Hurrah!

The new website is up and running.

Please check it out at  www.gtcarpediem.com and pass it along to everyone who might be interested.

Let me know if you run into any glitches,  using the contact page to report any concerns or recommendations.

Still trying to figure out how to embed a calendar so people know where I am and when I'm available, but I think all the other important info is there.

Now on to the fun of finishing the book and facilitating the fall workshops!

The Butterfly Effect

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2013: A Year of Celebration

This year marks two milestones in Wisconsin’s gifted history:

·      40 years ago the Wisconsin Council for Gifted and Talented was formed, our first state advocacy organization.

·      20 years ago Wisconsin parents and educators joined their separate advocacy groups to form the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted.

We are thrilled to be working with archivists at the Wisconsin Historical Society to preserve our history.  Our “History Hunters,” a group of Wisconsin gifted education pioneers, are collecting and recollecting the stories of our work.

As I listen to their tales of struggle from 40 years ago I’m saddened that the same struggles exist today.  Yet I’m also encouraged.  For I remember that it was they and their efforts that made all the difference for my own kids over 25 years ago. And it was their voices I heard and responded to, their research I relied on and their organization that supported me when I began my own professional journey into gifted education.

I’m reminded of the butterfly effect: What may have begun with just one small flutter of wings in 1973 changed the history of gifted education in Wisconsin.   It also changed my life and my children’s lives . . . and no doubt the lives of thousands of others throughout the years and throughout the world.

And what about the future?  Rather than feeling disheartened by the struggles that lie ahead, I’m energized.   For today we parents and educators continue to work together for the sake of our gifted children.  We have successes; we have failures.  But I believe those seemingly small steps we take each day for the sake of one child . . . those little wing flutters in the Wisconsin wilderness . . . will also impact lives around the world.

We stand on the shoulders (or maybe we fly on the wings?) of some very wise and wonderful people.

"The Watch"

Many, many years ago in a community not so far away we started a project called The Young Authors Anthology and invited all middle school students from several districts to submit their creative writing.  The GT coordinator from each district had 8 pages in the spiral-bound book to fill with their best student work.  The selected authors also attended a day-long retreat at the school forest where they expanded their writing skills in one of several workshops and shared their work at the end of the day.  

We began the small group sessions by asking students to turn to their page of the anthology and read their poem or story aloud.  And each year it was pretty much the same . . .  The first student would shyly say, "I didn't want to submit this, but my teacher made me"  or "This isn't very good, but I'll read it anyway" or something equally dismissive.  When they finished we'd all applaud and then I'd ask the others for comments or questions.  The most confident person would speak up: "I like the way you described that" or "Where'd you get that idea?" or "That reminds me of Emily Dickinson." By the time the third student began reading it was obvious they knew they were in the company of like-minded peers and were safe sharing their personal creative efforts.

Naturally most of the poetry submitted had a typical middle school theme -  love.  And usually, "I love you; why don't you love me anymore?"  But sometimes I was startled by the asynchrony of the young gifted writer's maturity, sensitivity, and passion for the language.  Wendy Lewellen Qualls is one of those authors and she's given me permission to share something she wrote in middle school.  



The Watch


Pounding, pounding, pounding
Like a chisel in my head,
The never-ending heartbeat 
Of a deity long-dead.

Each little tick and click
Sends a shiver down my spine
From the cruel incessant tocking
Of this pocket watch of mine.

Forever it is captor
And forever we are slaves,
From those toddling from their cradles
To those crawling to their graves.

As long as we're in motion
Then time will be the master
'Cause as fast as you can do it
Someone else can do it faster.

 
 

National Parenting Gifted Children Week

Let's celebrate!

Be sure to check out the blog tour here for a variety of perspectives on the joys and challenges of living with intense kids!

Stay tuned. Friday I get to add my 2 cents.