IN THIS ISSUE
●Director's Corner
-By Shaunne McKinley
●Upcoming SENGinar
-Beyond Labels: Cultivating Our Unique Gifts
●Looking Ahead Upcoming Events
●Helping them Climb: Counsellors and Counselling
-By Jennifer Harvey Sallin
●SENG Partner Spotlight
-Long Island School for the Gifted
●2023 SENG Annual Conference
-Registration
-Call for Sponsors & Vendors
●SENG Mini Conference: Phoenix, Arizona
●SENG Community Volunteer Spotlight
-Sonu Aziz
●University of North Texas Research Study
●SENGJ: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness
-Issue 2 now available! Free Open Access
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Thank You to everyone who joined us for the first in SENG's DEI & B Community Sharing Series on Zoom and Facebook yesterday. We look forwarding to hosting future events as part of our DEI & B Community Sharing Series. |
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Director's Corner
Gifted and Left Behind
By Shaunne McKinley
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“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations”- Dr. Mae Jemison.
I grew up in an all-Black neighborhood in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. In 1975, I was enrolled in a Catholic elementary school with the hopes of gaining the best education possible.
I did learn and excelled as a student, but none of my classmates lived in my neighborhood. I accepted the fact that I had school friends and home friends, and I knew that as a Black student in a majority White school, I had to work hard and be a top student. Many of the girls from my neighborhood treated me differently and called me “stuck up,” while most of my classmates were accepting and friendly to me. I was not stuck up, just a shy, quiet girl with the desire to fit in with the neighborhood kids and the kids at my school.
Prior to entering high school, I took a required placement exam, which placed me in advanced classes. In a culturally diverse freshmen class of over 200 students, only 9 Black students were in the advanced freshmen classes, and again no other kids from my neighborhood were in my classes. I wonder if it was because of a lack of knowledge or a lack of exposure to different social and cultural environments that prevented more Black students from placement into advanced classes?
Fast forward to 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona, the year that my youngest son’s 2nd grade teacher recommended him to be tested for gifted education. He qualified as academically gifted in reading and math. As it turned out, he was the only Black student from his grade level in the gifted program and one of three in the entire K-8 school. My children grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood, and their friendships reflected that. Therefore, being in a class with majority White peers was not a problem for either of my sons. I asked my son how he felt about being the only Black student in his classes, and his response was “I felt proud and smart, and I didn’t feel out of place.” He continued in the pull-out gifted program for grades 3rd-6th, and then advanced/honors classes in middle school and high school.
His gifted education journey was fun and fulfilling with welcoming and encouraging teachers until his junior year of high school. One day his Honors ELA teacher, an older White man, told him that he should not be in that class because he could not keep up with the classwork and that he should take regular classes instead of advanced honors classes because he scored low on one test. My son came home upset and in disbelief that a teacher would tell him that he did not belong in an academically challenging class, a class that he was proud to be in. As parents, my husband and I were very upset and scheduled a meeting with the teacher. During the meeting, the teacher stated that perhaps football was preventing my son from focusing on schoolwork and that regular classes would alleviate the workload. Our response was “Hell no!” There was a very small percentage of minority students who participated in the high school advanced/honors program, and as a Black student athlete, he was not going to be deprived of demonstrating his full potential academically. Ironically, this particular teacher was also the school’s sports announcer for games. This is the problem. African-American students, especially boys, have more focus placed upon behavior, are pushed towards sports, and are not encouraged to be challenged academically. My son stayed in the class and earned an A. He continued with honor classes through senior year and graduated with a 3.89 GPA and a D1 football scholarship.
He went on to graduate college and was an undrafted free-agent in 2018 with the Tennessee Titans. Would the teacher have requested my son to change classes if he was a White student-athlete? Although we were many years apart, my son and I had very similar educational experiences with limited participation of our Black peers in advanced classes.
Many students of color get overlooked for gifted and advanced classes because teachers don’t think they are capable of achieving or being successful, and most parents are not aware of available programs. Based on a report from the Gifted Education Research & Resource Institute at Purdue University, 3.6 million children are missing out on gifted education, and students of color (Black/Hispanic) are the most under identified. The lack of academic challenge and higher level thinking limits the success of Black students as adults.
I have taught gifted education at a K-8 school with families that have a middle to high socio-economic background, and the gifted program had about 2% Black/Hispanic students in it with an overall school population of over 700 students. I currently teach at a Title I K-6 school in which the majority of the population is free or reduced lunch. The total school population is 441 with 42% being Black and Hispanic with 7% of minorities in the gifted program.
How can the bias of under-representation of Black students in gifted education be changed? First, there should be training for teachers about how to identify gifted and talented students. Second, we should provide assessments that include objective and subjective testing with tests that address diversity and different learning styles. Next, having culturally diverse teachers that can relate to and understand diverse student backgrounds and abilities in all schools is essential. Lastly, we need to inform parents about available gifted and advanced programs.
My school district has made steps to increase the representation of Black and Hispanic students by recognizing that Title I schools need different scoring parameters to help offset cultural bias on gifted identification tests. Enrichment classes are available to high achieving students, universal screening for all 2nd grade students’ districtwide, and consistent gifted training to teachers. More school districts and states need to get on board and make changes. Systemic exclusion of minority students in gifted programs will further boost the privileged student, while students of color continue to be left behind.
References:
Sarah McKenzie, BichThi Ngoc Tran, Jonathan Wai “Gifted Student Screenings Often Miss Poor Students Who Should Qualify” TheConversation.com July 11, 2022.
Sarah Sparks “Gifted Education Comes up Short for Low Income and Black Students”
Education Week April 27, 2021.
Krystal Cohon “Young, Gifted, and Black: Inequitable Outcomes of Gifted and Talented Programs” Journal of Public & International Affairs May 20, 2022.
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About the Author
Shaunne McKinley is a member of the SENG Board of Directors and currently a Gifted Specialist in the Deer Valley School District in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been in education for 20 years. Shaunne teaches reading, math and social-emotional lessons to gifted learners. She is a member of her campus leadership team and the advisor for the National Elementary Honor Society. Shaunne has also been a member of the district Gifted leadership team for 5 years. Shaunne is an active member in her church community, and is an advocate for promoting gifted information and awareness to families. She is married to a Marine Corps veteran and has two adult sons. Her youngest son was identified as a gifted learner in second grade, which began her journey to learning more about giftedness. Shaunne is a trained SENG Model Parent Group facilitator and a member of the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented. She is a graduate of Arizona State University.
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Upcoming SENGinar
Beyond Labels: Cultivating Our Unique Gifts
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Helping them Climb: Counsellors and Counselling
Gifted Adults & Second Childhoods: Revisiting Essential Stages of Development - Part 2
By Jennifer Harvey Sallin | adapted from the original article published on InterGifted.
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Labels, even positive ones, can be limiting because they may stifle risk-taking and growth. As parents, educators, and other members of the gifted community, we must work to help gifted children recognize their inner potential and teach them to harness it without becoming paralyzed by the burden of expectation. In this conversation, Melissa will explore how we can help gifted children cultivate their unique essence and set them up for success. |
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Melissa Bernstein is an entrepreneur, creative, and working mother of six. In 1988, Melissa and her husband co-founded Melissa & Doug out of their parents’ garage. In the years that followed, they built Melissa & Doug into a wildly successful company. Melissa has spent the last 30 years helping children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose through open-ended play. She estimates that she has built more than 6,000 toys in the last three decades!
Despite the early and sustained success Melissa experienced, she spent her life struggling with existential depression. In 2020, after her own personal journey of self-discovery and acceptance, Melissa co-founded Lifelines. Through Lifelines, she is using her unparalleled creativity and imagination to reinvent well-being products and experiences and help adults strengthen their resilience, stay grounded, and unlock their full potential.
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Looking Ahead Upcoming Events
More SENGinar & SENGChat Events Open for Registration
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Registration is open for several upcoming SENGinars and SENGChats! CLICK HERE for the SENG Calendar of Events! |
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Helping them Climb: Counsellors and Counselling
Gifted Adults & Second Childhoods: Revisiting Essential Stages of Development - Part 2
By Jennifer Harvey Sallin | adapted from the original article published on InterGifted.
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In the first part of this article, I introduced a gifted-specific look at the stages of psychosocial development, adapted from the work of the psychologist Erik Erikson. In this second part, I will go more deeply into the stages of development, exploring how they manifest themselves across the gifted lifespan.
As a refresher, here is the chart of developmental stages:
STAGES OF GIFTED CHILDHOOD
Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy)
In this early developmental stage, a gifted infant must develop trust in their (gifted) self, trust in their body, and trust in their carers. If they are developmentally faster, qualitatively different, or physically or emotionally needier than other infants, and if this is not recognized and/or responded to appropriately, children can develop, already at this stage, mistrust in themselves and their surroundings. Gifted people sometimes report (those with very early memories, which is not uncommon in gifted people) remembering at the age of one or two years old, being so very different than the other children around them; feeling understimulated, bored, slowed down, and otherwise not appropriately mirrored or nurtured by their parents and/or social environment.
Sometimes this awareness only comes into play when the person is already an adult, looking back on how they were raised and exploring memories of their childhood. Perhaps they learn as an adult that their parents knew they were different and needed more, but tried to stifle that extra need; or that their parents never even noticed. This knowledge can suddenly explain a lifetime of confusion for some adults. Neuronal patterns - the way we see the world - can become fairly firmly set even in this early age, and if an infant instinctively senses they cannot trust their carers to see and respond to their needs, they will develop neuronal patterns which represent mistrust (fear) rather than trust (safety).
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SENG Partner Spotlight
Long Island School for the Gifted
Gifted Education Symposium
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Visit www.lisg.org for more information. |
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2023 SENG Annual Conference
Authentic Voices: Community & Belonging
Registration, Sponsor & Vendor Opportunities Now Open!
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Preparations for the SENG 2023 Annual Conference in Villanova, PA are well underway! We are proud to be able to offer both in-person and digital options for our families this year! We know being in-person, and being able to bring your family with you to an event like this is an amazing opportunity. Bringing our SENG family together after being apart for the last couple years is very important to us.
Please CLICK HERE to access our conference program! The conference committee and staff will be updating this document each month so please keep checking back for more updates!
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About our Keynote Speakers |
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Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the mind, creativity, and the depths of human potential. He is a professor at Columbia University and founder and director of the Center for Human Potential. Dr. Kaufman has taught at Columbia University, Yale, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Dr. Kaufman received a B.S. in psychology and human computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon, an M. Phil in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University. He is also an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science.
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Dr. Richard Cash received a bachelor of arts degree in theater from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. After a brief retail career, Dr. Cash attended the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, where he received a post-baccalaureate degree in elementary education. His first teaching position in a magnet school for gifted children, grades 1–6, in St. Paul, Minnesota, allowed him to use my talents as an actor and director. He created learning spaces that were rich in artistry, music, theater, and dance.
Richard later obtained a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He became a curriculum specialist and developed training modules, curriculum formats, and differentiated learning archetypes that assisted teachers in creating higher-level experiences to meet the needs of all children. Later, he returned to St. Thomas and received a doctoral degree in educational leadership.
Dr. Cash has served as the Administrator of Gifted Programs in Rochester, Minnesota, and the Director of Gifted Programs for the Bloomington Public Schools in Minnesota. In Bloomington, he realigned the gifted programs to service more students during a budget deficit and incorporated differentiated instruction into the total school curriculum. During his tenure with the Bloomington Public Schools, he created a school-within-a-school program for highly/profoundly gifted students, grades 2 – 10.
Dr. Richard Cash has given hundreds of workshops, presentations, and staff-development sessions throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The research-based strategies and techniques he offers are proven to increase student achievement. Others have commended his talent for working with teachers to develop engaging and enriching learning environments that can improve student learning. At the end of the day, his greatest passion is helping teachers recognize the various talents all children possess and create learning experiences to allow those talents to flourish. He is considered by many to be an exceptionally engaging, motivating, and enlightening presenter.
He is also a member of several professional organizations including the National Association for Gifted Children, the Council for Exceptional Children, and ASCD. Cash has authored numerous articles on quality instructional practices and written three popular teacher resource guides:
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Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century
- Differentiation for Gifted Leaners: Going Beyond the Basics (with Dr. Diane Heacox), and
- Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn How to Learn
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Questions?
inquries@sengifted.org
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SENG Mini Conference: Phoenix, Arizona |
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SENG is thrilled to bring the experience of a SENG Conference to the gifted, talented, and twice-exceptional community of Arizona! Join SENG at Grand Canyon University for a dynamic day packed with valuable sessions and making connections ! Our Mini Conference includes unique sessions featuring renowned presenters, and will cover a range of topics focused on the social and emotional needs of the gifted community.
Cost: For full conference registration, the cost is $89 for annual members, and $99 for non-members and non-annual members. Groups of 5 or more are eligible for a discount! Email inquries@sengifted.org to inquire about a group discount.
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SENG Community Spotlight
Sonu Aziz
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Sonu Aziz is a middle school science teacher, serves as the Head of Academic Affairs, and chairs the Character Education program at the Long Island School for the Gifted. She is the creator and host of The Gifted PLaCe podcast, a doctoral student in the Leadership and Innovation program at New York University, and serves on NAGC’s Professional Standards Committee.
Why SENG? - SENG is an invaluable resource for parents and educators to learn about the needs of gifted students. Long Island School for the Gifted is excited to partner with SENG to bring educational and informative support sessions to our families, and professional development opportunities to our educators. LISG and SENG - partners and advocates for gifted education.
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University of North Texas Research Study
Exploration of Parent Perceptions of Gifted Formal Support Groups
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The UNT Department of Educational Psychology is conducting a research study “Exploration of Parent Perceptions of Gifted Formal Support Groups.”
If you are a facilitator of or participant in a Gifted Parent Formal Support Group and are above the age of 18; you may qualify to participate in an online research study examining the functions these groups serve for participants and their families.
Eligible subjects will undergo a one hour virtual audio-recorded interview discussing their perceptions of the functions the Support Groups has served for them, with potential follow-up interviews for clarification or confirmation.
You will not receive compensation for participation.
For more information, please click here
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Have you checked out our Free Open Access SENG Journal yet?
SENGJ: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness - Issue 2 Now Available!
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The SENG Journal: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness (SENGJ) was created to offer opportunities for diverse voices and points of view on topics important to society as they pertain to the psychology of individuals with the ability or potential to perform or produce at exceptional levels. The aim of SENGJ is to promote the social, emotional, and psychological well-being of these individuals. As the official scholarly publication of the SENG organization, the online open-access journal publishes peer-reviewed, rigorous research, including original studies, reviews of research, meta-analyses, and theoretical explorations. Substantive interviews with leaders and experts in the psychology of individuals in this exceptional population are within the scope of SENGJ. The journal places a priority on diversity, equity, inclusion, and rigor.
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ADVERTISE WITH SENG!
Do you provide gifted services and products that benefit our membership? Visit the SENG Store for more information on how to get your message to over 70,000+ in our monthly SENGVine.
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