What does inequality in gifted education look like? This is the story of a boy and a canoe.
Continue reading “The Boy and the Canoe”
The Boy and the Canoe
Adventures in the Jungle: Finding Peers for 2e Kids
Sometimes trying to find places my kids can be themselves and meet others with the same interests feels like a walk in the jungle. I set off with a map, but it’s soon useless as the twists and turns under the canopy disorient me and I’m stumbling through the semi-dark, hoping for a clearing and a brief glimpse of light. For a few moments I’ll think I’ve learned the do’s and don’ts . . . until I tumble into a new part of the jungle.
But those glimpses of light – when connections are made, friendships formed and a real meeting of minds happens? Those moments are worth every laborious step. Continue reading “Adventures in the Jungle: Finding Peers for 2e Kids”
Different Doesn’t Matter . . . Until it Matters
There’s a well-meaning, but very ignorant article, by Farrah Alexander at Huffington Post floating around at the moment. And like most of these articles, it appears to be inclusive and kind. It’s not. It hurts.
Tabitha over at Simply Precocious wrote a beautiful empathetic piece on why the original article was and is hurtful. Please go and read it.
Now, I could write about why dismissing the idea of giftedness is harmful. And I have previously here.
This isn’t the first or the last ignorant piece written by well-meaning but poorly informed people who think they’re doing everyone a favour by dissing on gifted people. You can read my previous responses here and here and here.
Instead I want to talk about why the idea that difference ‘doesn’t matter‘ is harmful. I see it all the time – “Everyone is different“, “Let you’re unique self shine!”. They’re lovely memes. Lots of fist-pumps and “Yeah! That’s awesome!”
But it’s a rare person that actually means it. Instead, a more honest meme might be:
or
“Be Different! But Don’t Make Me Feel Uncomfortable.“
Continue reading “Different Doesn’t Matter . . . Until it Matters”
Gifted / 2e Homeschooling : Where to Start?
Starting home education can be quite daunting—doubly so if you are deciding to home educate gifted, disabled, or both (called twice exceptional, 2e or GLD). But where to start? What’s out there to help new homeschooling families find resources and information? And what are the challenges that families might face? Continue reading “Gifted / 2e Homeschooling : Where to Start?”
Preparing for College; Preparing for Crazy
Sometimes, it feels like I’m trapped inside a B-Grade Hollywood movie. The director is at the side is yelling, “More drama! We need a rewrite here! There’s not enough punch to this story.“
The punches keep rolling in, and I feel a little bit like a punch-drunk ninja. My children went from crazy accelerated to crazy-crazy accelerated. (How my eldest managed to skip me noticing that he had learned about 2-3 years worth of maths during our ‘down’ time was the one punch. The two punch was adding yet another acronym to the growing list of family illnesses / chronic conditions / neurological differences / genetic variations / eh, I’m giving up, why don’t we call ’em Steves?)
Continue reading “Preparing for College; Preparing for Crazy”