gourdgal virginia's List: Gifted Females

• Early adolescence seems to be a particularly critical time for gifted girls when  the pressures to conform to this societal standard of "beauty" seem to be  particularly intense.
• aren't sure how to establish a healthy and productive balance between  achievement and relationships, between collaboration and competition.
• A number of recent research studies on adolescent girls seem to agree that home  and school experiences affect gifted females differently than gifted males.
• Sex differences in underachievement also first seem to emerge in middle school,  grades 6-8.

2 more annotations...

• faced by gifted girls
• faced by gifted girls
• personality factors, personal priorities, and social emotional issues that have  consistently emerged as contributing reasons that many either cannot or do not  realize their potential.
• Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, when discussing social and  emotional issues, to discuss gifted girls without discussing gifted women,  because many young gifted girls believe that they can “do it all” or “have it  all,” while many older gifted females have learned that they cannot.
• not one participant attributed her success in school to extraordinary ability  (Callahan, Cunningham, & Plucker, 1994).
• The importance of environmental variables on the development of gifted and  talented females cannot be overstated.
• In some studies, parents’ beliefs about children’s abilities had an even greater  effect on children’s self-perceptions than previous performance (Parsons, Adler,  & Kaczala, 1982).
• Reis found that memories of negative parental comments haunt gifted and talented  women decades after they left home (Reis, 1995; 1998).
• Kramer (1985) found that teachers were usually able to identify gifted boys, but  were often surprised to learn that a girl was considered smart.
• Research also indicates that teachers like smart girls less than other students.
• personal choices about family; choices about duty and caring and nurturing the  talents in oneself as opposed to putting the needs of others first;
• It also can cause women to strive to achieve impossible goals and spend their  lives trying to achieve perfection in work, home, body, children, wardrobe, and  other areas.
• Normal perfectionists derive pleasure
• Neurotic perfectionists are unable to feel satisfaction
• Reis, S. M. (1998). Work left undone: compromises and challenges of talented  females. Mansfield Ctr., CT: Creative Learning Press.
• Reis, S. M., & Callahan, C. M. (1989). Gifted females: They’ve come a long  way-or have they? Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 12(2), 99-117.
• Reis, S. M., Callahan, C. M., & Goldsmith, D. (1996). Attitudes of  adolescent gifted girls and boys toward education, achievement, and the future.  In K. D. Arnold, K. D. Noble., & R. F.
• Dr. Reis is Professor of Educational Psychology in the Neag School of  Education at the University of Connecticut and Past-President of the National  Association for Gifted Children.

16 more annotations...

• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one
• Teaching a group of like-ability students allows teachers to adjust the  pace of instruction to students' needs.
• Teaching a group of like-ability students allows teachers to adjust the  pace of instruction to students' needs.
• Teaching a group of like-ability students allows teachers to adjust the  pace of instruction to students' needs.
• Teaching a group of like-ability students allows teachers to adjust the  pace of instruction to students' needs.
• Teaching a group of like-ability students allows teachers to adjust the  pace of instruction to students' needs.
• A class of high achievers might be given more opportunities for  independent research and cooperative group discussion than a group of  low achievers would be given; high achievers might be asked to apply  their skills to solving higher-level thinking problems too.
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one.
• research and cooperative group discussion than a group of low achievers  would be given; high achievers
• A class of high achievers might be given more opportunities for  independent research and cooperative group discussion than a group of  low achievers  would  be given; high achievers  might be asked to apply their skills to  solving higher-level thinking problems too.
• cooperative group discussion than a group of
• I
• allowing teachers to focus instruction
• allowing teachers to focus instruction
• to  solving higher-level thinking  problems too.
• allowing teachers to focus instruction
• allowing teachers to focus instruction
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one.
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one.
• I was constantly being left behind and humiliated by my teacher No  attempt to help me as an individual by my teacher was ever made---and  if it had, it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant one.
• allowing teachers to focus instruction
• might be given more opportunities for independent research and  cooperative group discussion than a group of
• A class of high achievers
• high
• • improves reading achievement for the lower students possibly.
• • Ggrouping within the classroom works for gifted thinkers if 1) they are grouped together and not heterogenously which they hate because they do all the work and the group gets the grade and 2) the teacher can effectively differentiate [which few understand, much less can DO]
• • Don't mark grouping by ability with the WAY it is implemented. Studies where it showed to be less than beneficial were from schools where ability grouping was done one time, early in students' academic careers, and never revisited. Reassessment is key to effective ability grouping.

27 more annotations...

• • This happens so often it blinds me with rage -- gifted thinkers get knowledge faster, but they still have to be taught!
• • AND some non-gifted-trained teachers find gifted students intimidating...or take their childlike social skills combined with adult thinking skills as arrogant.
• • A practice common in schools--heterogenous grouping wherein the students are lumped together and in the end, the gifted thinkers are 'helping' (read that 'teaching') the others...being used as classroom aides. AND, as stated in the next myth...they are supposed to be the gauge that all the others will look up to (read that 'despise').
• average or below-average students do not look to the gifted students in the  class as role models.
• • ...gifted in what?
• • Asynchronicity -- when chronological age does not match intellectual age. Gifted thinkers prefer to hang with older people for a reason -- they are mentally in tune with older thinkers. Would you want to work with people half your mental age? What if you were made to do it because your boss thought age grouping was better for you socially?
• they are not a gifted education program
• teacher training in identification and gifted education strategies
• Colangelo, N
• M. Neihart, S. M. Reis, N. Robinson, and S. Moon (Eds.), The Social and  Emotional Development of Gifted Children
• Olenchak. F. R., & Reis, S. M. (

9 more annotations...

• • Actually, some stuff I did highlight...

  • There is so much information here I will refrain from highlighting one or two (dozen) bits of information. If you have gifted children or teach gifted students, check out the links and be aware of the research that exists!
• Shorthand for "I Love You"... I (1 letter) Love (4  letters) You (3 letters)
• Dabrowski's Over Excitabilities.  Extreme  sensitivities in one or more arenas.  See Dabrowski and Sensitivities
• Davidson Young Scholars  program.  A free program supporting exceptionally and profoundly gifted  children ages 5-18 (must apply by 16), including social-emotional, advocacy,  homeschooling, and many other kinds of support, as needed by the child and  family
  
  Or sometimes Jack Kent Cook Young Scholars program.
• High-tech alternative to correspondence courses,  these classes are offered via satellite or internet.  See Distance Learning Programs
• grin, duck, and run...
• Gifted Individual Education Plan / Gifted Education  Plan.  In some states, gifted students receive GIEPs or GEPs.  Check  Mandates for your state / province
• • Frederick County does not have IEPs so the gifted students are left to the abilities of the assigned classroom teacher. Some teachers can differentiate, some think giving another handout is good. IEPs would ensure the gifted thinkers is taught at their ability levels, not kept busy doing more drill work until everyone catches up.
• National Association  for Gifted Children.  State affiliates have a variety of acronyms,  including Florida Association of Gifted  (FLAG), Minnesota Council for the Gifted and  Talented (MCGT), Gifted Association of  Missouri (GAM), Nebraska Association  for the Gifted and others - see Gifted  Organizations
• • No Child Left Behind translates into No Child Gets Ahead. Just my opinion, but still...

8 more annotations...

• Alex is 13
• Taylor is 16.
• When the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) surveyed states in 2008  about what they provide in the way of gifted education, it found the answer to  be “not much.”
• “That’s a mistreatment of students,” says Bob Davidson who, with his wife, Jan
• started a public school—a public school like no other—on the University of  Nevada campus.
• but administrators wouldn’t let her join a math class with older kids
• “For a really bright kid, it would be pretty difficult” to find much challenge  in a regular classroom
• even the best school districts struggle with youngsters at the outer edges of  the learning continuum.
• Teachers aren’t trained to teach that once-in-a-blue-moon student; they’re  taught to accommodate the two-thirds of us who have IQs that fall between 85 and  115, or one standard deviation on either side of 100, the norm.
• The bigger issue is whether schools even try to accommodate gifted learners, and  researchers in gifted education make it clear that they don’t.
• Our discomfort rises if those kids are suburban whites who already have access  to the best schools and widest opportunities
• But we’re uncomfortable with the idea of singling out a few kids for special  treatment
• We’re even more uncomfortable with the idea of grouping youngsters by ability,  especially because research suggests that the bright kids in a classroom help  pull up the slower learners.
• Federal education policy plays into the egalitarian sentiment by prodding the  states to narrow the achievement gap between their lowest and highest  performers.
• But that has happened largely because the scores for the brightest kids have  barely moved
• “When you’re trying to get everybody to proficient, [the ablest learners] are  not going to be the policy focus.”
• Cross, Colangelo, and Robinson all argue that the U.S. should be fanning the  learning gap by teaching every youngster to his potential, rather than narrowing  it by ignoring youngsters who have reached state minimums.
• • Waiting...that's what really gifted learners do a LOT of in myh schools. Teachers ask them to wait until everyone catches up; they are encouraged to bring library books to read while others catch up.
• The most commonly used word, he says, was “waiting.” Waiting for teachers to  move ahead, waiting for classmates to catch up, waiting to learn something  new—always waiting.
• That amounts to $6,439 per student this year, or about $2,000 less, on average,  than at other Nevada public schools, which receive money from federal poverty  and special-education programs.
• That’s one reason for a demographically skewed student body (there’s one African  American and one Hispanic). The relocation is out of reach for low-income  families, those stuck with unsellable houses, and those who can’t find a job in  Reno. The academy plans to start a residential program next year, but  out-of-state parents will have to pay tuition, room, and board.
• what lessons public schools could take away from the academy
• Allow youngsters to accelerate by subject.
• Promote dual enrollment so youngsters can take classes in both elementary and  middle school, middle and high school, high school and college.
• Individualize learning.
• Group students by ability, not age.
• Ability grouping “may fly in the face of closing the achievement gap,” but  neglecting the country’s brightest kids flies in the face of logic. “Don’t stop  them,” he says.

25 more annotations...

• from graphic calculators to animation programs that teach spelling and phonics.
• some school districts have started to put the technology to use.
• applications created by a company called Go Know! to draw pictures and create  sketches, journal and write essays
• Students took the phones on a museum field
• wrote blurbs about what they saw
• • Immediate reflection of learning is great! Get the writing done while it's still fresh!!
• PDA teaches them responsibility
• • I don't know about that....anything acquired easily doesn't have the same personal value as something purchased. But, affordability? That's another expense.
• 'You go home and use whatever technology you want, but when you get to school,  we're going to ask you to step back in time.'
• Text and cell phone applications are shut off,
• . The phones are free because of government pricing, but students will have to  foot the bill if they're lost or broken.
• • Here's where the accountability comes in!
• educational value of the cell phones doesn't seem to sway most school districts
• "You come to school to learn, he declared, "not to play games or send text  messages."
• • I swear, I hear this from administrators all the time. Turn off the texting and game options when at school!
• Erin, 14,

• She likes the idea of using PDAs in class, but doesn't think it's  necessary.

   

  "Anything that helps to better educate me I'd use," she said.
• I never use it in class now because I'm too busy paying attention."
• • ...because the teacher is lecturing FACTS instead of having the students critically think and investigate information. Teachers who insist on being the sage will hold back students who want to run with information and learning.

17 more annotations...

• When he was 18 months old, in 1994, she was reading to him and skipped a word,  whereupon Drew reached over and pointed to the missing word on the page.
• Like   parents of children who are severely challenged,  parents of exceptionally
• “Can I just stay home so I can learn something?”
• Prodigies are able to function at an advanced adult level in some domain before  age 12.
• genius can be as bewildering and hazardous as a disability.
• prodigiousness and genius are as little understood as autism.
• “Many gifted kids have A.D.D. or O.C.D. or Asperger’s. When the parents are  confronted with two sides of a kid, they’re so quick to acknowledge the  positive, the talented, the exceptional; they are often in denial over  everything else.”
• We now know that brain plasticity diminishes over time; it is easier to mold a  child than to reform an adult.
• There is no federal mandate for gifted education.
• Given that there is no consensus about how to raise ordinary children, it is not  surprising that there is none about how to raise remarkable children. Like  parents of children who are severely challenged, parents of exceptionally  talented children are custodians of young people beyond their comprehension.
• There is no     

  federal mandate  for gifted   education   .    But if we recognize the importance of  special   programs  for students whose atypical  brains encode less-accepted differences, we  should extrapolate to create programs for those whose atypical brains encode  remarkable abilities. Writing in Time magazine in 2007, the educator John Cloud  faulted the “radically egalitarian” values underlying the No  Child Left Behind Act, which provided little support for gifted  students. Once again, it falls to parents to advocate for their children’s  needs, often in the face of a hostile or indifferent educational system. Leon  Botstein, president of Bard College, himself a conductor and a former  wunderkind, remarked dryly, “If Beethoven were sent to nursery school today,  they would medicate him, and he would be a postal clerk.”
• You can err in either direction.
• There is no  federal mandate for gifted education
• ; Aristotle believed that there could be no genius without madness. Paganini was  accused of putting himself in the hands of the devil.
• Throughout much of history, prodigies were thought to be  possessed
•  federal mandate   for gifted     education     .      But if we recognize the importance of    special     programs   for students whose atypical     brains encode less-accepted differences,  we   should  extrapolate to create programs for those whose atypical brains encode    remarkable abilities. Writing in Time magazine  in 2007, the educator John Cloud   faulted the “radically egalitarian” values  underlying the   No   Child Left Behind Act  , which provided little support for   gifted   students  . Once again, it falls to parents to advocate  for their children’s   needs, often in the face of a hostile or  indifferent educational system. Leon   Botstein, president of Bard College, himself a  conductor and a former   wunderkind, remarked dryly, “If Beethoven were  sent to nursery school today,   they would medicate him, and he would be a  postal clerk.”
• federal mandate for gifted  education .  But if we recognize the importance of special  programs for students whose atypical

15 more annotations...

• by   

  Francis    Galton  . He    

  referred to  adults who demonstrated exceptional talent in some area
• first used in 1869
• Francis  Galton. He
• referred to adults who demonstrated exceptional talent in some area
• Lewis  Terman expanded
• In the early 1900s, he began his a long-term study of gifted children, whom he  defined as children with IQs of 140 or more
• early uses of the term gifted have led to different uses of the word and  different ways of defining giftedness.
• Giftedness as Predictor
• Giftedness as Asynchronous  Development
• Definitions of gifted that consider adult achievement add factors such as  task commitment or motivation.
• Giftedness as Potential
• The child’s environment determines whether potential leads to achievement, so  people who define gifted this way stress the importance of providing an  appropriate environment.
• gifted that include asynchronous development consider not only IQ and talent,  but also emotional traits of gifted children, such as heightened sensitivity
• Schools may use a definition of gifted based on relative ability
• Gifted in this definition is relative because a student who is identified  as gifted in one school may not be identified as gifted in another school,  leaving parents confused.
  
• • ...and this is where the word gifted leads to an elitist point-of-view. The top 5-10% may not be the top of the pool academically, just among the local peers. Teaching perseverance and offering challenging curriculum may be all most of these bright students need. Saddling them with the gifted label presents a weight of anticipated achievement the student may not be able to deliver as he/she grows.

14 more annotations...