I went to Macquarie University today to listen to a presentation by Professor Michael Keane, a distinguished finance and economics researcher at the University of Technology. As you may have guessed by now, my interests are somewhat removed from the cold world of ‘human resources’, productivity, and statistics, and the only reason I went to listen to this presentation was the unusual research topic, especially coming from an economist.
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A Funny Thing Happened On Grandparents Day
It is rare for me to get feed-back on the outcome of recommendations I have made as a psychologist as a result of assessing children for giftedness. But the other day when I was invited to my twin-grandchildren’s ‘Grandparents Day’ I had a really sweet experience, and it had nothing to do with being a grandparent.
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Not Academically Gifted? Never Mind, Your Child May Still Be Gifted!
Research shows that parents are generally correct when they suspect that their child is gifted. Typically these children are great conversationalists, often using sophisticated language that stops you in your track. They are quick at learning, have amazing memories, and thrive on complexities. But some children I have tested turn out not to be academically gifted, and it is not easy to face the parents and give them the bad news.
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How To Find Out Whether Your Child Is Academically Gifted
The IQ test has been on the nose for a long while now, although in the not-too-distant past it was held to be the only sure way to assess academic giftedness. One of the issues confronting IQ tests when their respect began to unravel, was that they can only measure academic ability and not other forms of giftedness.
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Should I send my gifted child to childcare?
The Sydney Morning Herald conducted a long investigation into childcare, which led to a number of articles about the state of childcare in NSW a couple of weeks ago. They were not the type of articles that would bring comfort to a mother who is sending her child to childcare.
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Should I send my gifted child to a Montessori preschool?
I am often asked by parents of young gifted children who want to do what is best for their child where they should send their child to preschool, e.g., what type of preschool would best support their child’s gifted needs. By the time they ask me, they have often already made some inquiries and visited some preschools, and quite frequently they have secretly settled on a Montessori preschool, attracted by its logical academic-style program. So when I advise parents that Montessori preschools may not be the best choice, they can’t really understand why I would have that view.
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Seemed gifted when younger, but has lost interest lately.
Many articles have been written by internationally well respected experts about gifted children who ‘hide their light’ in order to be accepted by their peer group. This issue can take place sometime during the school years, and is known as the “forced choice” issue in gifted circles. It describes the nerdy outsider who makes the private and painful choice of abandoning his or her giftedness and intense interests in order to gain friends. Grades at school drop, and the child takes on the interests and behaviours of his or her peer group.
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