Issuu

No. 1 Fall 2018

Not all great minds think alike

Discovering 2e everywhere

Educational Stories from Around the World From Parents to Champions | Individualizing for the Twice-Exceptional Learner My Story, My School | The Challenges of Identification | How to Create a 2e Movement

2eNews.com A publication about 2e in a world of cognitive diversity 2eNews.com and Variations2e magazine provide readers with high-level information and perspectives about twice-exceptional (2e) education and cognitive diversity. We cover a broad range of topics that are essential for all educators, parents, and professionals.

As a subscriber, you will receive: • Full access to 2eNews.com

• Monthly updates direct to your inbox • Variations magazine, fall & spring 2e

• Access to the ever-expanding 2e archives

CONTRIBUTORS Join the conversation Do you work with 2e students and have insights about research, theory, and best practices? Are you a parent of a 2e child with an informative or inspiring story to tell? Are you a 2e student who wants to tell your story? We welcome contributions from writers with experience and insights about twiceexceptional and neurodiverse populations.

We look forward to sharing your stories with the international 2e community. For editorial inquiries, send an email to info@2enews.com

• Advance notice of upcoming 2e events • Access to top researchers in the field

An annual subscription is just $35.

We accept all major credit cards via Stripe. An annual subscription is just $35. Ask about specialall pricing We accept majorfor credit cards via Stripe. organizations. Ask about special pricing for organizations.

BRIDGES 2e MEDIA

CONTENTS 02 Letter from the Editor 03 Note from the Publisher 04 Discovering 2e around the World

PUBLISHER Carl Sabatino

MANAGING EDITOR Chris Wiebe ART DIRECTOR Heather Lembcke EDITORS Jon Baum Stuart Matranga

06 Australia Helping Teachers Reach 2e Students 10 Chile The Challenges of Identification

14 Spain The Making of Trisquel International

18 The Netherlands Transforming Teachers into 2e Specialists

20 Hawai’i Individualized Learning for the 2e Learner

24 New York What Kind of Curriculum Works with 2e Kids?

CONSULTANTS Patti Mangan Robin Schader

WEB PRODUCTION Jon Baum

SUBSCRIPTIONS Garrett Peabody memberships@2news.com 2enews.com

Photo by: Carl A. Sabatino

29 Bagatelles

32 Sea Cliff, New York: A 2e Village

36 Seeking 2e Support? The Cloud Reigns

38 2e Newsletter: Founders’ Dreams Come True 41 Book Reviews: Smart Books for Smart Kids 42 The Origins of a Field

48 Where Necessity Can Lead…

ABOUT THE COVER 2e is everywhere, even at a lifeguard station on Waikiki Beach. In addition to its scenic coastlines, Hawai’i is home to Assets School, which serves gifted students and students with dyslexia. An article on Assets’ personalized learning program, Flex, can be found on page 20. For more information email info@assets-school.net

Letter from the Editor

Those who are fortunate enough to have twiceexceptional students in their lives are well acquainted with variations. They are budding artists, scientists, engineers, creative writers, computer programmers, and scholars. They are consumed by the world around them, learning everything there is to know about one thing, then leaving it behind to learn everything there is to know about another.

They take things apart and make improvements when they put them back together again. They write novels and treatises. They create precocious works of art that reveal a wisdom and intuition far exceeding their chronological age. They may be prolific in their area of gifts and flounder in areas outside their strengths. Their experiences and successes in classrooms often pale in comparison to their own imaginations and intellectual capacities. Though the passions and achievements of 2e students vary, what they share in common are challenges that can estrange them from a world unaware of their special needs and extraordinary potentials.

In the last decade there has been an explosion of research that explains variations in brain structures of human beings. In a 2014 paper, Jenny Gu and Ryota Kanai contend that brain architecture, which is linked to genetic and environmental factors, can account for variability in behaviors and cognitive ability, as well as mental and physical health. Gu and Kanai’s review of the literature shows that structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques have enabled modern neuroscientists to link a wide array of human behaviors to differences in brain morphology, grey matter, white matter, and other brain anatomy — differences that can impact factors as disparate as working memory, sensitivity to pain, political orientation, and moral values. With billions of brain cells communicating across trillions of synapses, it is no wonder that human beings have as many variations as they do.

Our inaugural issue features articles about twiceexceptional educators and schools from around the world. This issue also includes a piece written by Dr. Susan Baum, whose career in 2e education spans more than 40 years. Her article chronicles the history and origins of twice-exceptional education from early-1900s Europe to the present day (see page 42). Its sprawling and deeply informed portrayal of the field underscores the significance and importance of the 2e movement.

At its core, Variations2e is a celebration of twiceexceptional individuals, as well as the parents, educators, and other professionals who devote their lives to turning 2e students’ feelings of estrangement into confidence, efficacy, and self-realization. Coinciding with the release of Variations2e, we have also launched 2e News.com, the next generation of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, which publishers Mark Bade and Linda Neumann started 15 years ago (see article on page 38).

We at Variations2e and 2eNews.com are grateful for this opportunity to continue Mark and Linda’s important work, carrying on a publication that means so much to the 2e community. We also are ever grateful to you, our readers and subscribers, for continuing to engage with us and one another to further the cause of 2e education. Sincerely,

Chris Wiebe Managing Editor 2e News Advisory Board Ellen Rosen Susan G. Assouline Susan Baum Paul Beljan Dan Peters Kathi Kearney Deirdre Lovecky Marlo Payne Thurman Meredith Warshaw Kim Busi Linda Silverman

A Note from the Publisher

...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet Juliet’s memorable line from the second act of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet might be useful when thinking about 2e and other “names.” Shakespeare seems to suggest that the names of things do not really impact what they actually are unless we choose to make it so. A name is just a label to distinguish one thing from another. It has no intrinsic worth but that which we give it. Juliet reminds us that a name is just a name. Twice-exceptional students go by many names: 2e, bright & quirky, neurodiverse, cognitively diverse, uniquely gifted, high ability & learning disabled, and many more. We choose the term that pleases our ear, tickles our fancy, or aligns best with our intellectual biases. But we do these extraordinary children a disservice when our need to define and label them eclipses our mission to educate them. We know there are thousands of children around the world for whom standardized education simply misses the mark. We know even the most well-intentioned

research-based programs fall short, especially when superimposed over large populations without detailed consideration of neuro-cognitive complexities. And, most importantly, we know we share a passion to work in this critical educational space to help students discover their intrinsic worth, cultivate their gifts and talents, and create names for themselves.

As we engage one another in conversations online, in person, and in print, let’s celebrate the extraordinary Variations2e in people, practices, contexts, cultures, and names that comprise our diverse local and global educational communities.

Sincerely,

Carl A. Sabatino Publisher

Discovering 2e around the world

2e is everywhere — from the East Coast of the United States to the coast of South America, from the island continent of Australia to the Netherlands on the southern edge of the North Sea. The articles in this section show the perspectives and achievements of forwardthinking educators and scholars whose work shares a singular mission: developing the talents, intellects, and potentials of twice-exceptional students. Their stories originate in a cathartic discovery of a unique population of learners with complex needs. For some, encountering a 2e student changed the course of their lives, even before the words “twice” and “exceptional” were paired in their vocabulary.

In one story, the parent of a 2e child reflects on her own formative years, discovering her own twice-exceptionality and opening a school to provide students with the learning opportunities and experiences that she never had. In another, the director of a teacher training institute recognized the need to equip educators with special skills to teach 2e students, bolstering her own program offerings in response. In these stories we often see the right article or the right book falling into the right hands at the right time. We also see serendipitous meetings between pioneers of 2e education and the teachers and parents who are searching for ways to provide experiences that support students’ needs while developing their talents and gifts. Each story that follows is a testament to the importance of community and lifelong learning among educators. We deeply appreciate the willingness of these authors to share their stories with our passionate community of readers. In future editions, we expect to see more stories from remarkable people doing remarkable things around the world.