Education Learning Issues

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY. The application period for Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars is now open, according to the organization. The program is for high-achieving 7th-graders whose families have financial need. Find out more.

TESTING FOR GIFTEDNESS. An article in the Daily Kos titled "Testing Gone Wild" describes testing (and the testing industry) as it applies to very young children in New York City whose parents want the "gifted" label. Evidently gifted slots in public schools are quite coveted. Read the article.

BABY BLUES AND HOMESCHOOLING. Beginning on Monday, February 8th, the comic strip Baby Blues deals with homeschooling. Seems the kids want it but the parents don't. Read the first in the series.

GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS. The Spring edition of this electronic newsletter is now out, featuring articles on screening and identifying gifted children, depression and the gifted child, and more. Find it.

WHEN YOU SUSPECT AN LD. The first paragraph of an article in last Sunday's New York Times goes like this: "The first sign may be that your bright child is having trouble reading, or organizing school assignments, or concentrating on homework. Your child may be frustrated with school, and you may find yourself frustrated with what looks like a lack of effort. And a teacher may also notice that something is amiss." From there, the article offers advice about assessment, communication with the school, and other issues that parents of 2e children should know about. Read the article.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MEETS TEMPLE GRANDIN. In the aftermath of the debut of the movie about her life, Temple Grandin was interviewed by an WSJ editor about her reaction to the movie, autism, and her life in general. She also offered advice for raising an autistic or Aspie child. Find the article.

MEDS AND KIDS. Everyone has an opinion about the appropriateness of meds for kids. According to The New York Times, author Judith Warner captured a book contract six years ago to "explore and document the over-medication of American youth." The result: a book titled We've Got Issues, in which she concludes that few parents take a psychiatric diagnosis lightly or rush to drug a child -- and that most child psychiatrists don't, either. She now believes "that many children’s lives are essentially saved by medication, particularly when it’s combined with evidence-based forms of therapy.” Read the book review.

LEARNING STYLES. Mary-Dean Barringer, head of All Kinds of Minds, comments in Education Week about the waste of talent and money from not understanding, identifying, and addressing variations in learning. She attaches dollar figures to her contentions, pegging educational "waste" of this sort as perhaps $100 billion a year. Read her comments.

DSM AND AD/HD. We've posted about potential changes to the Asperger's diagnosis in the forthcoming DSM-V. Now, an article in ADDITUDE tells us that there are changes proposed to the diagnosis criteria for AD/HD. Among them: doing away with the AD/HD subtypes; changing the age of onset; and requiring fewer symptoms for a diagnosis of adult AD/HD. Read more.