Parenting of gifted children: A two edged sword

Parents of gifted children must also be their advocates in order to act upon the the social and academic development of their children.     

Museums and the gifted

The integrative curriculum combines subject‐matter studies, mini‐courses, and long term projects which allows for individual differences and provides a qualitatively different instruction program for the gifted.     

Futures education for the gifted

Futures education is an important area for educators of the gifted who are interested in leadership potential for it develops those skills which students can use to meet the issues and challenges of today's and tomorrow's world.     

Discipline and the gifted child

The gap between intellectual and social development in gifted children can be bridged by providing opportunities for expanded social experiences.     

Bilingualism and the gifted intellect

Teaching young gifted children a second language enriches their ability for linguistic expression.     

The humanities and the gifted

The humanities can provide the means for integrating specialized information while encouraging consideration of alternative solutions to mankind's problems in a curriculum for the gifted.     

Preparing teachers of the gifted

There is widespread agreement that gifted children are best served by specially qualified teachers. In addition to special knowledge and skills, such teachers need special personal qualities, which means that it may not be possible for all teachers to be equally effective with gifted youngsters. In the case of teacher training, this raises the question of whether there may not be personal characteristics whose presence prior to commencement of training is necessary for, or at least helpful in, the development of appropriate professional characteristics during the course of training. Other important issues in the training of teachers of the gifted are those of whether it should be delivered at undergraduate or postgraduate level, whether or not all teachers should receive certain basic training, and what role is to be played by in-service training.

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Zusammenfassung Es herrscht weitgehend Übereinstimmung darüber, daß begabte Kinder am besten von besonders ausgebildeten Lehrern betreut werden. Außer speziellen Kenntnissen und Fähigkeiten brauchen solche Lehrer besondere persönliche Qualitäten, d.h. es ist vielleicht nicht allen Lehrern möglich, bei begabten Kindern gleich effektiv zu sein. Was die Lehrerbildung angeht, wirft dies die Frage auf, ob nicht gewisse persönliche Eigenschaften vor Ausbildungsbeginn vorhanden sein müssten, die für die Entwicklung angemessener professioneller Eigenschaften während der Ausbildung unabdingbar oder zumindest förderlich sind. Andere wichtige Fragen zielen darauf ab, ob die Weiterbildung der Lehrer für Begabte bereits bei Nichtgraduierten oder erst während des Aufbaustudiums stattfinden sollte, ob nicht alle Lehrer eine gewisse Grundausbildung erhalten sollten und welche Rolle die Weiterbildung während der Berufsausübung spielen sollte.

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Résumé Il est largement reconnu que les enfants surdoués bénéficient davantage d'un enseignement délivré par des spécialistes qualifiés. En outre des connaissances et capacités spécifiques, les enseignants doivent aussi posséder certaines qualités personnelles, ce qui signifie qu'il se peut qu'ils ne soient pas tous d'égale efficacité auprès des jeunes surdoués. Dans le cas d'une formation à l'enseignement, la question soulevée est de savoir si des caractéristiques personnelles sont nécessaires avant d'entamer la formation ou si celles-ci sont un atout susceptible de promouvoir le développement des caractéristiques professionnelles appropriées dans le cours de la formation. D'autres questions d'importance pour la formation des enseignants pour élèves surdoués se posent, à savoir si cette formation est à dispenser au niveau du premier cycle ou du second cycle, si, ou non, les enseignants doivent tous recevoir une formation de base, et enfin, quel rôle cette formation doit jouer dans le cadre de la formation continue.

     

The anxiety of the gifted

Integrating the study of humor in the classroom is one method to recognize creative talent and to develop that talent.     

Parenting Stress as a Mediator of the Relation Between Parenting Support and Optimal Parenting

Objective. This study assessed the direct and indirect relations between 2 types of social support - parenting support and general social support - and optimal parenting. Design. Self-report data were gathered from 165 married mothers of firstborn 4th-graders between the ages of 9 and 11 years. Widely accepted measures of warmth, monitoring, general psychological distress, parenting stress, and general social support were used. A measure of parenting support from family and friends was developed for this study. Results. Path analysis indicated that the relation between specific parenting support and optimal parenting was completely mediated by parenting stress and not by general psychological distress. The relation between general social support and optimal parenting was not completely mediated by either parenting stress or general psychological distress. Conclusions. This study integrated essential components from the social support, stress and coping, and parenting research. The authors identify parenting stress as a mediator of the relation between parenting support and optimal parenting by focusing on the specificity of social support and stress in the domain of parenting.     

Examining the rationale for gifted education

The rationales underlying the enrichment and acceleration approaches to programming for the gifted are analyzed and compared. The focus is on how each approach views questions concerning who are the gifted and how they are best educated. Acceleration emphasizes development of specific cognitive abilities while enrichment is aimed at helping students with certain personality characteristics to organize their abilities into constructive and creative products. The Revolving Door Identification Model debate aired in an earlier issue of this journal is used to illustrate the differences that exist between proponents of enrichment and acceleration programming models.     

Considerations in counselling the creatively gifted

This article represents an attempt to allay the myth that the gifted will be successful anyway and, if they are not, they are not really gifted. On the contrary from an early age the gifted suffer problems in peer interaction. They are bored at school, at University, at work, and in personal relationships. Although their work may be excellent they can impair their promotion prospects and even run the risk of dismissal because they do not fit in. Career changes are relatively frequent for this minority.A sample of creatively gifted students has been questioned and followed up since 1973. While it is readily admitted that the sample is small it is strongly suggested that the results make clear that this problem merits investigation. The responses of the creatively gifted students were compared to the responses of a larger sample of students not identifiable as creatively gifted. Of the creatively gifted sample:- only one has gone on for a Ph.D.- the entire group found school and university an alienating experience.-the majority of the females in this group felt that for a girl to be too smart impaired social acceptability.- 66% have contemplated suicide and devised a means.The dangers of perceiving creativity as a unidimensional construct are discussed.     

Reviews classroom materials for the gifted

Easy ears. A Scholastic Audio/Visual Program 50 W. 44th St. New York, New York 10036

Grimm's tales for young and old translated by Ralph Manheim, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1977

The uses of enchantment. Bruno Bettelhelm, New York: Random House, 1977 400 Hahn Rd. Westminster, MO 21157.

Capitalization and punctuation by Jennifer Price published by Curriculum Associates, 1977 6 Henshaw St. Woburn, Mass. 01801

Things that are red. Bowmar Artworlds Bowmar/Noble Publishers, Inc. 4563 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90039