What should I be doing for my child?
Often, I get asked this question by involved and dedicated parents. My response has changed over the years! 15 years ago, I would have told parents to get out the math books and do enrichment math, or get ahead, or challenge kids with writing activities, reading the classics, and taking on classes or workshops. The more, the better!
Now, I ask: what is your child doing outside of school?
Because, usually the child is involved in a plethora of outside sports, enrichment classes, language classes, music classes, or art lessons. Which, can be a great thing for the child.
But..now I wonder....and respond: "does your child have 'down time'? " - a phrase used quite often in our family. Down time is our children's time to tinker, hang out, maybe play video games, or read, or even watch TV! We have down time because the rest of the time the boys are doing homework, or skiing, or involved in some hyper intense activity.
I also ask parents: Does your child read? Does your child get outside and exercise? Does your child turn off the technology, and have time away from screens? This is because I think it is vastly important to not only have "down time" but also time to get away from technology and to interact with real people and real situations in the world.
Above all, parents need to be connected with their kids, provide time for the family to be together, and finally, provide "space" so that children can relax and be kids.
I am noticing that more and more parents and children are anxious. Anxiety is running rampant throughout our highly industrialized and complex society. This constant worry about "getting ahead" and "providing everything" for our children is not helpful to this young generation. You and your children have everything you need, and the best gift you can give your child is the ability to relax, enjoy life, and take pleasure in the small things!
Summer may seem like a long way off, but it is just around the corner if you are interested in applying for our Gifted/Challenge Summer Program. The Student Application Package has been sent out to schools, and parents can also download an application from the VSB website; you need to click on programs and then you will see the icon at the top of the page. Here's the information about gifted summer school.Applications are accepted on a first come first serve basis, so get your application in early, before the programs fill. There are lots of exciting course offerings, and I encourage parents and teachers to refer students who are interested! As well, you do not need to be a student in a Vancouver school but you should have a PEN number.This program is run through Continuing Education and is not affiliated with the programs that are offered at the Challenge Centre during the school year...so I can not answer any questions about specifics, however, if you need more information, you can email the director at: gifted@vsb.bc.ca I encourage as many students as possible to enroll and take part in this great summer opportunity!
Summer may seem like a long way off, but it is just around the corner if you are interested in applying for our Gifted/Challenge Summer Program.
The Student Application Package has been sent out to schools, and parents can also download an application from the VSB website; you need to click on programs and then you will see the icon at the top of the page. Here's the information about gifted summer school.
Applications are accepted on a first come first serve basis, so get your application in early, before the programs fill. There are lots of exciting course offerings, and I encourage parents and teachers to refer students who are interested! As well, you do not need to be a student in a Vancouver school but you should have a PEN number.
This program is run through Continuing Education and is not affiliated with the programs that are offered at the Challenge Centre during the school year...so I can not answer any questions about specifics, however, if you need more information, you can email the director at: gifted@vsb.bc.ca
I encourage as many students as possible to enroll and take part in this great summer opportunity!
Inside the Ski Racing Mind: Don't Praise Your Children! | Ski Racing This is a great article on how we praise children in sports, and particularly, how we often say "good job" or "great work" and praise outcomes rather than processes. There is a reference to Carol Dweck's research! Basically, the article talks about not praising inborn talent (you are a gifted skier), but rather praise the areas the child has control over, such as effort, attitude, responsibility, commitment, discipline, focus, emotional mastery, fitness, technique, equipment preparation. How does this apply to working with gifted students, and all students? We need to provide opportunities for the inborn talent to emerge, AND provide encouragement and support for the areas the student has control over....their effort, responsibility, their focus, their preparation, and discipline. Both work together. (I believe the innate talent is revealed by the emotional maturity and mastery of the student, but this is a entirely different blog post!). Our family has fallen into the ski racing world. Through this world, my sons have learned a great deal about hard work, disappointment, being organized, the importance of a good attitude, and how to work as a team in a very tough sport. I am so grateful for the lessons they are learning! The biggest lesson is disappointment. My older son races really well, but he is not the fastest kid. He doesn't win medals. However, he goes to the award ceremonies after the races, and waits patiently, thinking that perhaps, this time, he will get a medal. Afterwards, he is crestfallen. He works so hard and there isn't an external reward for him!So, we use this as a lesson: we debrief, we talk about disappointment, and hard work, and we try to focus him on the good things, like being in the moment and knowing that you did your best. It is so hard and tough, but we are building resiliency, one step at a time. Let's focus on building resiliency in our students and teaching them that innate abilities are important (and interesting), but that IT IS our intentions, and our effort, and our hard work, and our commitment, and our passion for what we are doing that matter much much more. Disappointment is good. It refocuses our soul and helps us learn.
Inside the Ski Racing Mind: Don't Praise Your Children! | Ski Racing
This is a great article on how we praise children in sports, and particularly, how we often say "good job" or "great work" and praise outcomes rather than processes. There is a reference to Carol Dweck's research! Basically, the article talks about not praising inborn talent (you are a gifted skier), but rather praise the areas the child has control over, such as effort, attitude, responsibility, commitment, discipline, focus, emotional mastery, fitness, technique, equipment preparation.
How does this apply to working with gifted students, and all students? We need to provide opportunities for the inborn talent to emerge, AND provide encouragement and support for the areas the student has control over....their effort, responsibility, their focus, their preparation, and discipline. Both work together. (I believe the innate talent is revealed by the emotional maturity and mastery of the student, but this is a entirely different blog post!).
Our family has fallen into the ski racing world. Through this world, my sons have learned a great deal about hard work, disappointment, being organized, the importance of a good attitude, and how to work as a team in a very tough sport. I am so grateful for the lessons they are learning! The biggest lesson is disappointment. My older son races really well, but he is not the fastest kid. He doesn't win medals. However, he goes to the award ceremonies after the races, and waits patiently, thinking that perhaps, this time, he will get a medal. Afterwards, he is crestfallen. He works so hard and there isn't an external reward for him!
So, we use this as a lesson: we debrief, we talk about disappointment, and hard work, and we try to focus him on the good things, like being in the moment and knowing that you did your best. It is so hard and tough, but we are building resiliency, one step at a time.
Let's focus on building resiliency in our students and teaching them that innate abilities are important (and interesting), but that IT IS our intentions, and our effort, and our hard work, and our commitment, and our passion for what we are doing that matter much much more. Disappointment is good. It refocuses our soul and helps us learn.
I always try to keep up with what is going on the United States in terms of gifted education and talent development. I find it hard to keep abreast of everything, as there are so many talented educators and researchers in gifted education south of the border. Today, I was reading about the Talent Act on the website The National Associaton for Gifted Children. I think this is very interesting that there is a focus on new federal policy that looks at the needs of gifted students. I find the statement below, in the introduction of the Talent Act, an interesting comment on what has been happening in education: "Unfortunately, a lack of federal investment in this population means that availability and access to these services depends solely on state and local funds, which is highly variable and unpredictable. This underinvestment in excellence is exacerbated by the singular focus on low-performing students under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and has resulted in a new achievement gap—the gap between minority and economically disadvantaged students who are gifted and talented and their more advantaged, high-ability peers."
Similarly in Canada, we have underinvestment in gifted education. My fear is that if we do not provide publicly funded programs for gifted students, they will leave for the private system if they can afford to pay for it...creating a two tier education system in our province. But what if you are a parent and can't afford a private school education? And, attending a private school doesn't ensure that the needs of the gifted are being addressed!
Since education is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada, each province has policy concerning the gifted. Do you know what policies your province or jurisdiction has with regards to gifted students? Are you aware of how this funding is allocated in your district?
I always try to keep up with what is going on the United States in terms of gifted education and talent development. I find it hard to keep abreast of everything, as there are so many talented educators and researchers in gifted education south of the border. Today, I was reading about the Talent Act on the website The National Associaton for Gifted Children. I think this is very interesting that there is a focus on new federal policy that looks at the needs of gifted students.
I find the statement below, in the introduction of the Talent Act, an interesting comment on what has been happening in education: "Unfortunately, a lack of federal investment in this population means that availability and access to these services depends solely on state and local funds, which is highly variable and unpredictable. This underinvestment in excellence is exacerbated by the singular focus on low-performing students under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and has resulted in a new achievement gap—the gap between minority and economically disadvantaged students who are gifted and talented and their more advantaged, high-ability peers."
Similarly in Canada, we have underinvestment in gifted education. My fear is that if we do not provide publicly funded programs for gifted students, they will leave for the private system if they can afford to pay for it...creating a two tier education system in our province.
But what if you are a parent and can't afford a private school education? And, attending a private school doesn't ensure that the needs of the gifted are being addressed!
Since education is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada, each province has policy concerning the gifted. Do you know what policies your province or jurisdiction has with regards to gifted students? Are you aware of how this funding is allocated in your district?
