Baby-boomer parents with nearly 26 million children and more on the way--are looking for new and creative ways to help their youngsters develop and achieve their full potential. They want practical ideas for activities to do at home and authoritative advice on how to get the most out of their children's schools. Illustrations throughout.

Ann Hulbert’s in-depth exploration of the lives of sixteen extraordinary children over the course of the past century casts new light on America’s current obsession with early achievement. The figures she profiles include math genius Norbert Wiener, founder of cybernetics; two girls whose fiction and poetry stirred debate in the 1920s; the movie superstar Shirley Temple; the African-American pianist and composer Philippa Schuyler; the chess champion Bobby Fischer; computer pioneers and “prodigious savants” with autism; and musical prodigies, present and past. Hulbert probes the changing roles of parents and teachers as well as of psychologists and a curious press. Above all, she delves into the feelings of the prodigies themselves, whose stories so intriguingly raise hopes about untapped human potential and questions about how best to nurture it.

With contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of expert contributors, this is the first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius, a topic that endlessly provokes and fascinates. The first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius with contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of experts Covers the origins, characteristics, careers, and consequences of genius with a focus on cognitive science, individual differences, life-span development, and social context Explores individual genius, creators, leaders, and performers as diverse as Queen Elizabeth I, Simón Bolívar, Mohandas Gandhi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, John William Coltrane, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Martha Graham. Utilizes a variety of approaches—from genetics, neuroscience, and longitudinal studies to psychometric tests, interviews, and case studies—to provide a comprehensive treatment of the subject

Angeline could read before she was old enough to turn the pages of a book, and she mastered the piano without a single lesson. But being so clever doesn't make life easy for Angeline. This charming book is a quirky celebration of fathers, teachers, being yourself and finding happiness in unexpected places.

Offers advice for parents of gifted children, covering expectations, parental responsibilities, the value of creativity, education, specific subjects, and unique groups.

Genius is not just about intelligence and aptitude, it's also a word that embodies our inner soul, nature, or character. In this illuminating book, a former principal and father shares heartwarming stories and wise advice that offers a rare insight into children and the process of education. The Genius in Every Child celebrates the moments in the lives of children, their parents, and their teachers. The stories of unique characters in action illustrate some of the principles of education and the disciplines we need to be good stewards of our children’s character and intellect. The vignettes provide both delight and enjoyment in the miracle of it all, and perspective and solace in the difficulty of it all, encouraging parents and teachers to work hand-in-hand. This book urges parents to focus on the long run, entrusting the trials, struggles, and sufferings of the short run to the kids. It proposes a shift in focus from test scores to enthusiasm, from perfect behavior to learning from mistakes, from measuring up to making something of yourself, from independence to interdependence, from goodness to integrity, from fear to love. The value of this experience to hundreds of children, parents, and teachers derives from the depth of Rick Ackerly’s perception and the subtlety of his understanding. He offers perspective and guidance on a wide range of challenges faced by parents of today’s school-aged children, including: self-confidence, discipline, boundary-setting, building character, integrity, taking responsibility, facing challenges, handling disappointment, peer pressure, reading, testing, homework, academic achievement, failure, and success. [Excerpt] Mr. Rick's Words of Wisdom Children need teachers at school and parents at home. Failure is at least as powerful an educator as success. Kids need consequences and they need forgiveness We put our kids at risk by trying to engineer their success. Our children need us to have confidence in them. The core of building character is taking responsibility. If we are open to the surprise, we can let them educate us.

Afrikan children are naturally precocious and gifted. They begin life with a "natural head start". However, their natural genius is too frequently underdeveloped and misdirected. In this volume, the author surveys the daily routines, child-rearing practices, parent-child interactions, games and play materials, parent-training and pre-school programs which have made demonstrably outstanding and lasting differences in the intellectual, academic and social performance of Black children.