January 2007 Newsletter

Educational Options Newsletter
January, 2007

The new year is off and running. Although we're a little late in getting out our first newsletter of 2007, we are looking forward to finding lots of good information and events to share with you over the following months. And we're always happy to hear from you! Sincerely, Kathy Hara, Editor

In this issue:

NAGC Family Day
Metropolitan Open School
Gifted Kids Speak
MCGT Resource Fair
Keeping up with Dr. Ruf

NAGC Family Day

Next November, as many as 3,000 educators, researchers and parents will gather in Minneapolis for the National Association of Gifted Children's annual convention. The convention will be from Wednesday through Sunday, November 7-11, and will take place at the downtown convention center. Shari Colvin, with the Minnesota Council of Gifted and Talented, is one of the local planners for this convention.

Saturday of the convention, November 10, the day will be specifically for parents. Sharing the responsibilities of planning for Parents Day are Dr. Ruf (the Gifted Children Program Coordinator for American Mensa) and Teresa Manzella (the Gifted Children Coordinator for Minnesota Mensa). Planning is already underway.

Here's what is needed:

Parents to attend.
Parents to submit speaking proposals and be presenters.
Parent recommendations for national-level speakers.
Volunteers to give some time and effort in setting up and coordinating Parent Day.

Volunteers are needed now to help with setting up the convention. This could include advertising, making decisions about programs and participating in the running of programs. There will be classes for children at the downtown University of St. Thomas (based on the same format that was used at annual MCGT conventions), and volunteers will be needed for that.

So mark your calendars for November 7 to 11, 2007. And contact Dr. Ruf inquiry@educationaloptions.com, Teresa Manzella temafiki@earthlink.net or Shari Colvin ssjmcolv@hutchtel.net to see how you can get involved in this great experience.

Metropolitan Open School

From time to time, we will spotlight a school in the Twin Cities area which we feel we can recommend to parents of gifted children. These will be schools of which we have specific knowledge by way of client children who are students there and/or by Dr. Ruf visiting the school and talking to administration and staff.

Dr. Ruf recently visited the Metro Open School, a small, private non-profit serving students in kindergarten through junior high. Located in St. Louis Park, the school was begun in 1972 by parents looking for an alternative approach that focused on the individual.

Metro Open School teaches a full academic curriculum, enhanced by weekly field trips. The class sizes are small, with a student to teacher ratio of 10 to 1. Because the classes are small, it is possible for the staff to tailor programs for each student based on the student's individual interests.

For more information . . .

Gifted Kids Speak

"I'm supposed to be some type of brainiac, but I'm really not. I just have an extended ability to take information in a lot faster." This is a 13-year-old boy's response when asked what being gifted meant to him. What does being gifted mean to you?

In the early 1980s, Jim Delisle conducted a survey of school-age children, which resulted in his book Gifted Children Speak Out. Now there is a Learning Latitudes Project which is conducting a new survey of gifted children, asking many of the same questions.

By gathering this information, the author of the survey hopes to get a picture of the differences and similarities of the gifted experience between the 1980s and today, among other goals. There are on- line questionnaires for students and also for parents and teachers. Responses are kept anonymous.

To participate in survey . . .

MCGT Resource Fair

Here's another event to mark in your calendars, at least for those of you in the Twin Cities area. The MCGT (Minnesota Council of Gifted and Talented) board and MCGT Homeschoolers Chapter will host its third annual Resource Fair on Saturday, March 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This will take place at the Edina Community Center, Rooms 350 and 351, 5701 Normandale Road, Edina. The fair will feature many interesting resources and programs for gifted learners.

For more information . . .

Keeping up with Deborah Ruf

Appearance 2/21/2007: Beacon Academy, Golden Valley, MN (not open to the public)

Newsletter Archives

Deborah Ruf’s book, “Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind,”
is available through Great Potential Press or Amazon.com.

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