Are gifted students receiving equitable treatment in public schools?

I recall my second year as a classroom teacher. I was ill-prepared for teaching "Miguel" who was a very precocious math student and voracious reader. My teacher training for gifted education consisted of one chapter in my special education class. Looking back now, he was the reason I spent the next seven years learning about giftedness. It wasn't only that I wasn't trained to meet his unique needs, it was that no one in my school, leadership included had formal gifted training. It was difficult to get an answer and guidance.

During my first and subsequent years as a classroom teacher I received excellent support for my students with special needs. There were compensatory education teachers, special education teachers, para professionals, funding, training, resources, legislation guiding the students' rights, and a cyclical system in place to formatively assess learning plans. I learned so much about how to work efficiently, productively to accommodate specific learning needs. Why is this not in place for gifted students? What can we do to ensure equity for students who are identified gifted or are exceptional learners

Brain Food!

Yes, that's right. There are foods that increase and improve the functions of our brain. Not surprising, they're mostly the foods that are good for our heart. Remember, what's good for the heart is good for the brain. But above all, research indicates that caloric intake is more important than the specific types of foods.   A good rule of thumb is that reducing your calorie intake (to healthy levels) increases your life span.

Many of the foods we eat, but know are terrible for our health are not good for the brain. Eliminate foods with hydrogenated oils, partially-hydrogenated, trans fats and of course fast foods. These foods may taste good but do nothing for our health.

So what is good for our brains? Yup, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes. The food with the most benefits seems to be green leafy vegetables. They slow the cognitive decline in people. Tests show that older folks who consume more than two servings of veggies in a day performed similarly on cognitive tests as people five years younger.

Genetics play an important role in brain health, but diet and exercise increase our ability to function and help slow cognitive decline.

-An interesting tidbit for students and teachers-chewing gum before a test improves performance....not during, but right before. The chewing motion increases blood flow to the region, thereby increasing oxygen.

Sleep on it

If you've ever toiled with a difficult decision or just couldn't solve that homework problem, you've probably heard your parent or spouse tell you to "just sleep on it". Well, that is sound advice and there is something to it.

Sleep, more accurately, sound, uninterrupted sleep has a specific cognitive purpose. According to Richard Restak's book Think Smart (2009), Matthew Walker, director of the sleep and imaging laboratory at Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Boston states, "The more the brain learns, the more it demands from sleep at night." Getting a good night's sleep increases efficiency and helps you perform at your best. Your brain takes the skills learned from the day, organizes and consolidates information and prepares it for access. So, "in short, if you learn something while awake, you can increase your chances of remembering it by sleeping on it".

The Fascinating Brain

I started reading and researching the brain and neuroscience about a year ago. I've been fascinated by this unique organ since my first psychology class in high school. What an amazing piece of architecture. No other organ in our bodies becomes more efficient as its cells die or reduce. I've learned that IQ is not fixed. We can all get smarter, constantly learn and improve the quality of our cognitive abilities by eating right and exercising.

In this blog I will share some interesting facts about the brain, what neuroscientists and doctors suggest to delay memory loss, and how to increase the cognitive capacity for learning, especially for students. I've come across some excellent websites that provide very basic explanations for the complex workings of the brain. I'll post the sites as I come across them. In case your interested and have spare time, MIT has announced free Online Course Ware, (OCW) for the public. There is an excellent site for neuroscience and many more academic subjects. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/ It is all free, open to the public and their philosophy is to provide anyone interested in improving his/her knowledge with the means to do so. Pretty impressive.

My first question is-What is smart? Is intelligence reflective of the subject tested and the instrument used. For example, a person who scores high on an WISC IQ test, does that mean he is intelligent or just intelligent on the test items encountered? I've met a few people in my life that are able to write prose and poetry with unbridled grace, yet cannot assemble a piece of furniture without great difficulty. So, what is intelligence?