Lisa Van Gemert

Did you know that students (really aimed at college students) can get free Amazon Prime membership?  If you're in college, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info and sign up.  It's perfect for the holidays!  I get nothing for this...it's just a hot tip.

I spoke at the TAGT (Texas Association of the Gifted and Talented) Conference last week, and it was a thought-provoking experience.  The most powerful part for me was the keynote by Jim Delisle.  He's best known for his many books on parenting (and being) gifted kids, but this keynote address was primarily about how we're running on a hamster wheel (my metaphor) in gifted ed.  I wanted to shout "Hurrah!" when he said that cluster grouping is an abject failure and that gifted kids needed the sanctuary of each other.  That's what I love about Mensa - it's sanctuary.  It's a haven. 

One of the things I particularly noticed at the conference were the number of teachers who texted through entire presentations (not mine, of course!).  It shocked me.  Here they were, their districts having paid to send them, they themselves having prepared for subs to come, and they couldn't think of anything other than texting.  What hope for the kids, then?  Really?  Stay home and let someone else come who actually cares.  To me, it signaled their disregard for their students.  Even if the session isn't perfectly tailored to you (or even very good), you can think about what you can teach yourself from what you're hearing.  You can network with other teachers.  You can make a list of what you yourself could present to benefit others next conference. 

This is the only video link I could find regarding Jim Delisle, but look for his books and keep an eye out for him.  He's got it.