GIFTED IN FRANCE
January 15, 2010
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world;
the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
– George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903)
the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
– George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903)
Dear Friends,
Gifted in France wishes you and your families a very Happy New Year.
I am thrilled to announce a special guest speaker event with Dr. Wenda Sheard who will be addressing a topic that is likely to be of great interest to many bi-cultural or multicultural families living in France. GiF members have priority, but the invitation will open up to non-members as well. Please RSVP as soon as possible if you can join us.
Gifted Third Culture Children:
Strategies for Meeting Educational, Social, and Emotional Needs
Guest Speaker: Wenda Sheard, J.D., Ph.D.
Past President of SENG
Tuesday 16 February, 2010
19h30-22h00
RSVP is mandatory: deadline February 10, 2010, Space is limited (members have priority)
EMAIL: giftedinfrance@gmail.com, Subject: Gifted Third Culture Kids
(please include your cell phone/emergency numbers with your RSVP)
LOCATION: 16eme, near Radio France
COST: 5€ for members, 10€ non-members
"Striking similarities exist between gifted children and third culture children. Children in both groups experience feelings of aloneness, feelings of knowledge beyond that of their classmates, and feelings of gaps between them and their classmates. Children in both groups experience clashes between their school environment and their learning needs. Dr. Sheard will share successful strategies for meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of children who are both gifted and living away from their home country. The presentation will include time for questions."
“Originally developed by sociologist/anthropologist Ruth Hill Useem over 40 years ago (Useem, 1999; see also Pollack & Van Reken, 1999), the concept of TCK (Third Culture Kids) refers to children who have lived outside their passport country with their parents during childhood; these children have blended elements of their passport culture and the foreign culture into a third culture (Kidd & Lankenau, n.d.). Pollack and Van Reken describe the third culture as an interstitial culture, a culture between cultures.”
Wenda Sheard, J.D., Ph.D., is a U.S. attorney, teacher, and mother of three gifted children. After practicing law for nearly twenty years, she earned a Ph.D. in political science with an emphasis on education policy. From 2004-2006, Dr. Sheard lived in Hangzhou, China and taught at an international school. She's currently living near London, England and teaching at an international school. She’s the immediate past president of SENG (www.sengifted.org), a recipient of an Ohio Association for Gifted Children award, a presenter at state and national gifted conferences, and a writer of articles about gifted children, including "Lessons from our kissing cousins: third culture kids and gifted children" published in Roeper Review in 2008. She has helped teach the highly gifted portions of on-line gifted education courses and has presented at teacher in-service days
We will be making a donation to SENG as a gesture for the support and guidance they give to countless families and professionals in the US and overseas through their online publications, webinars and DVDs. Now, they are extending their support to Gifted in France with Wenda Sheard’s special guest appearance.
We hope you can join us.
Best regards,
Helen Sahin Connelly
President, GiF
giftedinfrance.blogspot.com
giftedinfrance@gmail.com
