Can you recommend some resources to motivate an underachieving gifted student? Dear Dr. Courtright, Information you've shared in the past about traits of gifted students was right on point for my son, who is in the 8th grade and in the TIP program. It was also highly aligned to struggles my husband and I have had with positive and negative traits. I desperately need some resources and more information that can help us accentuate the positive and reduce the negative. Do you have anything you can … [Read more...] about Ask the Experts: Underachieving Gifted Students
middle school
Case Study: Using TIP to Support Under-Resourced Students
Inocente Ramirez II has been working in education since 1972, first as a reading and language arts teacher and then as an administrator. Today, he is the assistant principal at Dorothy Compton Middle School, which is located in an impoverished area at the Southern tip of Texas. But Ramirez is making sure that his students can still see how far their education can take them. And he’s using Duke TIP to do it. … [Read more...] about Case Study: Using TIP to Support Under-Resourced Students
How Can I Help My Gifted Child Who Isn’t Very Social?
Parent question: My 12-year-old son takes little interest in the world around him or in making friends. From early childhood he’s been far more interested in creating elaborate games with his cars; engrossing himself in learning all about trains, space shuttles, and airplanes; and playing computer games. At his gifted school he enjoys the company of other children but doesn’t want to take on the responsibility of friendship. I’ve hosted numerous play dates with his schoolmates, which have ended … [Read more...] about How Can I Help My Gifted Child Who Isn’t Very Social?
The Social and Emotional Transition to Middle School
Middle school introduces new opportunities for gifted adolescents to form rewarding relationships and develop their own identities. It can also present challenges to gifted students as they encounter new social structures and pressures. Contrary to some popular negative stereotypes, most evidence indicates that gifted students are typically well adjusted socially and emotionally. Many studies show that they are viewed positively relative to their peers. Moreover, researchers tend to agree that … [Read more...] about The Social and Emotional Transition to Middle School
Growing a Middle Schooler
Imagine the thoughts of fifth-grade students preparing to enter middle school. What sorts of questions are forming in their minds? What fears make their hearts race and palms sweat? Plenty! The student may be asking: What is middle school like? Will I get lost? Will I be challenged? Will classes be fun and interesting? Will I like my teachers? Will they like me? Will I make friends? Why do I need a locker? Will I get trampled when I move through the hallways? What do I wear? What happens if I … [Read more...] about Growing a Middle Schooler
K-8 Comeback
Because middle school education (grades six through eight) in the United States has struggled in terms of academic achievement, school districts in several states are returning to the K-8 model. Reform is underway in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, and districts in at least eight other states across the nation are considering merging their middle schools and elementary schools into K-8s. … [Read more...] about K-8 Comeback
The Middle School to College Connection
Ninety percent of middle-school students state they plan to attend college. However a deeper look into a study released by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Phi Delta Kappa International reveals that only 66 percent actually go on to enroll in college. The study funded by the Lumina Foundation was based on a survey of 1,800 seventh and eighth graders around the U.S. This poll of middle-grade students shows how the transition into high schools can be a key determinate … [Read more...] about The Middle School to College Connection
Appropriate Content for Gifted Readers
Parent Question: My 12-year-old child is reading at an advanced level. Many of the books at her reading level do not present appropriate content. How can I find reading material for her that is appropriate both in challenge and in content? … [Read more...] about Appropriate Content for Gifted Readers
Smooth Transitions
The phone call came in May, just days after my niece had completed the eighth grade. The spunky preteen who had begged to copilot a small plane at age 12 said, “I just don’t want to go to high school.” It took patience and counseling skills to get her to express her fears of demanding academic work, getting lost between classes, and getting teased by older students. … [Read more...] about Smooth Transitions
Middle School Uncensored
Want to step into the world of your middle schooler? Not Much, Just Chillin’: The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers, a new book by Linda Perlstein, will give you that opportunity. … [Read more...] about Middle School Uncensored