One of the first steps of advocating for academically talented students is identifying that their educational needs aren’t being met in the classroom. Obviously, there are numerous ways this can be done. One compelling way was recently reported in a recent Gifted Child Quarterly article that showed the range of reading scores of elementary school students. The study measured the number of words students could read in a minute (commonly referred to as oral reading fluency).

When looking at various programs or schools for your child, you may come across discussions of various programs being taught with different learning styles. The idea of different people having different learning styles has become increasingly popular. In fact, there are a great many educational products being marketed to help match individuals with their specific learning style. You may hear people say things such as, “I am a visual learner,” implying that they learn better when the material is taught visually rather than verbally.

As parents of a gifted child, you are surely interested in his or her education. However, education need not stop at the classroom door. In fact, a recent multi-national study by Australian and American researchers found that the number of books in the home is associated with large education attainment differences. The fact that the number of books in the home is related to subsequent educational outcomes is hardly surprising. But how much so might grab your attention.

Our recent DGL article, Administrators of Gifted Programs: Paying Attention to the "Man Behind the Curtain," offered a perspective on "Microadvocacy," which operates on the scale of the individual child. Equally important is advocacy at a macrolevel—across a district, a state, or the nation.

Parents of gifted children moving to a new state may be concerned about what kinds of services and education standards will be encountered in their new home state. With each state having differing standards, evaluating new schools can be a complicated process. In an effort to create a more uniform set of education standards, the National Governor’s Association, working with Council of Chief State School Officers has recently released a draft of Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts and Math.

How do you react when your child laments, “I’m bored!” or “School was a drag today.” When do feelings of boredom go beyond normal, commonplace, and bearable? How do you handle the behavioral problems that stem from boredom?

Gifted students approach their final years of high school eagerly anticipating the opportunity to take college-level courses. At 60 percent of our nation’s secondary schools, this opportunity is offered in the form of Advanced Placement courses. However, a growing number of secondary schools are considering another rigorous, multidimensional, learning program: the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Pulling our son Dan out of middle school was one of the most difficult parenting decisions my husband and I ever made. Labeled as gifted, Dan did well in elementary school. He earned As and Bs, and we seldom heard complaints about his behavior. However, when he entered middle school, he became lazy and inattentive. During the third week Dan acknowledged that his classes weren’t challenging. We had talked about homeschooling before, but it wasn’t until then that we decided to take him out of school. He was 12.

Parent Question: Since my child entered middle school, she doesn’t seem challenged academically. What advice can you give me and my child’s teacher?

Two authorities in the gifted field provide a response.

Whether it’s English or mathematics, at Phillips Exeter Academy we call all of our classes Harkness classes and our teachers Harkness teachers. Harkness identifies a table you will find at the center of every class, both literally and figuratively. Harkness Tables are oval and seat a dozen students and a teacher, but they are much more than places to sit. Classmates learn by discussing their thoughts and ideas rather than just by taking notes. Teachers participate in discussions and guide students without lecturing.