James R. Delisle

Delisle seems to have much insight into the minds of gifted kids. Though it seems like a lot of research was put into writing this guide it has a great deal of personal input that he was able to add as well. I really like that he touches on the emotional struggles that many gifted children face not just the educational difficulty they may have with being ahead of their peers. I really appreciate the time he spent to write this guide as it seems very helpful for both parents and teachers of exceptional kids who often fall through the cracks of the education system.… (plus d'informations)

In the work by Delisle, it is truly set up as a guide for families who have a gifted student in the family. It guides parents from helping them to interact with their child's school and to advocate for their child. It also aids parents in understanding their child and gives several examples of how to do this. But this work also carries the gifted child from school into college and even into adulthood. Delisle cites his entire educational career and what he personally discovered in assisting Gifted students. It is not meant to be a answer all to every problem, Delisle makes it clear NO TWO children are alike, each has its own needs and desires. But instead the work serves a purpose in that as a guide it helps to show what to do and has a reference and resource section. The resource section not only covers publications but also many state level resources not only in the United States but also Canada. He demonstrates that sometimes methods from a century ago still work today and some new ideas can be molded to fit most situations. He often quotes such noted researchers like Leta Hollingworth and Nationally recognized organizations. Unlike many works along the same lines, Purfrock has this worked priced at only $17.95 and its size of only 212 pages makes it very easy to read and reread to truly assist the parents and guardians of gifted children. It is also a good read for those gifted children that are now adults and facing the world today. It opens many doors and shows the reader what is on the other side and where to seek help when they step thru that door. This work would fit into a public library and into all levels of media centers so that educators could provide it as a reference guide to parents. Also University libraries as a guide for students in pursuit of working with gifted children.… (plus d'informations)

This is not the book to convince others gifted education is necessary.

Quite honestly, that's it's biggest drawback. Without convincing readers that they should want good education for gifted students, many of this audience bail out early. Delisle spends much of the book advocating for casting a wider net in the search for the gifted, bemoaning how gifted minority children and brilliant kids from low-income households aren't being pulled into the gifted programs enough....and yet people "can't get past page 30" because they don't think he takes these issues seriously. I don't mean that as a criticism of other reviewers; this is a failure on the author's part to engage his audience. I don't believe this book was originally written to be a layman's introduction to gifted education, but ended up being marketed as such. There were several places where the author slipped into a more casual and snarky way of speaking; while these mildly irked me, I was already on board with his main argument. A reader that wasn't would have abandoned ship.

This book focuses on how many popular approaches to handling gifted students in the classroom are inadequate and even counter-productive, and which ones actually work, with an emphasis on administration. There's a large focus on identifying gifted children that don't "look gifted," and on dispelling old wives' tales about how gifted children will do just fine if they're not challenged. As a result, it's more of a guide for administrators at the district level or higher, and for parents of gifted students wondering what they should even be looking for in a school.

Delisle makes a compelling case for disparate groups to join forces and work together to increase funding, but I think his failure to win over a skeptical audience really hampers this goal.… (plus d'informations)