... six year old Michael sits in his first grade classroom sneak-reading a science fiction novel under his desk while his teacher and the rest of the class engage in a lesson on the letter "b" and the sound it makes....

... for the third time in as many days, 6th grader Maria has finished her math easily and early. With nothing left to work on, she is told to go around and help the kids who don't get it. She promises herself that tomorrow she will pretend to take longer to finish...

There is a small but vitally important group of children who are often not being adequately served in our public schools. With the current seemingly sole and myopic emphasis being on improving the state test scores, those students who are already proficient or even advanced academically for their grade level suffer badly at times from educational neglect.

I am writing this blog in hopes of meeting fellow advocates and gathering support for these children. Over the past ten years, my focus in education has been to shake the GATE rattle and try to help the parents and teachers of gifted and high ability students. Fortunately, I work in a district that supports these efforts.

Whether it be updating readers on the latest legislation, sharing my stories of the gifted kids I meet, offering tips for the home or the classroom, sharing resources, or just plain venting, my hope is to create a community of people interested in supporting the educational rights of these children.

I know you are out there. Some of you are educators I have taught or work with who would never allow the scenarios above to happen in your classrooms. Some of you are parents who advocate year after year simply to have your kids engaged and challenged in school. Some of you are yourselves gifted students who experienced the ups and downs of school life. I would love to hear your stories.

Remember, colliding with a bar set too low does nothing but bruise your shins and make it harder to walk...