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Music Enrichment Produces Giftedness
Music could be the "silver cord" that binds all the elements of superior intellectual development, including the artistic and the physical. Researchers from several disciplines are building up evidence that early music training can stimulate superior intellectual development. This article includes examples of what parents and teachers can do in introducing music early in a child's life. Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

Coping with Creative Kids
Creativity takes a variety of forms. Sometimes it is seen as a blessing and other times as a curse. Learn what behaviors should be avoided if you want to nurture creativity in your youngster. Ideas for cultivating creativity are included as well. Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

Causes of Stress, Burnout Discovered
There is little relationship between stress and sex, age, birth order, IQ, grade level, and related factors. Poor self-esteem, an external locus of control, and tedium are among the major contributors to stress in gifted students. Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

Lifestyle Key to High Achievement
High achievement depends on lifestyle, according to research. Regardless of demographics, education, ethnicity, and parental factors, "effective families" are the key. Learn the characteristics of an "effective family." Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

Discipline is Not a Dirty Word....
A reader from Baltimore, Md., writes: "I have trouble balancing my desire to give my gifted son plenty of room for experimentation and independence with my insistence that he follow the rules of the household. He constantly questions my decisions and tries to negotiate changes. How can parents nuture independence and impose discipline at the same time?" Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

This Could Be the Start of Something Big
An Interview with Steve Allen. How does one describe him? Funny man extraordinaire? Intellectual humorist? Author? Composer? Creative genius? All of these things-and more! Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

If You're a Gifted Adult, Read This!
Gifted adults need to have realistic expectations of others, to understand the effects of their giftedness, and to share their particular gifts. This article discusses five traits that may cause discomfort to others and may lead to personal and interpersonal conflicts. Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

Try These 13 Teaching Tips
Thirteen tips to assist classroom teachers in planning for their gifted students. Jump to Full NewsWeb Story

_______Ask Arthur Lipper III™
The Return on Investment from Special Education for Gifted Children.
A controversial article that may spark some small effect in changing the attitudes of those who influence the allocation and investment of special education funds. Thinking of people in investment terms is a dirty job, but someone has to do it as there is not, and cannot in the future, be enough for oil.
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In just such a fashion, however, we often expect our children, especially our intellectually gifted ones, to make moral decisions as an adult. Because they are often sensitive to values and moral issues, they may appear to be more mature than they actually are.

But just as an infant is unable to communicate in an adult fashion, our children however bright, are essentially unable to make moral decisions on an adult level.

Higher moral reasoning requires an ability to reason abstractly. As Jean Piaget, the classic child development expert, has so clearly demonstrated, even most of our very bright children do not have this capacity until late childhood.

With this understanding, you can help your son or daughter develop and refine moral reasoning skills as their capacity increases and avoid unrealistic expectations. By understanding a theory of moral development, you can improve communication in your home and enhance family relationships.

As parents, we may find ourselves in discussions with our children, reasoning with them as adults. At this point we become frustrated with them for reasoning as a child. It is often the case that children's intellectual development far exceeds their moral development. Moral development can only be achieved through time, experience and guidance.

Kohlberg's theory proposes that there are three levels of moral development and six stages within them. Each stage
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Editorial Staff
Editorial Staff

Kindle the Fire in
Your Young Artist

"I often doodle during breaks at school. I have drawn pictures ever since I can remember. I like the imagination I can put into my drawings because there is no limit to the possibilities." -- Eighth Grade Student Indiana University Summer Arts Institute

How can you determine whether your child's love for doodling truly represents artistic talent and, if so, what measures you should take to support his or her interest in the arts?

Over the years we have sought answers to these questions by working closely with students, their parents and teachers, administrators, and others who are interested in developing special abilities in the visual arts. As a result we have formulated some ideas about identification, teacher characteristics, curriculum content, educational settings, administrative arrangements, and educational resources that best serve the needs of children gifted in the visual arts.

How Do You Identify Them?

Most programs for artistically talented students use a combination of three or more selection procedures that include: self-nomination; nomination by art teachers, classroom teachers, parents or peers; portfolio re- view; interviews; creativity tests; and locally designed art tests. We feel that one of the most important components of identification is evidence of a child's persistent interest in the arts and a burning desire to make art
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Editorial Staff
Editorial Staff