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Interview with Chair of upcoming NY Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education Conference
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Dr. Joseph Piro, Conference Chair
The Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) in New York State, a nonprofit organization of concerned parents and teachers designed to promote the education and welfare of gifted and talented youth, will hold its annual conference at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Oct. 23 and 24, 2009.
The conference, titled, "A World of Promise: Gifted Students as Global Citizens," will bring together educators, policymakers, parents and advocates for the gifted from across New York state for a stimulating, thought-provoking two-day conference on issues, ideas and trends in gifted and talented education.
The conference is presented jointly by AGATE and the C.W. Post Campus, which is located at 720 Northern Boulevard (Route 25A), Brookville, N.Y.
Workshops will address topics such as "Global Rock Stars: Building a Community of Learners," "Hurried and Ignored: How Pressure to Perform and NCLB Mandates are Failing our Gifted and Talented Population," and "If the World is Flat, Why Not School? Fostering Intercultural Understanding and Integrated Learning Through the International Baccalaureate Programme."
Parents will have the opportunity to meet other parents of gifted and talented children and share their experiences and opinions. There will also be a raffle and an awards luncheon for gifted students and teachers of the gifted.
The NY Gifted Education Examiner spoke with Dr. Joseph Piro, Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus' School of Education, and 2009 Conference Chair, about AGATE and the upcoming event.
Examiner: How did Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) get started? What was the thought process behind it and what does the organization hope to achieve?
Dr. Piro: In terms of AGATE’s evolution, there was a need for a variety of people across New York State who were interested in the education of children to come together in a network to promote gifted education. What was unique about this was the mix of people and their backgrounds. Because it spans New York, one of the most diverse states in the country, every kind of voice was given a chance to be heard in suggesting ideas on how to improve the state of gifted education in New York. These included parents, teachers, legislators, advocates, and gifted children themselves.
Examiner: How does AGATE define what constitutes a gifted child?
Dr. Piro: Good question. Rather than limit by defining a gifted child, we acknowledge the multifaceted nature of giftedness and promote its identification and development. This is a statement from our web site:
"AGATE does not subscribe to any one theory of the nature of human abilities or their origins. We assert that there are children who demonstrate high performance, or who have the potential to do so, and that we have a responsibility to provide optimal educational experiences for talents to flourish in as many children as possible, for the benefit of the individual, the community, the nation and the world."
Examiner: What are the goals of your 2009 Long Island conference?
Dr. Piro: These are our basic Conference objectives, what we hope to achieve during and after the Conference:
1. Provide opportunities to hear state-of-the-art research and discussion on important topics and themes related to gifted education
2. Discuss emerging global options and programs for gifted students
3. Provide exposure to and interaction with stimulating and interesting individuals interested in the education of high ability learners
4. Raise awareness of the importance of gifted education at the local, state, and national levels
Examiner: How did you choose your speakers and what do you expect them to contribute to the discussion?
Dr. Piro: We chose our speakers according to our Conference theme: "A World of Promise: Gifted Students as Global Citizens." We very much felt that giftedness should be used in service to others and since this concept is one that is promoted in 21st Century skills development, we thought it was a good idea to advance this concept. The speakers are an outgrowth of this theme. Sheila Appel is from the Corporate Citizenship Division of IBM. We thought a business perspective on service and the gifted might be important. Michael Furdyk is a great example of how a gifted student can take an idea like a web-site and turn it into an international community of students interested in constructive global change. Roger Tilles, a New York State Regent, will provide some insights on what New York State perceives as its mission to gifted education. We also have Assemblyman Fred Thiele, the ranking minority member of the Education Committee in the NYS Assembly. He has shown a good deal of interest in improving gifted services across the state and will speak about some of his ideas and proposals at the state level.
We think all of these people will bring multiple perspectives to issues in gifted education and show how a variety of sectors - business, technology, education, and legislative - can work together in bettering the quality of services offered to gifted students.
Examiner: What could the parent of a gifted NY child gain from attending the conference?
Dr. Piro: Quite a bit. We have a variety of workshops on many topics that might interest all parents. These include:
1. Why gifted children hit an academic brick wall and lose their passion for learning.
2. Hurried and Ignored: How pressure to perform and NCLB mandates are failing our gifted population
3. Using Technology To Enrich Elementary Students Beyond The Classroom
4. Laughter, Tears & Two Extra-Strength Aspirin: An Rx for Parents and Teachers of Gifted Children
5. Uniquely Gifted: Teaching Gifted Children with Asperger’s Syndrome
In addition, there will be representatives from three major museums on Long Island, The Nassau County Museum of Art, The Heckscher Museum, and the Hofstra University Museum. We are also having raffles of items that parents might enjoy including family passes to museums and a book basket.
We are partnering with Island Harvest, a hunger relief organization. They will have barrels set up in the Conference Registration area for families to make food donations to people who need them. A good way for parents to teach their own children about community service and responsibility.
Examiner: What are the benefits for gifted children and their parents to become members of AGATE?
Dr. Piro: Parents who become members of AGATE have opportunities to network with a cross-section of people across NYS. They have the opportunity to attend the Conference, visit the web site, and receive the AGATE newsletter. Overall, it’s a good way for them to learn more about gifted education and the important role that parents play in keeping the issue alive and well in New York State. Sometimes, being the parent of a highly gifted student can be a very isolating experience. AGATE can help connect them to a network to reduce this sense of isolation.
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