Keeping Up With Dr. Ruf
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Besides her years of expertise as an educational consultant, Dr. Ruf also is well established as a national and international speaker on all issues of giftedness.
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Dr. Ruf will be presenting at the 58th Annual Convention of the National Assn. for Gifted Children (NAGC) in New Orleans November 3-6.
Dr. Ruf will speak about Nurturing Your Gifted Child to the West Central Ohio Association for Gifted and Talented Thursday evening, November 10. Location is Montgomery County ESC, 200 S. Keowee St., Dayton. Admission is free.
Dr. Ruf will conduct workshops for educators sponsored by the West Central Ohio Association for Gifted and Talented Friday, November 11, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Beavercreek Country Club, 2800 New Germany-Trebein Road, Beavercreek. Still time to register.
Dr. Ruf will present a breakout session on Levels of Giftedness at the MCGT Fall Conference on Saturday, November 12.
Dr. Ruf will conduct a workshop in Westwood, California, on How to Encourage Your Gifted Child to Listen to Parents and Teachers on November 22. Open to all. Click here for more information.
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| Greetings!
WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE that TalentIgniter has launched the Self Esteem Test for Children.
Based on the Harter Scales by Susan Harter at the University of Denver, Colorado, this online test will help you determine how your child feels about areas in his or her life. Read the following article to learn more!
ALSO, DR. RUF IS SCHEDULED AT NUMEROUS EVENTS IN NOVEMBER. She is speaking at the NAGC conference in New Orleans this weekend; she is speaking to parents and educators in Ohio November 10 and 11 ; she will discuss Levels of Giftedness at the MCGT conference November 12; and she will conduct a Workshop for parents on How to Encourage Your Gifted Child to Listen to Parents and Teachers in Westwood, California, November 22. There is still time to register for the events in Ohio and California, so check out the links in Keeping Up With Dr. Ruf in this newsletter.
Sincerely, Kathy Hara, Editor
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Self Esteem Test for Children
 Is your child feeling good about him or herself? An unhappy or depressed child doesn't have the emotional energy to learn at his or her optimal level or to get involved in activities that will develop his or her talents. On the other hand, good self-esteem leads to strong confidence. If you discover that your child's view of self is not positive, you can help to change things and clear the way for success! TalentIgniter is now introducing the Self Esteem Test for Children (SETC) that will help you find out how your child compares to other children on self-confidence. It's an affordable online assessment that children in 3rd through 8th grades complete privately online, and it measures the child's self-perception in the areas of scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, and global self-worth. After the child has completed the profile, a brief interpretation and recommendations are provided to the parents, school counselor, or other mental health professional. Because TalentIgniter is a site dedicated to discovering and igniting talents, we provide information that typical school-based or therapeutic treatments might not consider, so you can help clear the way for your child's success. Check out the TalentIgniter website for more information. And watch for our Self Esteem Test for Teens and Self Esteem Test for Adults, coming soon! |
Help Astronomers Explore the Universe
Scientists are constantly studying galaxies, including our own, in order to understand how they form and evolve. Part of that study involves classifying the galaxies. That's a difficult task with the numbers of galaxies being studied, so computers are being used in the process. But looking at an image and noting any oddities is a uniquely human ability that computers can't duplicate.
So in 2007 the Galaxy Zoo was launched, inviting anyone to look through a data set made up of a million galaxies imaged with the robotic telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Within the first year, 50 million classifications were made by almost 150,000 people.
The originators of Galaxy Zoo have now designed Galaxy Zoo 2 and are inviting the public to view more images and answer more complex questions in the classification process. The website has posted papers and projects that have used the data from the original Galaxy Zoo, and the site also offers a library about galaxies and astronomy pulled from all over the Internet, an astronomy glossary, information on the space missions and telescopes used in the research, blogs, forums and more.
By the way, if you like this, look for the Moon Zoo link on the website!
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The Brain and Being Human
Dr. Ruf recently attended the 47th Annual Nobel Conference, which is held every year at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. She was particularly fascinated with this year's subject, The Brain and Being Human, and wants to pass along the discussions to our readers.
Videos are available of all the speakers as they present  their insights on "what influences our choices, beliefs and social needs, why music and art move us, how new science helps us move and communicate, and how that, in turn, changes how we interact with the world.
In addition, master teachers from 11 high schools in Minnesota have developed lesson plans for this year's Nobel Conference topic, which are free and available online for teachers. Curriculum materials are also posted that focus on neuroscience and psychology having to do with the research of speakers.
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Elements of Math for Everyone
Steven Strogatz is a professor at Cornell University in applied mathematics who has received an important lifetime achievement award for his communication of mathematics to the public. So if it excites you to know that some infinities are larger than other infinities (as an example), you will be interested in reading Steven Strogatz on the Elements of Math, a 15-part series on mathematics which ran on the Opinionater page in the New York Times. If you like these, you might also want to find out about his series of 24 lectures on chaos theory, or his recent book, The Calculus of Friendship.
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In Minnesota: Classes in 3D
A friend of ours, Phil Rader, will be teaching a class on  Google Sketchup on behalf of Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development. This will be an Accelerated Weekend Experience (AWE) on November 12 and 13 at The International School of Minnesota, 6385 Beach Road, Eden Prairie. This two-day class is for gifted kids aged 10 to 16. To learn more about Google Sketchup, a 3D software tool, click here. For more information about the class and to register, click here. And to see a video that Phil Rader made for the course when he taught it this summer, click here. |
In Minnesota: MCGT Fall Conference
The Minnesota Council for Gifted and Talented Fall Conference has been scheduled for Saturday, November 12, at the University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis. During the conference there will be breakout sessions on a variety of topics for adults, including a presentation by Dr. Ruf on Levels of Giftedness. In addition, there will be a keynote session, the usual full day and half-day classes for kids in kindergarten through seventh grade, and an array of interesting exhibits and information. Find more details about the event on the MCGT website. |
In Minnesota: Math and Science Fair
Save Saturday, November 19, for the Math and Science Family Fun Fair at the University of Minnesota. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Coffman Memorial Union, there will be fascinating activities, hands-on exhibits and entertaining presentations showcasing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It all adds up to a day of fun and learning. Find out more at the U of M's College of Science and Engineering website.
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Home of the Ruf Estimates™ of Levels of Gifted Online Assessment. Don't leave your child's education to chance! Find out today - affordably, conveniently, and privately - 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.
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5 Levels of Gifted:  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.
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Deborah Ruf
Educational Options
www.EducationalOptions.com
inquiry@educationaloptions.com
763-521-4565
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Please let us know, so we can continue to send you our newsletter. Simply send us a note at kathy@educationaloptions.com. Thanks!
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