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DL Ruf 2009
      May 2011         

In This Issue
Online Math and Science
Online Enrichment for the Eager Learner
Where Does Good Come From?
SENG Webinar
Book About Creativity
Is It ADD or Something Else?
In Minnesota: Summer Courses at ECAE
Keeping Up With Dr. Ruf
 

Watch for these upcoming publications:

 

Dr. Ruf has been invited by Michael Piechowski to write a paper for The Advanced Development Journal, a peer-reviewed publication, based on her research from her 1998 PhD dissertation, Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case Studies.


Dr. Ruf recently completed an interview with Michael Shaughnessy for Gifted Education International. Click here to read a previous interview with Shaughnessy about gifted children being left behind.  

Greetings!

 

Even though we are only tentatively into spring here in Minnesota, we know that kids will soon be starting their summer breaks from school. Oddly enough, we have heard that gifted kids often learn more over the summer than they do during the school year. Perhaps that's because they get to pursue their own interests.

In this issue, we are posting a number of websites where kids can go at their own pace learning about science or math or more, plus some summer courses for bright kids here in Minnesota.

Whatever you do, enjoy the spring!
 

Sincerely, Kathy Hara, Editor

 

 

Online Math and Science

In the January issue of our TalentIgniter newsletter, I mentioned the Khan HippoCampus logoAcademy, an online site offering math and science video tutorials. A client whose young son loves math and science tells us that her son also really likes the material he finds on hippocampus.org.  HippoCampus is a project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE), and its goal is to provide high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects to high school and college students free of charge. Apparently it's also good for smart grade school kids, too!


Online Enrichment for the Eager Learner

 

Homeschool Diner Logo 

Julie Knapp, founder of  The Homeschool Diner, offers lots of free online resources to spice up the gifted homeschooler's curriculum, or just for fun learning after school! She provides links to great online enrichment in math, music, the visual arts, science and more.      

Where Does Good Come From?
 

Edward O. Wilson, distinguished biologist at Harvard University, is stirring up quite a debate with his theories on the origins of altruism. He is, says Leon Neyfakh in an article in the Boston Globe, attempting to "overturn a central plank of established evolutionary theory."   

 

"By identifying the mechanisms through which altruism and other advanced social behaviors have evolved in all kinds of living creatures," says Neyfakh, "we stand to gain a better understanding of the human race, and the evolutionary processes that helped us develop the capacity for collaboration, loyalty, and even morality. Figure out where altruism comes from, you might say, and you've figured out the magic ingredient that makes human civilization the wondrous, complex thing that it is."

 

SENG Webinar
 

In the February issue of the TalentIgniter newsletter, we wrote about Stephanie Tolan's book Change Your Story, Change Your Life, which she was offering as a free download from her website StoryHealer.com.

 

Now we're happy to report that Tolan will be presenting a SENG Webinar Stephanie Tolanabout the same subject. On May 26, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, she will provide families with Story Principle - a way to empower themselves and their children, regardless of the educational climate they face. When children and parents see themselves as the heroes of their own story they can begin immediately to change that story for the better.  

 

For more information, or to register for the SENGinar, go to www.sengifted.org.


Book About Creativity
 

Piirto Creativity book coverOne of our favorite authors, Jane Piirto, has a new book out about creativity. Joining two of her other books,  Understanding Those Who Create and  Understanding Creativity, Piirto has recently published Creativity for 21st Century Skills: How to Embed Creativity into the Curriculum.

 

Piirto describes what many creative people really do when they create. Her book focuses on the practical applications of a theoretical approach to creativity training that she has developed, with many suggestions for enhancing creative abilities.

 

Is It ADD or Something Else?
 

Here is a thought-provoking article from the New York Times by Perri Klass, M.D., entitled Untangling the Myths About Attention Disorder. Dr. Klass starts out by saying, "As recently as 2002, an international group of leading neuroscientists found it necessary to publish a statement arguing passionately that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was a real condition."

 

Here at Educational Options, we do recognize that ADD/ADHD is real. At the same time, we also know that sometimes (perhaps even often) children are given that label when the behavioral problems stem from other issues. From our standpoint, for instance, we often see a misdiagnosis in gifted children who are in the wrong academic environment. So the important thing is to understand the difference.

 

We often steer parents to BornToExplore.org for more information. The goal of this site is to consider the many possible sources of ADD-like behaviors, including natural temperament traits, giftedness, diet, and other factors.

 


School Kids

In Minnesota: Summer Courses at ECAE
 

Summer session registration at the Edina Center for Academic Excellence 

is now open! ECAE focuses on offering courses that are not available in schools. Classes are taught by instructors from all walks of life who have a passion for their subject matter and who delight in sparking the curiosity of young learners. Priority date for 2011 Summer Session registration is Monday, June 6.


 

TI Logo Reflection  

  Home of the Ruf Estimates™ of Levels of Gifted Online Assessment. Don't leave your child's education to chance! Find out today what your child needs to succeed in school. For more information, go to www.TalentIgniter.com.

  

The TalentIgniter newsletter and archives are available by going to http://talentigniter.com/resources/talentigniter-newsletters



5 Levels of Gifted: 5 Levels cover
School Issues and
Educational Options

Dr. Ruf's book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005) (formerly published as Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind), is available here

Deborah Ruf
Educational Options
www.EducationalOptions.com
[email protected]
763-521-4565
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