Bright, Talented, & Black: Guide for Familiesof African American Gifted Learners

by Davis, Joy Lawson

• ISBN13: 9781935067023
• ISBN10: 1935067028
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-01
• Publisher: Great Potential Pr Inc

Summary

Bright, Talented, and Black: A Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners provides essential information about the parenting and education of Black gifted children. Based on her personal experience as a parent, as well as a gifted education professional, Dr. Joy Davis offers many practical suggestions to help parents and educators who work with bright, talented, African American children. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
What It Really Means to Be Gifted and African American	p. 1
Being Black and Gifted Is Nothing New	p. 3
Definitions of Giftedness	p. 6
Gifts versus Talents	p. 8
What Does It Really Mean to be Gifted?	p. 10
Nurturing Your Child's Strengths	p. 12
External and Internal Challenges of Being Young, Gifted, and Black	p. 15
External Challenges	p. 15
Discrimination	p. 15
Lack of Understanding of Black Culture	p. 19
Low Expectations	p. 20
Internal Challenges	p. 22
Overexcitabilities and the Gifted	p. 22
Idealism	p. 26
Underachievement in Gifted Children	p. 28
Boys	p. 34
Girls	p. 36
The Role of Guidance Counselors	p. 39
Underachievement and Peer Relationships	p. 39
Visual-Spatial Learners: Seeing the World in Pictures	p. 43
Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children	p. 45
Meeting the Challenge	p. 47
The Immeasurable Value of Family Involvement	p. 49
The Family's Role as Nurturer and Encourager	p. 51
Family Stories and How They Can Help	p. 54
The Importance of Family Values	p. 55
The Values of Hard Work and Resilience	p. 56
Spirituality and Black Gifted Children	p. 60
Conversations with Your Gifted Child	p. 63
Keeping Your Gifted Child Fully Engaged	p. 66
The State of Flow	p. 69
A Parent's Responsibility: Becoming Your Gifted Child's Best Advocate	p. 73
The Black Community Educating Its Own	p. 73
Gifted Education Today	p. 74
How Schools Identify Gifted Students	p. 79
Bias in the Use of Tests	p. 81
Determining Eligibility	p. 84
Best Practices in School Options for Gifted Students	p. 84
Competitions, Mentorships/Internships, and Community Service	p. 89
Gifted Education in Public Schools	p. 93
Early Identification and K-3 Programming	p. 94
Early Entrance and Grade-Skip Issues	p. 95
Elementary Programming for Grades 3-5	p. 98
Middle School Challenges	p. 99
High School	p. 104
Talent Search Programs	p. 106
Beyond the Classroom	p. 109
College	p. 111
The College Application Process	p. 111
What Colleges Are Looking for in Their Students	p. 116
What Should You Look for in a College?	p. 116
Other Options Outside the Public School System	p. 119
Independent, Private, Parochial, and Charter Schools	p. 120
Independent Schools	p. 120
Private Schools	p. 121
Programs Bridging the Gap between the Haves and the Have-Nots	p. 126
A Better Chance	p. 126
Black Student Fund	p. 126
Connecting Communities to UCLA	p. 127
Davidson Institute for Talent Development	p. 127
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy	p. 128
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program	p. 128
Jacob's Ladder	p. 129
North Carolina Project SEED	p. 129
Oliver Scholars Program	p. 130
The SEED Foundation	p. 130
Step Up for Students	p. 130
The Black Homeschooling Movement	p. 131
There Are Choices	p. 134
Books, Storytelling, and the Power of Words	p. 137
Gifted Children and Books	p. 139
"Mirror" Books and "Window" Books	p. 141
The Oral Tradition of Debating	p. 142
Storytelling: An Ancient Art Revived	p. 145
Rap Music: A Modern American Phenomenon	p. 146
Nurturing a Love of Words in Our Children	p. 148
Teaching Your Child to Survive and Thrive	p. 155
Navigating through Multiple Worlds	p. 158
Bearing the Burden and the Blessings of the Race	p. 163
The Difficulty of Finding True Peers	p. 165
Accepting Your Children's Other-Race Peers	p. 167
The Power of Positive Support	p. 168
The Role of Mentors	p. 172
Accentuating Strenghts and Supporting Weaknesses	p. 173
The Impact of a Strong Work Ethic on Student Success	p. 175
Final Thoughts	p. 179
Glossary for Gifted Education Advocates	p. 181
Special Enrichment Programs for gifted and Advanced Learners	p. 189
Organizations, Clubs, Advocacy Groups, and Other Resources of Interest	p. 191
Books to Inspire Our Children and Our Community	p. 193
Books by, for, and about African Americans	p. 195
Biography/Autobiography	p. 195
Fiction/Nonfiction	p. 197
Poetry	p. 197
Folklore: African and African American Folk and Fairy Tales	p. 198
Picture Books	p. 198
Gifted Education: A Reading Collection that All Parents Should Have	p. 199
Endnotes	p. 201
References	p. 207
Index	p. 215
About the Author	p. 225
List of Tables and Figures
Renzulli's Definition of Giftedness	p. 7
Characteristics of Gifted Children	p. 11
Overexcitabilities of Gifted Children and Adolescents	p. 23
"Challenges and Obstacles" Quotes	p. 59
Criteria Used to Evaluate Students for Gifted Services	p. 80
Commonly Used Ability, Achievement, and Intelligence Tests	p. 83
Advantages and Disadvantages of Selected Service Options for the Gifted	p. 88
Characteristics of Successful Schools for African American Students	p. 124
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.