Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds

What's wrong with the education of gifted... and how to fix it!

<br>The title is long, and speaks volumes. Why are we, as a country, denying our gifted children an appropriate education? What can we, as parents and as educators, do for these unique children? <br><br> What is gifted education? Genius Denied differentiates between the elitist enrichment programs billed as gifted education by school districts across the country, and real gifted education, appropriate level curriculum in major subject areas. And it asks important questions, like why is gifted education tied to the student¿s age, rather than to his or her educational needs? <br><br> The gifted children hurt by our national policy of egalitarianism aren¿t the rich kids, the Davidsons points out. Wealthy parents can afford the private schools, tutors, and specialized programs that gifted children need to survive and grow; they can afford to move to other school districts or states when such programs are unavailable. It¿s the socio-economically disadvantaged, the immigrant, even the middle-income child who¿s family cannot afford such privileges; these are the children who are denied an appropriate education. <br><br> Genius Denied is not just a story of educational failures; it details education successes, and how we can duplicate them for other gifted children. And it¿s not only the gifted children, but our society as a whole that will benefit. While not every gifted child is a future inventor or political leader or composer or scientific discoverer, every gifted child IS important to the future of our nation and our world, and none should experience the educational misfortune that has been experienced by child after child detailed in the book. <br><br> Genius Denied is a book that should be read, and taken to heart, by every school administrator and policy maker, and by every parent of a gifted child. And maybe, with the help of this book, Genius Denied will become just a book title, instead of our national education policy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Don't bother

An interesting premise -- that our brightest children are not served by our educational system. True to an extent, but neither does it serve the least bright. The authors are pushing their own personal agenda here, and play loose with the facts to make their arguments. Their assertion that one in five high school drop-outs is gifted would seem to indicate that these students complete high school at a MUCH lower rate than the general population -- highly unlikely! They ignore the fact that the country identified as having the best schools in the world (Finland) offers no special opportunities to highly intelligent students. Although there may be merit to some of the arguments made in the book, any value it might have is undone by poor writing and marginal editing. Very little distinguishes Chapter 1 from Chapter 8 from the website, which is free. Save your money and your time, read the graph above and realize that you have learned as much as this book has to offer.

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problems but no solutions

It provides a lot of criticism, but not very many solutions. As a teacher and a member of the community I am always looking for ways to challenge students who are extremely gifted while still serving those who need more help. However, this book provided many tragic stories without many ways to help other than to say WE'RE GETTING IT WRONG. That's fine, but I'd like more imput on how to get it right.

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A MUST READ for all who care about education and our nation's future

'Genius Denied' is an engaging read on an overlooked American tragedy: the neglect of our nations brightest children. I'm a teacher and I've seen many brilliant students who need a more challenging education program than the one I am allowed to provide in my mixed-ability classroom. 'Genius Denied' gets to the heart of 'Education's Dirty Little Secret' and offers sound solutions for what schools and parents can do to remedy this oversight. I highly recommend this book to all who care about education and our nation's future.

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An invaluable resource!

Genius Denied is an exceptional resource for educators, administrators, professionals, and parents of gifted and talented students. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in making a positive difference in the lives of gifted youth. It not only addresses the challenges that the gifted population faces in our education system today, but it also gives practical suggestions as to what one can do to effect change in gifted and talented education across the nation.

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A must read!

This is a very resourceful book for parents and educators that would like more information on how to meet the unique needs of gifted youth. Jan and Bob Davidson eloquently describe the 'quiet crisis' in our schools today and offer realistic suggestions to support and challenge gifted students. A must read!

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a must have

a must have and a must read for anyone with a gifted/talented child. parts of the book brought tears to my eyes as i realized the torture my child goes thru at school every day.

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A clear and truly valuable book about children in need of educational services

This book is wonderful, although it identifies situations in our educational systems that are certainly NOT wonderful. The authors provide individual accounts of issues faced by gifted students, as well as data regarding educational practices. The latter is supplemented by their website, www.geniusdenied.com. In detailing these situations, they don't attack the participants; they don't fragment us further by dividing us into various special interests. Instead, this book helps every reader to understand the educational needs of gifted children and the harm that can result when those needs are not met. It inspires us to ask ourselves what we can do to help, then goes on to help us answer that question and identify positive steps that we can take. Genius Denied is a book worth reading, whether you are a teacher, parent, community member, policy maker . . . It would be a wonderful book to hand to the parent or teacher that understands gifted children, to share the fact that others care, too. It would also be valuable to the parent or teacher who does NOT understand these children's needs, because it presents these needs in a thoughtful way that may prompt improved understanding.

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