, shoots, stems, bark, buds, flowers, seeds, and fruits of plants; every imaginable part of every imaginable animal, not to mention haggis, granola, and Chicken McNuggets. The deeper mystery, only partly explained by neophobia, is why any given human group will eat so few of the numberless nutrients available to it. [8] Food sciences today Nutrition science is a relatively new science. It began less than two hundred years ago and is today approximately where surgery was in the year 1650. [9] There have been some interesting and beneficial findings, but there is much confusion around which foods and nutrients are good or bad for you. New studies contradict the findings of earlier studies. As is the case for all scientific studies, the results depend on a vast number of factors. In the case of nutrition, whomever funds the study, the expected results, the interpretation of the data and what is chosen to be highlighted from the study all influence the published findings. The ramification is confusion and inconsistency. Additionally, food trends are a darling of the media, and we are bombarded with information about new superfoods, foods to avoid and fad diets, all adding to the confusion. Diversity of whole foods in our diets steer us away from this confusion. Nature has given us a plethora of foods that humans can eat. Neuro-nutrition, or how food affects the brain, is even younger. Nutritional requirements for the brain may be substantially different than requirements for other organs of the body. Diversity is believed to be key for neuro-nutrition. However, in looking at food and its specific relationship to the brain, we may be trying to isolate something that is meant to function as a whole. A lot of research is being done with a holistic view of the mind-body connection and the gut-brain connection. Nutritional psychiatry is a newly recognized but growing field. This discipline focuses on how the use of food and supplements can be used as treatments for mental health disorders. According to Eva Selhub, MD in her article Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food, this field is finding that there are many consequences and correlations between not only what you eat, how you feel, and how you ultimately behave, but also the kinds of bacteria that live in your gut. Microbiota in the gut and the beneficial bacteria that live in it are being studied for the impact on your immune system and various medical conditions. What to eat Whole foods, those of which are unprocessed and typically found in the outer aisles of the supermarket, are the best brain foods and are also good for our bodies. Food that contains polyunsaturated fat which has Omega-3 fatty acids are known to be necessary for healthy brain function. These foods have been studied to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and memory loss, and contain the fat that our brains in large part are made of. Omega-3s are found in fish and shellfish and have higher concentrations in wild-caught than farm raised fish. The same is true for wild game and grass-fed beef, compared to their conventional counterparts. I find it extremely interesting that walnuts look like a brain and are the top nuts to eat for brain health. But don’t limit your nut consumption to walnuts just because they have a high concentration of Omega-3s. All nuts and seeds, in general, are good for the brain due to their rich sources of fatty acids and antioxidants. Eggs contain nutrients such as choline, which is used by the brain to memorize information and learn from experience. Of all the animal foods available to us, eggs are hard to beat for brain nutrition. To continue your diverse diet, try as many types of eggs as you can find. I’ve found chicken, duck and quail eggs at my local supermarkets. In addition, friends who have geese, guinea hens, and pheasants have given me some of their eggs for my family’s meals. Whole grains slowly release glucose in your bloodstream, which helps with concentration and focus. They also work to reduce inflammation in the brain, potentially preserving your memory. Ancient grains, such as einkorn, emmer, amaranth, millet, quinoa, black rice, black barley, and spelt, can be found at the supermarket, or are now easily ordered online. These ancient grains are nutritionally superior to modern grains like wheat, corn and rice. Phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables are powerful to protect our health and promote healing, but also work specifically in the brain to improve memory and learning. Over 8,000 phytochemicals exist, [10] again advocating for diversity in our diet. Nutritional science has started to figure out the synergistic effects of combining certain foods, but much is still unknown. Our ancestors may have figured out these synergies intuitively or by trial-and-error without having the science to help them. This synergistic knowledge of what types of foods to combine with each other in a meal has been passed down from generation to generation, and may have been lost in part when America’s fore-families moved away from their homelands and thus lost their generational food knowledge. It is my belief that incorporating as many types of whole foods as possible into your family’s diet is key to a healthy, strong, and clear brain in which new synapses are able to form, allowing for deeper and more complex thought. This diet provides more nutrients than a low quality, uniform diet. Diverse for diversity Not only is a diverse diet likely beneficial for brain growth and development, expanding the variety of food offered to your children, and encouraging enjoyment of dishes from various cultures is also a good way for us to demonstrate racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. Voicing opinions about diversity is common in 2020, but feeding our children dishes from many cultures is a small, but important way that our actions will help our children be tolerant and understanding of the diversity in the world in which we live. It’s actually food for thought, as they say. _________________ About me I’m a mom of two gifted kids. I spend most of my time volunteering at my children’s school, for their extracurricular activities, and advocating for educational opportunities that will lead to their academic growth. Food, however, is my passion. I love to cook for my family and friends, discover new restaurants, collect and study cookbooks, grocery shop for the best available ingredients and learn about food history, culture, and policy. This article is meant to get the GT community thinking more about the link between our diets and our brains. Many of the ideas have, or could have, entire books devoted to them. It is not meant to be comprehensive, and I am not a food nutritionist or neuroscientist. I’m just a mom trying to do what I think is best for my family, like so many moms and dads out there. I’m happy to receive constructive feedback, but please keep it positive. [1] Stephanie Pappas, Ancient 'Brain Food' Helped Humans Get Smart June 03, 2010 [2] Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power [3] Michael Pollan, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation [4] Mosconi, Brain Food [5] Kelly Brogan M.D., A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies and Reclaim Their Lives [6] Bill Code, Karen D. Johnson M.D., and Teri Jaklin, Solving the Brain Puzzle: A Complete Layperson’s Guide to Achieving Brain Health [7] Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma [8] Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma [9] Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual [10} Code, Johnson and Jaklin, Solving the Brain Puzzle The 2020 WATG Conference will be here before we know it. As a parent, another conference or meeting held virtually in front of your device may be the last thing you want to do, but the WATG Board has assembled an impressive conference schedule with both educators and parents in mind.
Our keynote speakers, Dr. Marcia Gentry and Dr. Brian Housand will be presenting new information from which we as parents can benefit, either personally or globally. Dr. Gentry’s keynote, “Equity in Wisconsin” will feature state report cards in several important inclusivity areas, as well as possible approaches to improvement. Dr. Housand’s keynote “Where do we go from here? Charting the Course Ahead for Gifted Ed” will provide practical opportunities and strategies to challenge all gifted students, including your own. The different conference tracks, as well as exhibitor sessions. are sure to provide you with plenty of learning opportunities. Before you fill your schedule with sessions specific to your child’s needs, though, don’t forget to consider your own needs. With pandemic-influenced circumstances imposed since last March, the line between teacher and parent has blurred in many of our homes. I suggest you use the conference’s offerings to give you ideas and confidence to grow your knowledge and skill sets. Try attending sessions like “Exploring STEM in the Classroom” (even if that classroom is now your kitchen) or “Social-Emotional Learning Through Leadership.” I encourage you to attend a session or two that don’t appear to have direct relevance to your child, but are just plain interesting to you. Last year, I attended a session about how to incorporate art into every subject. Now, artistic prowess doesn’t exactly run in our family; it fascinated me to see how art can be incorporated into social studies, math and language arts. Maybe your child isn’t into reading about anything but current times? Attend “Learning the Importance of the Classics” to remind yourself how the classics influenced your life. Maybe most importantly, don’t miss the opportunity to attend a session that reminds you that you are not alone navigating gifted education for your child in these unusual times. The conference offers some great sessions which explore the affective needs of gifted kids, workshops such as “Defining Ready: The Head, The Heart, The Courage,” “Wicked Good Family: Hands-on, Minds-on Community,” and “Racial Disparity in Academic Achievement.” On Monday at 4 PM we will present our “Unconference” on Zoom, hosted by WATG Board members. Breakout rooms will be devoted to various topics centered on gifted children and gifted education. As Board members, we bring a diverse set of reasons we became involved with WATG, and we are eager to share. These sessions will be an opportunity to casually discuss a wide range of topics with current board members. To quote a sign at the exit of a fitness chain, we as parents should remind ourselves that “you did something great today” every single day, even when our confidence takes a hit. Take advantage of the WATG Conference to help you with that reminder. Mary Budde WATG Treasurer Lalitha Murali, WATG Board Member
We are living in unpredictable times. There is a global pandemic. Many of us are wearing masks and practicing social distancing as a sign of mutual respect for each other. Our Black brothers and sisters are fighting for their lives, and we stand in solidarity with them by listening to them, amplifying Black voices, and sharing and practicing anti-racist ideologies. So how do we, as gifted individuals and/or parents and educators of gifted children, activate our social conscience and practice social justice daily? The answer may be simpler than you think. Perhaps we already are. Giftedness is all about imagining and achieving the impossible, and living through these unpredictable times is also about imagining and achieving the impossible. Our lives have been greatly altered, and we’ve had to adapt. First of all, I challenge you to think about challenges that you’ve already faced in your life. What did you have to do to achieve work-life balance? What have you had to do to remain safe and keep everyone around you safe? How have you reconciled your feelings about the world with the actions in your life up until this point? Think about how you’ve grown, changed, and adapted. You’ve been resilient. Now that we know and understand how resilient our minds are and how we grow to adapt to our life circumstances, let’s discuss how we keep this momentum going and create change to make this world a better place.
You see, giftedness is about using the skills you already have and utilizing them to achieve greater heights. The more you perfect these skills, the better equipped you will be to face the challenges ahead. And believe me there, will be many challenges that will eventually make us better humans. These challenges will force us to rethink our ideologies, and to work together to make the world a better place. So keep reading, my friends. Keep writing, keep talking, and keep doing. These skills will serve you and the world well.. And we need these skills now more than ever. We are all familiar with the story of the LIttle Red Engine faced with a seemingly insurmountable task to get up a big mountain, who does indeed achieve the goal. The story teaches us persistence and positive thinking are the keys to success. But is there a downside to persistence? America’s almost mythical view of persistence is at least partly from it being a requirement for the early settlers to leave everything they knew behind for a long trip to an unknown land, survive the harsh New England winters, and explore westward through treacherous and sometimes hostile terrain. The book, “Master the Art of Quitting: Why it Matters in Life, Love, and Work” by Peg Streep and Alan Bernstein © 2014 presents an interesting distinction between two thought processes of stopping: quitting (“I’m outta here because it’s hard”) and disengagement (“this isn’t leading to where I really want to be”). Its main concept is that disengagement frees the mind and spirit, allowing new goals to form, and stops what may have become a disheartening cycle of failure without goal achievement. The book covers many aspects of both quitting and disengagement concepts, with a plethora of workplace examples; however, some of the ideas are ones that I find interesting when I look back on raising a gifted child and some of his struggles and successes. Manage Thoughts and Emotions As almost all parents will say, being a parent is the most important role they will ever have. The impact of a supportive environment helps kids in every area, including this one. Growing up in a warm,supportive environment is a strong indicator of someone’s ability to know when to switch gears, by helping children learn to manage the emotions transition often causes. Sometimes you have to walk away from what happened. Think about a situation that changed around you, that was out of your control, and made your current path no longer a good fit. Ruminating about something out of your control is not the same as reflecting on what happened and can be downright detrimental. Disengagement is a conscious, healthy choice to re-evaluate and head in a new direction and is a way to get control back over your own life. Know Yourself Encourage your child to know if the stress of a challenge energizes them or stops them in their tracks. The message should be: form goals based on what makes you feel positive about reaching them. Use an example. Let’s say you are assigned a task for which 85 percent of people who attempted it failed. What is your first reaction? Do you worry about the 85 percent or get thrilled by the challenge of being in the 15 percent? Focus on a learning goal rather than a performance goal. This is a hard one for a lot of advanced learners, and it is completely understandable how achieving perfect grades can sometimes take precedence over gaining knowledge. In my experience, this is one of the most important areas for us as parents to focus our energy. Goals are much more likely to be successful if they are not conflicting. You have to be willing to adjust your goals so that they accommodate priorities. It may take some hits and misses for your child to find their goals, and that’s OK. Allow them to re-evaluate. If someone had told me 25 years ago what my career would be now, I never would have believed them because it is such a departure from what I had planned back then. That change came about primarily from unexpected opportunities and my own need to resolve conflicting goals. Map your Goals and Own Them We’ve all heard it, and it’s been proven time and time again: recording your goals helps clarify your thought process and makes your goals more concrete. It gives you an opportunity to work through articulating your goal and what steps you need to take to get there. An entire chapter in the book is devoted to a process to vet and develop goals. That level may not be necessary, but give adequate time and thought to defining goals. Remind your child their goals are theirs and no one else’s. It’s often a fine line to find when it’s time to walk away from a situation or what you thought you wanted to do. It is also a learned skill, through life’s experiences. Encourage your child to learn from their own experiences, both good and bad. Did I give up too soon? Hung in there too long? Most adults have stories to tell when they stuck with something too long, as well as when they let go too easily. They’ll also have advice learned when all that was needed was a simple leap of faith. ***************************************************************************************************** Mastering the Art of Quitting: Why it Matters in Life, Love, and Work by Peg Streep and Alan B. Bernstein Da Capo Press © 2014 ***************************************************************************************************** Mary Budde WATG Treasurer During this difficult time, the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted is continuing to develop ways to support ongoing connections with our members and the gifted community at large. One of the many resources we are currently offering are links to curated lists of educational resources that might be most relevant to gifted families. Our current list is on our website, and has been posted on Facebook.
While a resource list can be very useful, families and educators are also interested in the personal story related to that resource. It provides the context, relevance, and connection. We would love to hear from you about something that your kid(s) or the kids you work with love doing and why. What age/s are the kids? What is bringing joy right now? How are you coping with some of the new challenges? How are your kids continuing to learn and stay curious? We will include some of these stories in our next WATG newsletter. Also please consider adding to that support by sharing your personal story about a resource you and/or your kids love. Our newsletter deadline is always the last Sunday of each month. You can send your ideas to us at watg.org. Please put the words “for newsletter” in the subject line. We know you are all very busy with adapting to our new normal, but we hope you will find the time to share with the gifted community. Through our stories, we can relate, support, connect and learn from each other. Together we grow. |
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