Being Smart about Gifted Learning

Book excerpt: In this updated 3rd edition of Being Smart the authors provide current views on gifted education and on nurturing children's and adolescents' abilities. They discuss equity and diversity, creativity, assessments, homeschooling, neural plasticity, social-emotional issues, and more. Drs. Matthews and Foster address questions and concerns, and share resources. This book is for parents, grandparents, and teachers who want to foster high-level development and meaningful learning opportunities.Being Smart About Gifted Learning, the third edition of this book, emerges out of our decades of personal and professional experiences with giftedness, and also from a shared sense of the joys, challenges, and uniqueness of every child. In this book, we discuss ways to nurture children's learning and well-being across many dimensions of their lives.We've written Being Smart About Gifted Learning with parents in mind, but also for grandparents, teachers, and others who want to encourage children's and adolescents' optimal development. One of the themes running through this book, as with the first two editions, is that there's no single formula to follow. The best place to begin is by reflecting on your child's uniqueness. Consider their emotional, social, intellectual, and physical interests, strengths, and challenges, and learn to empower them to engage more meaningfully with a wide range of learning opportunities.