New discussion site:
Last night, my wife Debbie and I spent a few hours at the Poway School District building. We were listening to a great presentation on how to engage and support our TAG (Talented and Gifted) child.
I want to thank the school district for allowing that time of education and support even in our states extreme budget crunch.
At the end of the meeting, much to my surprise, almost half the room of 100 plus (by my estimation) parents still remained for a Q & A session. They were expressing issues and challenges that my wife and I both have shared from the beginning of the year. This quickly turned into a cry for help, from the parents, on how we can support efforts at our schools. How can we bolster and enrich our Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) programs in the Poway area.
One of the great things about TAG kids is that they usually have TAG parents. We are inclined to over-achieve and create solutions that aren’t just out-of-the-box. We tend to ANNIHILATE the box.
One of our biggest issues seems to be the lack of discussion going on at the district and site (school) levels. No one seems to be asking “how to we go forward from here”. There are resources in the parents and the community of which we can take advantage. There are ideas on parent led programs, volunteering to assist teachers, fund-raising and so much more we could be sharing and working together as a group of GATE/TAG parents. (John Donne wrote: No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind…)
Our first step towards a solution is to become VERY involved in our children’s education process and then share what works. To this end we need resources, support and a forum for sharing.
As an aside: I would like to point out one of my observations, I am not a MD, this is MY observation. Some TAG/GATE kids (and some adults) may be diagnosed with ADD (ADHD). I don’t know if this is a side effect of being over-sensitive to stimulus, or that we aren’t challenged enough. However keep that in mind when dealing with what I call “High Energy” kids and adults. The “High-Energy” may be difficult, but they might surprise you in other ways like creativity, passion and conviction.
To support this project I am utilizing resources from the Computer Gurus hosting group. We will be activating the following web addresses for ease of use and location:
As a commentary on the TAG / ADD relation. I am also adding the following (no-pun intended):
These addresses will all take you to the same Elgg community site. If you wish to be a part of this exploration into the GATE/TAG programs, both in our area and beyond, please join us. I would appreciate any assistance in moderation of group discussions. We are intelligent human beings, so please lets keep things civil.
I am calling it “Learn Differently”
Our mission statement is to “Promote discussion on meeting the educational and emotional needs of our exceptional children.
Thank you all for participating.. It will be up as soon as the name servers propagate… usually about 4 hours but it can be up 72 hours max…
Thank you for reading and for comments…
- Be Yourself, Be Well, and Be Loved,
Life is an experience not a burden.
Gary Cartagena is President and Director of Business and Product Development at Quorum HR Services,
part-time Consultant and Project Manager for Computer Gurus
and Founder of the Education Focused web site: Learn Differently.
View Gary Cartagena’s profile
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