Donna Ford

The focus of this book is how to equitably recruit, screen, refer and/asses culturally different students and then to retain them. Children who are ignored or not given the same opportunities as other children have always been my concern, but this issue of culturally different student's in gifted education was never in my sights. The author, Dr. Donna ford, gives insight as to how we can ensure that educators are willing and able to address issues and barriers. Hopefully, many will read this book to help correct this problem, putting to use the information gained from this well-researched book. Awareness is always a key and we can thank Dr. Ford for raising ours. I recommend this book to all readers whom are interested children, their education and and especially their equal rights as others.… (más)

As a parent of gifted girls, I am always on the lookout for new information about how to work with gifted children. Prufrock Press is an excellent source of good resources for educators. Dr. Ford's book is another example. I've taken several courses through the University of Connecticut gifted education program so I was aware of the need to recognize and support culturally gifted students which is why I requested this book. Dr. Ford has presents the case for responsive gifted education which focuses not on color blindness but on actual cultural awareness. She lobbies for the acknowledgement of educators to recognize the challenges faced by gifted children of color and to do something about it. Her work is research based and yet also deeply personal. Her conclusions about the gap - between what is and what should be - are based on real life experiences - both hers and of the students she's interviewed and interacted with over the years. Gifted students hail from all walks of life, and are diverse economically and culturally. We need to identify, reach out to and include gifted students no matter where they are found. The NAGC Position Paper and the Standards for Gifted Education Programs (both found in the appendices), were thought provoking and helped to illustrate her points as well as the need for changing the way gifted education and assessment is perceived. This is an important resource and I plan to share it with the folks I know who work as educators - many of whom are in gifted education.… (más)