Dr. Gallagher at Yunasa West in Colorado

Shelagh Gallagher wears many hats 鈥� so many, in fact, that she has more great ideas than time to realize them. She is a Yunasa , an NAGC award-winning curriculum and consultant, a recruitment and program consultant for Learning Center in China,听 an author, a professor, a conference keynote speaker and presenter, and mother to 20-year-old 鈥渓ight of my life鈥� son Colin. A self-described 鈥渃urriculum wonk,鈥� Shelagh has naturally gravitated toward designing courses that 鈥渂ecome an apprenticeship 鈥� not a place where you just learn facts.鈥�

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Shelagh Gallagher for her first-hand take on problem-based learning (PBL) curricula, her work with 优蜜视频 and boccone dolche 鈥� her favorite pastry recipe.

How did you become interested in pursuing gifted education and pedagogy as a career field?

鈥淚 entered into my graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill thinking I would be a counseling psychologist for gifted and talented students 鈥� like Patti Gatto-Walden, another Yunasa Senior Fellow.鈥� That all changed, however, when her studies and connections led her down a circuitous path of 鈥渆xposure I鈥檝e had to diverse people and perspectives on gifted education. It really had more to do with the programs and mentors I ended up working with.鈥� Her first point of contact was June Maker, who focused on deep instruction and emphasized the importance of questioning and building lower-to-higher order thinking in lessons. Dr. Gallagher then spent time at Confratute with Sandra Kaplan, who focused on differentiated curriculum, and depth and complexity. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Gallagher took a position at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, whose mission of helping students become problem finders, rather than problem solvers, resonated with her daily during her three years there. She was then hired by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, during the early years of her development of the integrated curriculum model. 鈥淚t was a winding path that led me to problem-based learning and ultimately investing so much of my career in it, but it鈥檚 a spot that makes sense to me. Now I balance my interest in the psychology of giftedness with curriculum, and really, the two blend perfectly.听 One is the study of gifted students鈥� unique qualities, and the other is creating curriculum to help develop those qualities into a capacity for deeper insight into the world.鈥�

Dr. Gallagher鈥檚 father, Dr. James J. Gallagher, was an international leader in both special education and gifted education. In the 1970s, James Gallagher was the chief architect in the development of the Individualized Education Program (I.E.P.) and created a national framework for early childhood special education. Throughout his career, and upon his death in 2014, James Gallagher was heralded as an early and influential leader in the field of gifted education, with contributions ranging from research to policy, and even his own curriculum unit on leadership.

What is it that particularly inspires you within the field of Gifted education?

Simply put, Dr. Gallagher loves good curriculum: 鈥淚 love the idea of putting that in front of kids. High-quality curriculum,鈥� she laments, 鈥渋s something we need more of. There is still a lot of work to do to create a national infrastructure for gifted education and curriculum 鈥� particularly for minority and low-income students. Our work is far from finished.鈥�

Beginning in 2015, Dr. Gallagher joined 优蜜视频鈥檚 public policy consortium. With the group, Dr. Gallagher supported the idea of 优蜜视频 working with nationally-recognized polling firms to create a poll to determine America鈥檚 opinions regarding gifted education in the United States. 优蜜视频 President Betsy Jones and Dr. Gallagher co-authored a report on the survey results titled America Agrees: Public Attitudes Towards Gifted Education. 鈥淭he new policy initiative has been a very rewarding experience. It鈥檚 been a great opportunity to work with Betsy on the America Agrees report,鈥� she said. Dr. Gallagher and 优蜜视频 staff shared these findings at the annual National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Advocacy and Leadership conference in Washington D.C. this month, and both she and Betsy presented an extended analysis of the findings at the NAGC annual conference in Minneapolis in November 2018. To read the full report, click .

Why did you decide to focus on PBL curriculum?

鈥淚鈥檝e always been a fan of Jerome Bruner and inquiry-based education. Howard Barrows鈥� PBL model was based directly on Bruner鈥檚 philosophy. The idea that it鈥檚 discovery-based, that it reveals to students the structure of the discipline, and that it focuses on leading students into significant content from an expert鈥檚 point of view has always excited me.鈥�

When I ask Dr. Gallagher where she gets ideas for new PBL curriculum, she doesn鈥檛 skip a beat: 鈥淔ortunately 鈥� or not 鈥� the world is filled with problems. There is no end to the possibilities to create curriculum 鈥� often ripped from current or historic headlines.鈥� All of her PBL curricula are fact-based and rooted in real-world application: 鈥淭he world is my resource and I love how students can tackle actual problems to solve.鈥� Anytime she needs inspiration, she considers what would make a child鈥檚 eyes open wider or what would 鈥渆xpand the vistas of their understanding of the world.鈥�

Do you have any new curriculum on the horizon?

A hearty laugh breaks out. 鈥淥h, I always have ideas percolating; however nothing official I can announce. I can tell you that I have 2-3 curricula that I鈥檓 dying to write. Hopefully, I鈥檒l find time to tackle them soon.鈥�

What do you love most about working with 优蜜视频 and Yunasa?

鈥淵unasa is such a special place 鈥� and truly one of the highlights of my year. I love having contact with the kids, and I love the work we do with the kids to ground them and give them a sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence. I experience them having such a sense of opening during the week. I love the colleagues I work with while I鈥檓 there.鈥�

Dr. Gallagher with (from left) Yunasa Fellows Dan Tichenor, Amy Gaessar, Patty Gatto-Walden, and Michael Piechowski

What are some fun facts you think people would be interested to know about you?

鈥淚 paid my way through graduate school as a professional pastry chef, first at a high-end Southern-style restaurant, then at a gourmet retail store.鈥� (Here, I can鈥檛 help but picture Dr. Gallagher in another hat: a chef鈥檚 hat.) When I ask her what her favorite pastry to make was, she didn鈥檛 hesitate: 鈥�Boccone dolche, which is Italian for 鈥榮weet mouthful.鈥� It鈥檚 comprised of three layers of meringue, in between which are a layer of chocolate, a layer of whipped cream, and a layer of strawberries.鈥� Gallagher also sings in her church choir, which feeds her need to keep music a part of her life.

Her son, Colin, spent seven summers as a Yunasa camper in Michigan, enabling her to witness the transformative power of Yunasa and its programming in her own child. In 2018, Colin served as a counselor at Yunasa West and Yunasa Michigan and will return in this role in 2019.

In Fall 2018, 优蜜视频鈥檚 Academy program introduced Shelagh Gallagher curriculum into its course offerings with Ferret it Out: A Problem about Endangered Species and Animal Ecosystems, a course that is also running this spring due to popular demand. This summer, Academy is offering three Shelagh Gallagher curriculum courses: Black Death, The Penguin Predicament: A Problem about Animal Habitat and Survival, and It鈥檚 Electrifying! An Exploration in Water-Based Alternative Energy.

For a full list of Summer Academy classes, please click .

All of Dr. Gallagher鈥檚 curricula is available to preview and purchase online through .

Your child is emotional. Anxious. Melting down. Telling you that you鈥檙e the worst parent. Ever. Not in so many words, necessarily. But still. You know that you鈥檙e the worst parent. Ever.

鈥淗ow can such a smart kid behave this way?鈥� you wonder. 鈥淗ow did I screw up so badly?鈥澨�

I hear this often听from parents of gifted children. Here鈥檚 what I tell them:

1. Gifted kids are EMOTIONAL. Their passionate听natures can be as large as their intellects. You can respect their emotions while setting boundaries around inappropriate behavior. They鈥檒l be calmer if they know that you鈥檙e compassionate and听in charge.

2. Helping your children contain emotion is different from repressing or denying those feelings. Containment is useful, especially when you鈥檙e out in public places where screeching will be frowned upon. They can visualize a beautiful object or a cabinet or a tree or whatever their creative minds can dream up that will lovingly hold their emotions when it鈥檚 inappropriate to let them flail about. A great听resource for visualizations is .

3. Because smart kids are very perceptive, little things that others don鈥檛 notice will affect them. That includes the sounds of people chewing or the scent of your detergent. They鈥檙e not neurotic. They鈥檙e sensitive. They鈥檒l also be finely tuned in to you. They鈥檒l know when you鈥檙e worrying about their grades and pretending that you鈥檙e not worrying about their grades. It鈥檚 often best to confess the truth.

4. If we鈥檙e talking about 15 year old girls (more or less) and their moms, don鈥檛 ignore the awesome power of hormones. Let us all give hormones our utmost respect. They will win every time. Sometimes all you听can do is ride the wave or听go read a good book. (or visit your naturopath, acupuncturist or doctor)

5. Recognize when you start channeling your parents. This is not usually helpful. If you find that your mother鈥檚 criticism is coming out of your mouth or your father鈥檚 anger is simmering below the surface, consider . A good therapist can help you dig your own voice out from under the rubble.

6. Avoiding will be hard if your children think faster than you do. Use the 鈥淟et me think about it and I鈥檒l get back to you鈥� method. Give yourself time to make decisions so听you don鈥檛 feel pressured. It鈥檒l be easier for everyone to stay calm. Including you. Remember that听your child will feel safer if you鈥檙e in charge.

7. You may be a problem solver and action oriented. When your children are听in pain, it鈥檚 hard to not want to stop the pain immediately. Instead, start listening. Reflect back what you hear. Validate feelings. Ask them if they want your help problem solving. If you鈥檙e listening well, they can often come up with their own solutions. At first, this may feel awkward and contrived. Explain to your kids what you鈥檙e trying to do and they鈥檒l be patient with you. You may think that you鈥檙e already listening and that it鈥檚 not working. Ask your children if they think you鈥檙e listening and then believe them when they tell you that you aren鈥檛. (That said, set limits on how long you listen if your child tends to go on and on and on.)

8. If your own childhood was less than ideal, you might lose patience when your child is freaking out, especially if you were never allowed to complain, cry or fall apart. Give yourself some grace around your reactivity. Find a way to allow the child in you to express her or himself. A journal can be a great way to safely complain, cry or fall apart. Then again, if you need more help, look for some good resources or seek out听your friendly local psychotherapist.

9. There are听no perfect parents. Your mistakes are an opportunity to show your child how to learn from mistakes, how to understand that a mistake is not the same as a failure, and that even failure is an opportunity for growth.

Your child is emotional. Anxious. Melting down. Gifted. And so are you.

This post originally appeared on and has been reprinted with permission.

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How do you manage your emotions and your sensitivities听while raising your super intense super smart children? How do you raise听your children听without unconsciously repeating the patterns set down by your own parents?

I鈥檓 guessing that you think about this a lot. Especially at 3am when you鈥檙e desperately trying to sleep. Or when you hear your mother鈥檚 criticism spewing out of your own mouth directed at your 4-year-old. Or when you notice your father鈥檚 rage lurking behind your eyes.

Living with rainforest-minded kids when you yourself have those same traits can be overwhelming and even a tad frightening. All of that energy and sensitivity roiling around. All of your kids鈥� questions, curiosities and meltdowns flying hither and thither. Not to mention the less-than-ideal parenting you may have received. Or the judgment from other parents who think you have it easy. Or the judgment from yourself that you aren鈥檛 the perfect parent. That鈥檚 a lot to handle.

Let me give you a hug right now. For starters. You are not alone. This is not easy. Hug.

Here are some thoughts:

1. There鈥檚 a lot of empathy for you online from parents who are right there with you. You can read their experiences, guidance and resources and . Read a sampling of their blogs and bookmark your favorites. There鈥檚 also a psychologist online who has raised gifted kids. Find her .
2. Make a list of ways to to , and to find . Then DO THEM. Your kids will benefit. You know this but you still don鈥檛 do it. Am I right? Remind yourself that your will be good modeling for your kids. When you feel guilty,听tell yourself that you鈥檙e doing it for your them.
3. When you lose your cool, which you will, apologize. Your children will not be damaged irrevocably when you blow it. The apology allows your children to see that they don鈥檛 have to be perfect and that they can apologize听when they鈥檙e not perfect. Imagine how your life would be different if your parents had apologized to you for their mistakes.
4. When it comes to not of your parents,听well, it鈥檚听complicated. And depending on how dysfunctional things were, it can听feel overwhelming or impossible. As you can imagine, there鈥檚 no quick fix. But you can . You probably already have to some extent. Of course, you know I鈥檓 going to recommend if you were raised with any kind of abuse. That said, there are many creative self-help tools for you to explore. Some are: Seena Frost鈥檚 , , yoga and other , techniques, making art/ playing music, spiritual practices, and .
5. To get support for your and to find join this growing .
6. And, finally, read !听Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth to be released mid-June 2016. Along with untangling听the complexities of the rainforest mind, I describe听client cases from my counseling practice and explain听how we addressed both their childhood issues and their giftedness. There are many self-help strategies and resources included. Buy copies for听your , relatives, kids, teachers, neighbors, physician, ex-partner, mail听carrier and anyone else who might need help understanding you.

This post originally appeared on and has been reprinted with permission.

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In reading the article 鈥溾�� a few days ago, I began to reflect on and evaluate how we at 优蜜视频 invite parents to take a seat at the table.

I decided to discuss the topic with our staff. Kate Duey, a parent of 3 gifted daughters and a consultant for 优蜜视频, was in the office and had a few compelling comments about how she felt as the mother of gifted children.

She said that she did not feel particularly 鈥渋ncluded鈥� in most of the past gifted organizations in which her daughters participated. 鈥淎t one large summer program for gifted kids, I dropped my daughter off at the dorms, and that was pretty much it,鈥� Kate recalled. 鈥淣o one who administered the program was available for me to talk to. I got to talk to her dorm advisor for a few minutes that day, but that was it. When the program was over, I was to just pick her up and take her home, nothing more. I had no opportunity to speak with anyone running the program nor a way to learn about what happened while she was in attendance. I was a means of transportation more than anything.鈥� That was disconcerting for her, and this was not an isolated incident.

I wanted to see what she would say about us 鈥� after all, she is a consultant here to assist our organization. She said, 鈥淎t 优蜜视频, the parents are included in everything from the Apprenticeship presentations, to the Bradley Seminar, to talking with the staff and Fellows at Yunasa, to parent support groups, and parents are even on the Board of Directors. I even have been here when you call a parent to see how class went on Saturday or to see how a child was doing in school that week.鈥�

At 优蜜视频, we support the whole gifted child 鈥� intellectually, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Parent input is crucial. The folks that live with these darling, amazing, and sometimes frustrating little guys have ideas and questions! We know that these children do not operate in a vacuum and that their parents are the life-line to their success.

We want parents to take a seat at the table. We want them to feel involved in our organization and the ways in which we serve their children.

We know that parenting a gifted child is not easy. Other parents, and often even teachers, don鈥檛 understand what you are going through. It is difficult to find information, resources, and support to help you raise your gifted child. Your child needs support, but so do you.

Because of this, every program at 优蜜视频 has some parent component. For example:

• On the first day of , parents get to meet and learn from the Fellows, renowned professionals in the social and emotional development of gifted children.
• Parents of are invited to attend the Apprentices鈥� final presentations, in which all participants share what they have accomplished while working with their Mentor over the course of the program. A closing picnic for all hosted by 优蜜视频 staff members follows.
• Academy families are encouraged to speak with staff before or after classes. We are starting Academy Family Nights, where families have the opportunity to connect and build community. We are also using parent feedback to create new classes 鈥� parents asked for a young girls鈥� book club, so we are going to start one this winter.
• Parents of attend the annual Bradley Seminar, a weekend of community and learning.
• All of our programs solicit feedback from students and their parents. Information gleaned in these evaluations has assisted us in honing our services to better meet the changing needs of our constituency.
• 优蜜视频 staff members frequently speak with parents regarding their individual child, even if that family has not participated in one of our offerings.

But are we doing enough? Probably not.

We try to be an open resource for parents looking for support for their gifted child. We offer . We host several parent support groups throughout the year to provide support, community, and information on topics of interest to parents of gifted children. We have asked Stephanie Tolan, a Senior Fellow, to speak about her experience parenting a gifted child. We have an active social media presence 鈥� here on our blog, on , and on 鈥� all of which provide an open forum for discussion and questions.

Yet children and their parents still go unheard in the gifted community.

We want to learn, we want to help, we want each parent to feel heard and hopefully helped.

Parents of gifted children often contribute to this blog to offer . A parent of one of our program participants is currently helping with our strategic planning. We ask for parent input, and we take it seriously.

At 优蜜视频, we do advocate for gifted children in a way similar to what Lisa describes in the article, but we do our best to bring parent feedback into it. We often provide educators and other organizations with tools to serve gifted children. We do involve parents in our organization, and we believe we are supporting their needs. Our table maybe small, but it is well built.

Please know that you can always come to 优蜜视频 for support, guidance, information, and resources. We want you to have a seat at the table. We can always build a bigger table.

As an organization that dedicates itself to connecting bright minds and nurturing intellectual and personal growth, we know that parents of these bright minds are integral in this process. Please take a seat at our table.

Do you feel that parents have a seat at the table in the gifted community? Please share with us in the comment section below.

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Every gifted听person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by听highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through 优蜜视频 programs. 优蜜视频鈥檚 鈥� mentioned in this story 鈥� links gifted high school students from across the country with mentors who advance each participant鈥檚 skills through the application of knowledge and exposure to real world experiences.

Megan Prichard
优蜜视频 Apprentice at CNN in 2000
Consultant, McKinsey & Company, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Twelve years ago, Southern California teenager Megan Prichard spent two weeks of her summer break at CNN in Atlanta, Georgia. She wasn鈥檛 in Atlanta on vacation. She was taking part in the Institute for Educational Advancement鈥檚 Apprenticeship Program. Megan and seven other outstanding high school students were mentored by experienced CNN personnel in all areas of production, research, writing and editing of videos and on-line stories.

鈥淚 created a news clip for live air about an issue relevant to America鈥檚 youth,鈥� Megan explained. Because of her experience at CNN, she was asked to create a piece about youth perspectives on politics during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. 鈥淏eing at the convention and interviewing political figures about how they would address the issues facing young people was a very empowering experience.鈥�

Megan was interested in the Apprenticeship Program because it gave her a chance to have an internship at a well-known organization like CNN and offered her real world work experience at a young age.

鈥淢y Apprenticeship experience greatly expanded the way I thought about the world and my ability to shape it. I realized that, even despite my young age, I could make meaningful contributions on a national scale.鈥�

After graduating from Yale with a degree in Economics, Megan joined a boutique consulting firm that advised large endowments, such as The Gates Foundation and World Wildlife Foundation, about how to donate philanthropic money to maximize social returns.

鈥淚n my spare time, I was very interested in entrepreneurship. That fall, I won Yale鈥檚 Y2K Business Plan Competition and received seed money to start my own company. After opening and closing www.justmovedhere.com, a social networking and city guide website designed to facilitate the moving process, I went to USC Law. While in law school, I worked with the Surfrider Foundation and a transactional law firm that focused on serving start-ups. My final year of USC Law, I wrote a dissertation about corporate governance standards in Brazil. Coincidentally, the professor who supervised the paper鈥檚 childhood best friend was a partner at McKinsey S茫o Paulo. I met her while visiting Brazil to do interviews for the dissertation, and she convinced me to join McKinsey.鈥�

Megan currently is an Associate with McKinsey & Company in S茫o Paulo, Brazil. McKinsey is a global management consulting firm that acts as trusted advisers for the world鈥檚 leading businesses, governments, and institutions.

鈥淎s an Associate with McKinsey, I help clients in a wide variety of industries to solve their most complex business problems. Amongst other engagements, I have helped a heavy industrial client improve its manufacturing operations, created a growth strategy for a pharmaceutical distributor, and helped a client in the transport sector create a post-merger strategy and integrate its operations.鈥�

Megan sums up her 优蜜视频 Apprenticeship experience by saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to challenge yourself and spend a summer learning from industry leaders.鈥�

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