Susan Rakow Ph.D.

I must admit my bias in reviewing this book. I graduated with honors from high school, college, and graduate school without ever having achieved the illustrious title of "gifted" while in middle school. I have a vivid memory of the blonde-haired counselor with the squeaky voice writing different sizes of tanks on the chalk board, explaining that the "gifted" students had bigger tanks in which they could fill. What a bad message to send to the littler tanks! My best friend was one of those people with a bigger tank (the biggest, in fact) and a big "G" next to her name in attendance books (I saw it), and she was constantly treated more special because of her "tank." I went to a school district that had plenty of money to burn (back in the 70's when revenues were not put into a large California tank and distributed equally. Since we had a large oil refinery that paid taxes but furnished no school children, education was abundantly funded). Consequently, there were special programs for gifted students but not for the students who did really well because they worked really hard in spite of their smaller "tanks." I have already told you my outcome. My best friend took a non-academic path in high school and opted for a trade school and community college where she eventually dropped out. She works in customer service in a job that requires no post-secondary education and is very "artsy" with a side business selling scrapbooking items. She was "gifted" in that. The size of your "tank" does not take into account a person's other gifts and abilities. She was happy in the road she took regardless of the size of her "tank"!

So, that is why I take issue with this book. I do not think "gifted" students should be treated any differently from other hard working students. I do not think tests should determine how "gifted" or "smart" someone is because some kids just don't do well on those achievement tests. I believe in equal opportunity for all students, not just the gifted ones. (By the way, I had a high score on the vebal/language portion, but my math always made me not have the "G" next to my name, despite always getting an "A" in math courses.)

The book is clearly written. While it will help teachers, I do not believe it is fair to channel fund's exclusively for "gifted" students, especially when I question the effectiveness of these program. We should reward students who work hard, regardless of the size of their tank.… (más)

Susan Rakow has produced a highly readable and broad overview of the issues and opportunities around educating gifted students in early adolescence. While practitioners in schools where gifted education is well-organized aren't likely to find much new here, the book is sure to be a boon to teachers who have to fit in gifted education to their already crowded curriculum. As a parent of gifted children, I was hoping for more from the parents point-of-view, but the book is clearly written and marketed toward the professional. I am sure that this book will find its rightful place on teachers' bookshelves and as a text for education schools to use in training future teachers.… (más)

Gifted students are often overlooked in classrooms because teachers have only so much time and only so many resources that the needs of other students often get priority. There is benefit, then, to having a resource to help teachers address the needs of gifted students. What came across to me in this book was that the accomodations required for gifted students are intense and not very realistic in an integrated classroom, which is the reality of most of the places I've taught. How can a person realistically be expected to do it all for all students? What the book fails to address in detail is how to actually pull off the strategies. Further to that point, so many strategies in such a wide range are offered, that few of the strategiest are addressed in detail to really help know how to use them. The cover advertises "A Practical Guide" and while there are many helpful ideas, websites, suggestions, I don't find it quite at the grassroots level of "use this tomorrow in class." The book is still academic and theoretical -- the first four chapters demonstrate this point because they are very theory based. I didn't need all the reserach to prove that gifted students need more than regular classroom gives them -- anyone who has been in a classroom knows this fact already. More realistic, actual lesson plans as examples of situations where the suggested strategies have been carried out to model what should be done would have been more helpful to me. As it is, the basic message is "differentiated instruction for all students is best." And it is good to be reminded that gifted students need attention just as much as the other special needs students in a classroom.… (más)