Re-Forming Gifted Education: How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child

by Karen B. Rogers

A solid education plan is like a puzzle, but this book can help you put all of the pieces together for your gifted child. A one-size-fits-all approach to education often doesn't work, particularly with gifted children, who differ greatly in both ability levels and learning styles. Schools seldom have all of the information or resources they need to provide appropriate educational programs for children who are gifted, and parents often need to negotiate for an education plan—even if the child is already in a gifted program, since many of these programs fall short. Dr. Rogers guides parents through the process of making that happen and describes several recommended models for acceleration and enrichment. She also explains educational options and their benefits for different types of children so that you can match the right program to your child.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

464 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is aimed at the parents of gifted children in America. It offers suggestions on how to identify giftedness in your child, then explains why gifted children need a different educational experience from non-gifted children. Dr. Rogers spends several chapters addressing different ways of working with your child's school to create an educational plan. The book includes a variety of questionnaires, checklists, and templates to help you develop the evidence necessary to create a sound plan. Dr. Rogers's writing is clear and logical. Her examples and suggestions are backed up with research (her own and that of others), but not loaded down with statistics and numbers that could overwhelm some parents. While the book is written for parents, teachers and school officials should find it useful as well to understand what does and does not work for gifted children. The book is written in the context of the American school system, so not everything is applicable to the Canadian setting. All the resources she describes, such as programs and support groups and so, are American. In addition, the book tends to assume that the reader has only recently learned his or her child is gifted and that the child is still in the early grades. The notion that a child might be identified as gifted at an older age doesn't come up, and any issues around developing a plan for an older child are not addressed. Despite these minor shortcomings, this is a valuable resource that should give any parent of a gifted child some ideas for obtaining for that child the education he or she deserves.

[Georgette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not helpful. There is a part in the book that illustrates this sentiment, when the author describes a possible conversation between a frustrated parents of a gifted child and a school principal. At the end of the discussion, the principal says "I like the idea of staff development and you are right. For the cost of some training, I can serve a good proportion of our more able students."

Is this author serious? When does a conversation about gifted students end with money spent on training this student population? Apparently it does in a land of unicorns farting rainbows and cotton candy clouds, because it sure doesn't happen in my state that has no funding or mandate. It was assumed by the author that the school will work with you on at least one thing, but sadly, in many cases that does not happen. Very unrealistic. There are better books out there about gifted education.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book gives strategies for approaching schools to obtain 'a free and appropriate education' for gifted children. Too bad it doesn't work.

This book assumes that the district and the parents will be able to meet frequently to adjust the course if plan A (or B or C) doesn't work. In reality, most parents will be lucky to get one or two meetings a year. Meanwhile, the school gets to give the appearance of responsivity, without actually taking feedback.

The schools have too few resources and too many fires to put out to deal with gifted kids who perform at or above grade level.

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of research-based information to help parents and teachers form individual education plans for gifted students, and--in case schools are unable to implement all the components of these plans--there's also a guide to homeschooling resources. Rogers argues that acceleration, even radical acceleration, is generally a positive experience. She provides a helpful list of children's literature that will appeal to anyone who feels different from his or her peers.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are just learning about gifted education and want to understand how things should work, this book is great.