More BAZINGA, Big Questions, And the Big Ideas Chat

Introducing the Big Questions and the Big Ideas Chat

iGifted School is pleased to tell you about the Big Questions from MIT Opencourseware.  A few years ago MIT offered a program where high school students could attend lectures on Sunday afternoons to hear about the Big Questions.  Big Questions include subjects like was there a beginning of time, what is the Big Bang Theory (not the TV show), can aliens exist, and so on.

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0 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 6:06 AM - Categories: Big Ideas Chat Room | Education | On Gifted Eduation

Big Questions, Big Ideas, BAZINGA!

MIT has really been focusing in on what we feel is an extremely important area of interest to young minds, namely presenting a free online course for pre-university students called “The Big Questions”.   Our experience at iGifted School is that Gifted and Talented students really enjoy discussing and challenging each other about important things in their lives.  It is really enjoyable for us to create places where these exchanges can take place, which is why we have recently created a Big Ideas Chat Room for our students.

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3 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 8:23 AM - Categories: Education | On Gifted Eduation

Why iGifted School – Take 2

"Results flatline for top students is the headline in a just published Australian study conducted with 36,000 students in years three to ten in reading comprehension, the Maths and critical thinking".
Just like in the US, bottom performers made dramatic gains in the testing leading Professor Patrick Griffin, an associate Dean at the University of Melbourne the study’s lead researcher, to comment that Australian governments were preoccupied with "closing the gap" between stronger and weaker performers rather than improving the results of all students. He also noted that many teachers assume that high ability students can learn independently! 

Does any of this sound familiar?

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0 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 2:23 AM - Categories: On Gifted Eduation

Honesty, Integrity, and High Ethical Standards in the Use of Facts and Evidence

Prof. William Colburn, iGS Board Member, Thought Leader iGS Debate Club

As is the case for all matters related to providing superior supplemental education to our gifted students, the leadership team of iGifted School hold matters of honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards to be of utmost importance.  In no arena is the call for honesty more important than in the use of evidence used by our students to support the work they do to complete their enriching exercises or thought-provoking assignments. On the heels of a political season, we are all left with feelings of disappointment over the use of "so-called evidence" presented by political figures at all levels of our government.  The necessity of using "fact checkers" to verify the voracity and/or legitimacy of information presented as "the truth" by the candidates is troubling to every citizen.  We can only wonder what impact misrepresenting or stretching the truth may have upon our youngest citizens, especially those who have not yet reached voting age.

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0 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 7:13 AM - Categories: Education | On Gifted Eduation | Parents | Virtual Debate Club

From the Founder- Bob Mandell- Why iGifted School?

When I first started thinking about Gifted education five years ago I was frankly amazed at the lack of resources being targeted towards this group of youngsters.  The No Child Left Behind legislation had been in existence for a few years and most of the nation’s educators were thinking about improving the academic performance of the lower performers in order to get High School graduation rates up. My research turned up a pervasive egalitarian notion when it comes to the education of Gifted students, and to some extent a kind of a negative elitist view.  To me it was all crazy and wrongheaded!

But I realized that we had to find a way to explain the situation Gifted education finds itself.  So if you will kindly indulge me – and if you think I am crazy or you have a better suggestion – please let me know – we are all ears!!

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0 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 6:53 AM - Categories: Board of Directors | Education | On Gifted Eduation

Being Smart- A Gift and A Burden

I recently came across an article posted online by Slate magazine on Oct 2.  It was titled "What Does It Feel Like To Be a Smart Person?".  Interestingly, once the article was opened, the anonymous writer had a different title... "Being smart is usually an incredible gift but occasionally a difficult burden."

The following conclusion was expressed by the writer, Anon User

Being smart brings a lot of advantages in life, but it can also keep you from being well-rounded and warp your views of reality. If you know someone smart who views intelligence as the only important thing in life, please give them a whack on the head. Tell 'em Anon User sent you.

It seems to me all of us, but especially the parents of gifted children and the students themselves can benefit from the point of view expressed.  Feel free to share your comments using the link below.

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0 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 1:15 PM - Categories: Education | On Gifted Eduation

Discussing Spark

Parents of Gifted Students and the Students themselves are often searching for a path to their future. The following video hits the nail on the head.  If asked, many young people inherently know the direction that will satisfy their strengths and passions.  I strongly urge you to view the video about Spark……..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqzUHcW58Us

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2 comments - Posted by Jim O'Reilley at 11:37 AM - Categories: On Gifted Eduation