How can advocates positively affect others’ understanding and acceptance of gifted children’s needs?

What is different about parenting a gifted child?

Acquire and refine the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for gifted learners.

Identify how parent, teacher, and educational advocates can positively affect gifted services and programming.

Identify advocacy issues, needs, resources, educational laws, skills, and strategies.

Support the necessity of self-advocacy by gifted students.

Understand that gifted children naturally have unique needs that parents are challenged to address daily.

Recognize that parents of gifted children need guidance and support to respond suitably to additional needs and demands of their children.

Realize that parents of gifted children may experience isolation from other parents due to others’ lack of understanding; societal expectations and myths; jealousy; competition; and lack of acceptance that gifted children have special needs.

Understand the significance of quote from Mr. Rogers: “The best thing parents can do for children is to listen to them.”

Learning Activity 8.1:
Scan through the titles provided in the Required Reading, and decide which three you would provide to parents as “must reads” for this population. If you wish, you may go to Hoagies Gifted, the Davidson Institute, or other online sources to find different articles if you are not finding something you like here.

Once you have decided on the three articles from the list in Required Reading, please do the following:

1. List the 3 articles.
2. Write a short 2-3 sentence synopsis of the article.
3. Write why you would choose to give this particular article to parents as a support tool.

Submit this to your instructor as Learning Activity 8.1.

Learning Activity 8.2:
After completing the assigned reading, create a product that incorporates what you have learned throughout this course, identifying some steps you could take to address both kids’ needs and parents’ needs differently than you have in the past.

Completed and submitted Learning Activity 8.1

Completed and submitted Learning Activity 8.2

Completed Discussion Forum 8.1

Completion of Post-test scoring an 80% or higher.

Choose any 3 to read for Learning Activity 8.1

Cronin, A. (2002). Asynchronous Parenting. Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Spring 2002. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10223.aspx

Ludwig, S. (2004). Getting more from your Parent-Teacher Conference. Duke Gifted Letter. 4(2). Winter 2004. Retrieved from http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol4no2_connex.html

Cooper, B. (2003). So, the thing is…I never wanted to be one of those moms. Retrieved from http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/those_moms.htm

Sheard, W. (n.d.).The Care and Feeding of Gifted Parent Groups: A Guide for Gifted Coordinators, Teachers, and Parent Advocates  Retrieved from http://www.nsgt.org/pdf/article_sheard_parent_groups.pdf

Kearney, K. (1992). Life in the Asynchronous Family.  Understanding Our Gifted, Vol. 4., No. 6, pg 1, 8-12. Retrieved from http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/asynchronous.htm

Siegle, D. (2006). The Emotional Edge: Parenting Strategies to Motivate Underachieving Gifted Students. Duke Gifted Letter. 9(3). Spring 2009. Special Issue. Retrieved from http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol6no4_ee.html

The following five articles are the last of the reading for this course! They are short, but important. These articles focus on truths about working with the gifted, and discuss how to best support and advocate for gifted children and their education. Please read these articles, and then complete the activity below.

Davidson Institute. (2006). Does No Child Left Behind Require that No Child Can Get Ahead? Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10361.aspx

Ybarra, L. (2005). Nine Truths About Working with Gifted Students. Leadership Compass. 2(3). Spring 2005. 4. Retrieved from http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=654

National Association for Gifted Children. (n.d.).Take Five! Advocating for Gifted Programs in Local Schools, Retrieved from http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=697

VanTassel-Baska. (n.d.). Ten Things All Administrators Should Know About Gifted Children, Retrieved from http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=2423

Osborn, J. (2001). Educational Advocacy for Gifted Students. Davidson Institute. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10214.aspx

Chase, B., & Katz, B. (2002). The new public school parent: How to get the best education for your child. New York: Penguin Publishers.

Davidson, J., & Davidson, B. (2004). Genius denied. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Gilman, B. (2003). Empowering gifted minds: Educational advocacy that works. Denver: DeLeon Publishing.

Riley, T. L. (1999). Put on your dancing shoes! Choreographing positive partnerships with parents of gifted children. Gifted Child Today, 22, 50–53.

State of Florida, Department of Education: Acceleration Brief #311781. Clearinghouse Information Center, Room 628, Turlington Bldg., 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 (Phone: 850-245-0477; SunCom: 205-0477; Fax: 850-245-0987; E-mail: cicbiscs@FLDOE.org)