I have just returned from Minneapolis where I attended the annual national convention of the National Association for Gifted Children (www.nagc.org). I want to encourage anyone interested in gifted education to check out their website, and consider joining the organization. It can provide a lot of information and is the premier advocacy organization for gifted children.
The president of the organization is my friend and one of my mentors, Dr. Del Siegle of the University of Connecticut (http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/). Do look at the website of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at www.gifted.uconn.edu for a lot of information about gifted children and gifted education.
This year the conference had in excess of 3,300 attendees from all over the country and overseas. This includes teachers, parents, and university faculty of all sorts and persuasions. The keynote speakers were Dean Simonton (genius and eminence), Robert Sternberg (Project Rainbow), and the inimitable Garrison Keeler (Prairie Home Companion).
My favorite sessions were:
"Standing on the shoulders of giants" moderated by Joe Renzulli - a session with GT greats like Jim Gallagher and Sandra Kaplan talking about the great people and issues in the field of gifted education.
"Myths is gifted education" moderated by Del Siegle. The participants were well known folks in the field and they addressed what they considered to be erroneous beliefs held by people in gifted education.
Since Minnesota was the place where Dr. E. Paul Torrance started his research on creativity, there was also a large session devoted to his memory that included many of the teachers and students who participated in those first research studies.
Next year's convention is going to be in Florida. Do make an effort to go. It is worth every penny and every hour of sleep lost.
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A personal view of the world of gifted education by Catharine de Wet, Assistant Professor in Gifted and Talented Education at the University of Alabama.
