Many of you will now know that I am retiring from the world of giftedness after nearly 20 years of involvement in one form or another, and 12 years of working intensely with families, children and teachers through holiday workshops, consultations and education planning, organising and delivering PD, conferences and seminars. It is time to move on to other things.
The Thinking Ahead website will remain and my books The Beginner's Guide to Life on the Bright Side, Gifted and Thriving at School and Gifted Children: Resources for Parents and Teachers in WA resources will continue to be available, as will the Self Paced Advocacy Course for Parents which is delivered in instalments via email (plus a few other downloadable documents which are currently still on the production line). The information on the blog will remain but I probably won't be adding to it further.
It turns out most popular blog post I have written in the last 3 ½ years continues to be IQ tests vs Achievement tests with readers from all around the world.
The next most often read is To Bed... and now to sleep.
And an important one that is fairly recent is All Advice is not Equal. Gifted is a small field and there are still few people with training in the area (especially in Australia where I am based). On your journey you are bound to come across many people who will offer you well-meaning but sometimes ill-founded advice. It is very important that you qualify any advice you receive whether it is from friends, family, schools or others who claim expertise. Think critically about what you hear. Listen for any hidden agenda and consider how it fits with what you know.
Remember that simply by virtue of the fact that gifted children make up a small proportion of the population (and highly gifted a small fraction of that group), most teachers, even those who have known they had gifted children in their classrooms have limited experience with this population, even if they have been teaching for many years. Their experience with your child is likely to be even more limited.
Always remember you are the expert regarding your child. It is OK to ask for research to back up an opinion that is offered, whether it is from a teacher or another professional. That way you indicate your willingness to learn and grow but you also communicate your expectation that opinions and decisions are research based and applicable to the gifted population.
All the best on your journey.
