Basic Tips For A Better Gifted Advocacy

By Linda Evans


Advocacy is something a person or group does in order to influence decisions and outcomes in a particular cause or policy. There are different ways of doing this such as publishing research, conducting exit polls, media campaigns and public speaking. Advocates are people which provides advocacy support to the ones needing it and they also use social media.

People can choose one of the many causes or policies they want to become an advocate about. One of them is the gifted advocacy where you can become a voice for gifted children so they could receive the programs they need. Here are some basic tips you could follow in becoming a better advocate for this particular cause.

Teachers and school administrators are professionals with a clear line of hierarchical authority being followed by the district. Learn this order and start talking with those at the beginning of this order and when it does not work out then politely ask who is the next one you can talk with. Letting them know you will talk with someone higher to be courteous is important.

Professionals tend to have their own set of languages commonly used in their profession and educators are no exception. Learn what these words and phrases so you can better understand them and help others understand as well. Your communication would be better if they do not need to explain to you what they are saying.

Your words must be chosen carefully as some may have a strong emotional or negative response with what you would say. Certain terminologies that are previously fashionable may not be fashionable now and some other words are to be avoided as well. Try using terms which have a more neutral tone instead so they will receive well your words.

Effort, time and patience are what it takes to achieve these and a year may even be lost due to these limitations. Strategies for short term might be given before implementing real reforms which discourages some parents. Others would even transfer their children instead to another school than wait a year or more for improvement.

Schools tend not to act due to their concerns on what will the gifted child be doing the following year if they are accelerated. They would not be sure what would become of the future education the student will have so they delay the things to be done. This should not be allowed so the needs of these students should immediately met.

Document all the communications you had with the educators and using email is the most efficient way of doing this. This is because when you need to communicate with the next higher authority then you can just forward all the email history you had before. It would save you some time in doing this and everyone would be accountable on their role in educating gifted children.

The luxury of editing before sending the email messages is there also specially when the topic is emotionally charged. Let someone else read your message first or when you cooled down your emotions, reread them and check its tone. Focus on the point you mainly want them to understand.




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