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Jul

27

Part IV, Q/A with Ann Sheldon, OAGC: Be informed, be involved, be persistent (don’t I know it)


This post is the final in a series of four posts. I posed the questions via email to Ann Sheldon, lobbyist and executive director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children.

The first post is here.

The second post is here.

The third post is here.

Q: What is OAGC’s opinion about the school funding amendment currently being promoted?

The school funding amendment is the only potential policy initiative that specifically includes the needs of gifted students. Naturally, OAGC members tend to support that language!

Q: One of its elements is for the Ohio Board of Education to define “high quality education.” Is this a positive move? Why or why not?

I guess the question I have about defining “high quality education” is whether the quality will be defined in general terms or for student groups with differing needs. The school funding amendment specifically speaks to the issue of defining high quality education as being dependent on differentiated needs. That is a positive move.

Q: What three concrete steps can individuals with an interest in the provision of gifted education in Ohio take to improve what’s currently available?

Great question! The short answer is this: 1) Be informed 2) Be involved and 3) Be persistent. The long answer is, naturally, a little more involved.

1) BE INFORMED — In order to advocate for gifted children at any level, from your own child to local district to state level and even to the federal level, it is important to know who gifted children are, what their needs tend to be, what can be done to help them, and why it is important to serve them. Your first stop can be the library or if you have internet access there are many websites to help out. If you start with www.oagc.com, there are many links that will provide individuals with the basics of identification, characteristics, advocacy issues, rules and laws, and research on best practices. From there, it is relatively easy to find more information on the areas that are of the most interest.

2) BE INVOLVED — Gifted students in public or private settings in Ohio are often not provided for as they need to be without some level of involvement from the parent. It there is a parent group for gifted children in your district, join it. There is definitely power in numbers. There are also a number of online opportunities/communities where you can ask questions, discuss issues, and get advice for advocating at various levels. Again, if you go to the OAGC website, you can find online groups, find out how to start a parent group, or determine how best to approach a teacher about your child.

3) BE PERSISTENT – It’s important to know that if something or someone is really important to you, don’t give up. If your child has special needs, find some way to meet them whether it is in their current school, at home, or some other environment. I tell parents frequently that they should take a cue from their children, who almost never accept “no” as the final answer. “No” can mean “not now,” “not at this school,” “not when you ask it that way” or a number of different things. “No” really only means “no” when you stop asking or seeking for an answer. Children are too important for you to give up on, so please never stop advocating on their behalf.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:30 am July 27th, 2007 in Politics 

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