Before joining IEA, Jennifer was a kid who understood little of her own giftedness. Now she works as IEA’s Marketing & Communications Coordinator to help other highly able kids and their families understand what it means to be gifted while providing the information they need to find the programs and people to support them.

My mom has been there for me from the moment I came into this world, and I have always appreciated everything she has done for me. Lately, though, I’ve begun to see how different my life might have been had my upbringing lacked certain values my mom implemented – things that made her a good mother to a gifted child.

My mom nurtured my gifts and my passions. She knew I was smart, so she challenged me intellectually. She knew I was driven, so she supported me without heaping more pressure on top of the pressure I placed on myself. Before either of us had encountered the term “whole child,” my mom encouraged me to grow in all aspects of self.

She challenged me intellectually. Knowing I loved reading and was a strong reader, she encouraged me to read above-grade-level books. When I was learning about something in school, she would take me to museums to see the subject first-hand, demonstrating that there is knowledge to be gained beyond the textbook. When it came time to choose my own classes in school, she encouraged me to take the advanced classes, and she accepted my less-than-perfect grades when I challenged myself and faced the demands of a difficult course. She taught me that, no matter how smart I was or how well I did in school, there was always so much more to learn.

She challenged me physically, encouraging me to try a variety of sports and physical activities outside of school until I found my niche. And, when I found what I really liked—dance—she encouraged me to work hard and challenge myself, both physically and creatively.

She supported me socially and emotionally, as well. I always knew I was different, and although I participated in a GATE pull-out program once a week, no one in my life understood that the intrinsic intelligence of a gifted child is usually coupled with other characteristics such as overexcitabilities. It took a lot of patience, understanding, love, and acceptance to deal with my emotional outbursts over ostensibly benign incidents. It also took an insightful mother to realize that dance had become vital to my social life as it allowed me to build relationships with older kids who understood me intellectually and younger kids whom I could take under my wing.

After years of guidance, when the time came for me to lead, my mother followed. She embraced my decision to dance—despite not liking dance herself—even when it meant giving up other things she thought were important. She let me lead my college search, which took me much farther from home than she would have liked. She watched me trek through Europe for a semester without her. She supported my decision to choose a more creative field—communications—over a more practical one (both my parents are accountants).

Without all of this support from my mother, I don’t know what would have happened. Every day, I hear stories of gifted kids who fall through the cracks because they are bored, unchallenged, and misunderstood, and it breaks my heart. If my mother hadn’t instinctually understood that my “whole self” needed support, I might have become one of those unfortunate children.

Thank you to all of the moms who do everything they can to support their gifted children while protecting them from slipping through the cracks. You make a huge difference in your child’s life each and every day. Happy Mother’s Day.

Jennifer is IEA’s Marketing & Communications Coordinator. Her position includes more traditional communications media such as newsletters and brochures, but it also involves much more modern technology, including email newsletters, the IEA blog and website, and social networks.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 65% of today’s grade school students will end up in jobs that do not yet exist. I can tell you that my job, which includes a great deal of social media and online components, looks very different than what someone in a similar role would have done when I was in grade school. So, how can you prepare for a career field that doesn’t exist yet? I’m going to offer some advice that helped me get to where I am today.

Find a skill that you enjoy and go from there.

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” – Carl Sagan

If you enjoy a skill that can translate into several career paths, hone it. I have always loved languages and writing. So, I took every opportunity I could throughout my education to develop a command of language (English and Spanish for now, but I’m working on Italian and French next, just for fun) and better my writing skills. I entered poetry contests. I kept a “journal” of my thoughts and ideas and often wrote pages of reflections solely for the purpose of writing. My job now may be working with a variety of media that were rare – if in existence at all – when I was young, but at the root of much of my work is writing. I write every single day. It might be as simple as a tweet of less than 140 characters, or it might be an eight-page newsletter. Regardless of the length, the medium, or the purpose, honing my language and writing skills has helped me do my job each and every day.

Certain skills are also valuable across fields, so develop those, too. Written and oral communication skills are extremely valuable in any field. Critical thinking and problem solving are also skills that will take you far in any career. An article in the Washington Post suggests building skills in key areas defined as “anything humans still do better than robots.” This includes “solving unstructured problems and working with new information.”

Find mentors, including at least one who has seen an industry – any industry – change over time.

Learn from that person how he or she adapted, how jobs and strategies changed. This will help you see for yourself what skills are necessary for the ever-changing business landscape. This can include academia, as well. You should also build relationships with a wide variety of people both inside and outside of your area of interest. While you are still in school, these can be teachers or peers.

Learn how to be a good employee, regardless of the field you enter. Be willing to learn new things every day.

Here are a few tips on how to be a good employee, most of which stress the importance of constantly learning new things:

• Learn from the people around you. Respect coworkers and their ideas.
• Learn how to respectfully voice your opinions and ideas. This can be difficult, especially for introverts, but your ideas are valuable to the discussion.
• Be willing to do something that doesn’t exactly fit your job description.
• Take responsibility for your mistakes, and learn from them.

Be flexible. Be open. Be innovative. Be well-rounded.

Gifted individuals are used to thinking outside the box. Go with that instinct. Just because something has been done a certain way in the past does not mean it has to be done that way in the future. Be open to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things. Be open to new possibilities.

Don’t pigeonhole yourself into a narrow job description or field of study. IEA Apprenticeship Mentor Stan Kong, who is the Head of Product Design at Pasadena City College and a Graduate Industrial Design program faculty member at Art Center College of Design, thought he was going to be a graphic designer until he just happened to take an industrial design class. Opening yourself up to new opportunities and possibilities can really help you find your niche.

While you are still in school, get a well-rounded education and learn from a variety of disciplines. For example, using statistics and other mathematical functions to evaluate data is necessary across a variety of careers. Though much of my job is writing and executing an overall strategy, I spend a bit of time each week looking at web, email, and social media analytics to evaluate our marketing efforts and revise our strategy as needed.

Challenge yourself.

Work on difficult and varied research, which will help you develop critical thinking skills. Keep learning new things, as the landscape in any field will continuously shift. Get experience in a wide variety of areas. It will help guide you toward – or away from – a particular field by seeing it applied hands-on, and the lessons you learn can often be applied to almost any other discipline.

Read. A lot.

I’m not saying you have to read everything, or even that you have to read in a particular genre. I encourage you to vary your reading and include something that truly challenges you once in a while, but the most important part of this tip is that you learn new things and experience others’ ideas. I read everything from books to blogs to journals to magazines on topics ranging from pure entertainment to giftedness to business to education to personal success. I’ll admit that I don’t typically enjoy a few particular genres, so I generally stay away from those unless something really strikes me. And that’s okay. You don’t have to read everything. Just read.

Go beyond the job.

I know I’ve said this quite a bit by now, but I can’t stress it enough: No matter what you decided to do, keep learning. Remember, you probably won’t stay in the career you choose forever, especially if you are a gifted person with many different talents and interests. These skills will help ensure that you can transition to another option if you so choose. You might just end up on another, unexpected but much more fulfilling path, like one that leads you to spread the word about the unique needs of gifted children.

What skills do you think are most important in preparing for a variety of careers?

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Jennifer is IEA’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She works closely with IEA’s social media to regularly connect with parents and educators of gifted children.

In a previous post, I mentioned that social media can be an excellent resource on giftedness and discussed the ways in which Facebook can be used in this manner. In this post, I will cover a social network you might not be as familiar with using but that has many extremely helpful applications for you to network and find resources on giftedness – Twitter.

140 characters may not seem like much, but Twitter is a gold mine of information, resources and support for parents of gifted children.

Getting Started on Twitter

If you have not used Twitter before, High Ability  and the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented both have excellent tips for getting started.

Once you have an account set up, find Twitter accounts that interest you just like you did on Facebook. IEA also has a Twitter account, so be sure to follow us during this process to see the gifted news and resources we share there. You can also see the Twitter users we follow for ideas of other people and organizations to look at.

If you use your Twitter account for personal reasons or follow accounts that are not related to giftedness, I suggest you use the “lists” feature to create lists based on the type of content each Twitter user posts. Twitter displays tweets in real time, so if you are looking at your home page, you will see the most recent tweets, no matter who sent them. Lists help you see the most recent posts by the type of account so that if you are looking for gifted news and resources you won’t have to sort through 100 tweets about where Ashton Kutcher ate lunch.

You can also search Twitter using keywords or hashtags that are of interest to you. You will find many resources and articles falling under that topic. #Gifted is a great place to start.

Engaging on Twitter

As with Facebook, you will get much more out of Twitter if you engage with others on the network.

To direct a tweet at another user, begin your tweet with @[Twitter handle]. You can also retweet (RT) what other users tweet and suggest other good Twitter accounts to follow using the popular Follow Friday hashtag (#FF).

RT – Simply press RT button or copy and paste the tweet into a new tweet with letters RT @[Twitter handle] previous to their tweet if you’d like to add commentary, which adds value for your followers.

#FF – Once you have followed some organizations and people you know on Twitter, you may start to see Follow Friday (#FF) tweets. These are recommendations of people to follow. In addition to being a helpful way for you to find new accounts to follow, you can use it as a nice way to say you appreciate the people in your network.

#gtchat

Twitter chats are something unique to Twitter that the gifted and education communities have really embraced. These real-time chats are scheduled and typically occur at the same time every week or month, allowing you to plan for the discussion ahead of time. #gtchat is a popular chat about giftedness that is worth a look.

This weekly chat was created by Deborah Mersino to connect parents and educators of gifted children with each other and discuss topics of interest. The chat is now run by Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented (TAGT) and moderated by Lisa Conrad, but the spirit of the chat remains the same. Chat topics are often voted upon earlier in the week, so you have a say in what you’d like to discuss. Chats usually take place on Fridays at 4pm Pacific, although chat times are changed or added occasionally to accommodate international participants. For more information about the chat or to see transcripts of past chats, which are excellent resources, visit the #gtchat blog.

#gtchat is an excellent forum to discuss issues related to your gifted child, and we highly recommend participating. However, the fast-paced, real-time chat can be overwhelming at first. I suggest looking through the transcripts of previous chats before participating. Once you see the chat in action and get the hang of it, you will love interacting with this great group of people.

When participating in any Twitter chat, it is often helpful to use the tool available at TweetChat.com to see the chat in real time, as it is specifically built for this function. You can view the chats on Twitter, but it is often a bit slower and more difficult to work with. If you do not use TweetChat, make sure you add the chat’s designated hashtag (e.g. #gtchat) to the end of every tweet you want to show up in the chat.

#gtchat is also a great hashtag to follow throughout the week, as is the gtchat moderator account (@gtchatmod).

For more great information about how to use Twitter for advocacy and learning, take a look at these posts from Deborah Mersino:

Gifted Education and Twitter: How Social Networking Can Propel Advocacy and Learning
Part I
Part II
Part III

How have you used Twitter as a resource on giftedness? Please share your experience in the comment section below.

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Jennifer is IEA’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She works closely with IEA’s social media and connects with parents and educators of gifted children regularly through social networks.

Social networks seem to be everywhere, with new networks and tools popping up all the time. You are probably using social networks already, but did you know that they are more than just great ways to connect with friends from high school? They are also excellent gifted resources.

Why Social Media for Gifted?

We know that gifted children bring both joy and unique challenges. As the parent of a gifted child, you need support and resources tailored specifically to gifted children. It is also valuable to interact with other parents of gifted children to recognize that there are others out there going through similar challenges. Sometimes, especially if you live in a rural area, these parents and resources can be difficult to find and connect with in person. That’s where social networks come in.

Social networks allow you to connect with other parents and teachers of gifted children across the country to share stories and suggestions, form support groups, and advocate for gifted children!

Plus, there are many gifted advocates, experts, and organizations using these networks as platforms to connect with you and provide you with the resources and support you are looking for.

The most popular and generally most valuable social media for gifted parents are:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Blogs

Here, I will discuss how to use Facebook as a resource. Other social media will be discussed in future posts.

Getting Started on Facebook

Since many of you are on Facebook already for personal reasons, this is a great network to start with. The same reasons you use Facebook already – networking, staying in touch with people you’ve met or who do not live near you, connecting with brands you like for news and information – can be used to your advantage for navigating the network as a gifted resource.

Start on Facebook by liking pages you think will be helpful. Search Facebook for any gifted organizations or groups that you are familiar with already. Make sure to click the “Like” button on those pages so that you will see some of their updates on your news feeds. IEA has a Facebook page where we offer gifted news and resources and provide a forum for discussion on giftedness, so be sure to like us during this process.

Then, search for pages or groups that you are not yet familiar with. This will help you widen your network. Try typing the search term “gifted” – or any keyword that is important to you – in the Facebook search toolbar. You will come across many pages and groups, so explore the ones that seem interesting and pick a few that look helpful and engaging to “like.”

Posts from the pages you follow will start to appear on your news feed. See what types of content are being shared and what is being discussed.

Engage

It is easy to sit back and watch for resources and interesting conversations on these networks, and that will be beneficial for you. But, to get the most out of the resources, you’ll want to engage with others.

Here are some great ways to engage with other people in the field of gifted on Facebook:

• Comment on articles posted.
• Join discussions in progress.
• Ask questions.
• Share your experiences.
• “Like” articles and posts you find interesting.
• Share posts you think your friends would like on your wall.

Keep in mind that the rules of good networking apply to social networks, as well. Make sure to offer your advice, stories, and experiences when possible. These are communities built on collaboration, so do your best to offer something in return for the great advice and support you receive from others.

You should also make sure to keep the information on your personal profile page up to date so that people you are interacting with on other pages can see who you are. It’s always nice to know who you are talking to!

Continue to Build Your Network

When you meet people in real life that can be part of your gifted social network – parents, teachers, experts, advocates – don’t forget to friend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or connect with them on LinkedIn later. This is especially true when you meet people at conferences and support groups. If you want to keep your gifted network separate from your other networks, create a special friend list for these contacts. That way you can post things specifically for those friends you think will be most interested.

Like any network, the more you build your social network, the more you will get out of it. There are many parents of gifted children looking to connect with other parents of gifted children on social media. There are also many gifted professionals on social media looking to create or provide a personal learning network (PLN) online. Take advantage of social media as a resource for support and learning about your gifted child.

How has using Facebook as a resource on giftedness helped you? Please share your experience in the comment section below.

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1. Some definitions address the “asynchronous development” found in gifted kids. One such definition comes from the Columbus Group (1991):
   “Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally.”
   This is the definition we use at IEA.
2. Through the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act – part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – the federal government currently defines gifted students as:
   “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.”
3. In Gifted Children: Myths and Realities, Ellen Winner defines giftedness with these three atypical characteristics:
   • Precocity – “They begin to take the first steps in the mastery of some domain at an earlier-than-average age. They also make more rapid progress in this domain than do ordinary children, because learning in the domain comes easily to them.”
   • An insistence on marching to their own drummer – “Gifted children not only learn faster than average or even bright children but also learn in a quantitatively different way.”
   • A rage to master – “Gifted children are intrinsically motivated to make sense of the domain in which they show precocity.”
4. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) defines giftedness as the following:
   “Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).”
5. Most states also have their own definition of “gifted” for program and funding purposes. To see your state’s definition, look here: http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/52/28/5228.htm. It is important to note that few districts differentiate between the different levels of giftedness. A child who scores in the 130 – 140 range on an IQ test is very different than the child who scores in the 150 – 180 range.

While no two definitions are the same, there are a few guiding principles which can help structure our thinking about giftedness.

• Annemarie Roeper, who developed the Annemarie Roeper Model of Qualitative Assessment, helps bring together many of the different theories with her conception that “giftedness is a greater awareness, a greater sensitivity, and a greater ability to understand and transform perceptions into intellectual and emotional experiences.”
• Some believe there are many areas of giftedness, not all of which are what we typically think of as intellectual. The following are six categories of giftedness to which experts and definitions often refer:
  1. General intellectual ability
  2. Specific academic ability
  3. Creative ability
  4. Leadership ability
  5. Visual and performing arts ability
  6. Psychomotor ability
• While some define giftedness based on IQ score, IQ tests do not always tell the whole story, and identifying solely based on IQ tests can ignore many kids considered gifted by other criteria.
• “Gifted” is not the only word that can be used to describe these incredibly bright and talented young people. (For an exploration of the various terms most often used, take a look at Stephanie Tolan’s post “What is in a Name?”) The word itself is not what is important. Neither, in many ways, is the definition. What is important is that we identify these highly able young people and help them reach their full intellectual and personal potential.
• Gifted children, no matter how you define or identify them, have different educational needs than their age-peers. Their education needs to allow them to grow with their unique intellectual development.

Due to the variety of definitions in the field, it is often more effective to use specific descriptions of your child’s abilities and insights. This may make it easier for others to understand your child’s needs.

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Congratulations to 2011 Industrial Design Apprentices David Acosta and Deven Row, who recently won the *Ford Motor Company’s “Designing for the Future” competition!

The contest, entered by over 150 students from 20 countries, required entrants to use images and market research to develop products that would meet the luxury transportation needs of a 20-30 year old in the year 2025. David received first place with his “FordBoard” – a skateboard type transportation device – and Deven placed second for his “Euphoria” vehicle.

Last summer, Deven and David joined 23 other high school students from across the country for IEA’s summer Apprenticeship Program. Industrial Design Apprentices, including David and Deven, worked with Mentor Stan Kong at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. They developed key skills like research, sketching, rendering, creative thinking, and model building.

All of the Apprentices spent three to four weeks living in dorms at the University of Southern California, experienced college life, gained real-world experience working with Mentors who are leaders in their fields, and met new people from diverse backgrounds with similar interests and experiences. On evenings and weekends, Apprentices attended cultural events, participated in recreational activities, and explored Los Angeles.

Even before the program, David knew he wanted to pursue a career in industrial design. The Apprenticeship Program helped him gain important skills in the field, particularly researching and designing for a particular consumer, which he used in the Ford competition and will continue to use in the field of industrial design.

IEA’s Apprenticeship Program is held each summer and matches high school students with Mentors in fields such as science, industrial design, medicine, and law.

Does the Apprenticeship experience sound like an experience someone you know would like? There are still spots available for this summer’s Apprenticeship program! 2012 Apprenticeships are available in Los Angeles and San Diego, California. Apply today!

*The competition is no longer running as of 05/21/2024

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It’s time to start thinking about your kids’ summer plans!  There are great summer opportunities available for gifted children, and many have applications due in the next month or two.

There are several types of summer opportunities to consider, but the two most common are:

1. Day Camps and Programs
2. Residential Camps and Programs

IEA offers summer programs in both of these categories.

• Academy is a day enrichment program in South Pasadena, California, that provides high-achieving elementary and middle school students with challenging classes that focus on exploration and application of knowledge. Courses this summer will include favorites like Chemistry and Rocket to Calculus, as well as brand new class options.
• Apprenticeship is a three or four week residential program that matches gifted students from across the country with highly-regarded mentors in fields like science, industrial design, math, and medicine. This year’s program will be offered in Los Angeles and San Diego.
• Yunasa and Yunasa West are week long residential camps for highly gifted 10-14 year olds. The camps are facilitated by renowned experts in the field of gifted education and are devoted to teaching campers techniques for integrating the intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical aspects of their lives.

Because each child is unique, the ideal program for each child will vary, so consider your child’s personality before deciding on a camp or program. As Dr. Bob Schultz of the University of Toledo points out, you may want to keep in mind that intensities in gifted children will have an enormous impact on their experiences at an overnight camp, so the set-up and focus of residential camps are important. NAGC’s Parenting for High Potential has a list of questions to ask about camps and programs in order to help match your child with the best summer opportunity for their strengths, needs, and interests.

Once you have decided what type of program is best for your gifted child, there are many resources available to help you find those opportunities, including the following:

• IEA’s Gifted Resource Center allows you to search for summer programs for gifted kids using specific criteria such as location, keywords, and age group.
• Hoagies’ Gifted has an extensive list of summer programs for gifted kids by state.
• The National Association for Gifted Children also has a database of summer programs searchable by state and keyword.
• The Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented has a list of summer programs specifically for gifted kids in Texas and throughout the U.S.

Good luck with your search!

Have any more tips for finding summer camps and programs for your child? Let us know in the comments!

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