Research only brings us so far. Talking about issues in gifted education only brings us to an understanding of what MIGHT be better. Changing things requires DOING. After many years of informing ourselves about gifted education, the social and emotional lives of gifted children and the classroom strategies available, we decided that the only way to effect change is to do something with our expertise.
Our experiences with our individual children are not identical, of course, but the principle behind our passion is the same: gifted learners in Ireland are not accommodated by our education system and are often actually held back by it.
We are not teachers, but as parents, we are educators and part of the learning partnership of our children. We have looked at provision for gifted children in many countries and across many systems. Through looking for adequate support for our own children we have forged links with experts and organizations throughout the world. We have amassed a body of knowledge which we feel would be useful to educators in Ireland in improving what is on offer to gifted learners here. We hope that our blog may be a useful starting off point for those looking to provide options to gifted learners in our own system.
We are both passionate, forceful and opinionated, so we don't expect everyone to agree with us. Sometimes we don't even agree with each other! We may even ruffle a few feathers as we let loose our opinions across a variety of topics related to giftedness! We will always strive to be accurate and honest however, and will ever have the best interests of gifted learners in mind.
