Back in the Classroom

Posted by Alex Sharp Aug 29, 2009

This school year my day starts with my advisory class, and I am happy to share some of what we have been doing. I have some concerns about stress and teens - that stress, especially in girls, can lead to adult problems, and that friend choices can make or break a teenager. Gifted teenagers have special concerns when they arrive at the door to secondary education, because the top dog of elementary is now a young puppy among many other puppies. Feeling average is a good thing, but it takes adjustment, and that is exactly where gifted education steps in.

My advisory class is composed of gifted students who have been in my program - which I teach across two years - and lasts under 30 minutes, so the activities I have posted fit that group (short activities for tweens). Our advisory is happy, helpful, and fun, because that is how to deal with stress - be happy, do things that are have fun - and how to know if you are in a good friendship - good friends help each other, in positive ways.

Two of our activities so far have been fun to play and fun for me to watch: a game about what people like (kind of like Whonu from Cranium, a student has later informed me) and a game where people find commonalities in each other that separate them from others.

Summer is quieter than the school year for me here, I get more emails from other gifted teachers during the year. I look forward to hearing about what everyone is doing!

Happy School Year!