Parallel Session Proceedings »
2.5.1 Supporting a Gifted Global Society: Advocating through Exponential Influences, Fostering Partnerships, and Telling YOUR Story
Whether we are quick to admit it or not, excellent and responsive education is no longer principally about transferring knowledge or teaching others how to accomplish various processes. Both to our irritation and to our benefit, our world is rapidly changing before our very eyes. The implications of such change are vast and are only beginning to be appreciated in fullness. What is increasingly clear is that as allies of gifted education, we must be brave and honest enough to ask ourselves hard questions about what we most value as educators, administrators, policy makers, and learners. As advocacy mechanisms become more and more sophisticated and as access to knowledge becomes more and more democratized, we must be willing to think differently about what constitutes a 21st or 22nd century education. Though perhaps an uncomfortable process, developing sophisticated and principled answers to this question will undoubtedly deepen your work as change makers and ensure that we remain responsive to the genuine needs of our students in this exciting and challenging chapter of human history. During this session participants will learn how to effectively advocate at the various levels with district, county, and state leaders. We will engage in light lecture with active dialog and real examples from our state that can easily apply in the participants home area.