Sep 14, 2022
In this episode, we’re talking to Kintara Phillips about navigating schools and education with gifted kids.
We ask Kintara to answer all of those questions you have about how to talk to your child’s teacher, what questions to ask a new school, when is it time to move on, what kind of education is your child going to need and so much more… there was so much we have split it in two and released Part 1 this week and next week we’ll publish Part2!
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Memorable Quote
“From a teacher perspective… I read posts and I read comments that parents are making about teachers and it hurts my heart. And I get it from both sides. I can see that these parents are tired and they don’t know what to do and at the same time it hurts my heart for my colleagues who I know if they knew better, they would do better. And I know they don't know better and it's not their fault [they are not trained in gifted].
But I also recognize there are teachers out there who don't want to know better and they don't care. And that's also the reality and I'm embarrassed for those people. I apologize to parents on behalf of people I don't even know who have had to encounter that.
So I think, with my teacher head on, I do ask parents to consider when you are going into these kinds of meetings, go in without your armour, go in expecting that the teachers probably won't know a lot and go in and give your teachers a bit of grace and that where the goal is this shared understanding.
This wanting to learn together, not us and them, not school and home. This team around our young people, we're all part of it…. I always, anytime anything's a bit awkward or uncomfortable or could potentially be that conflict kind of conversation, I always go in and remind myself that I need to understand the other person’s why.” – Kintara Phillips
Resources
- Emergence Education Website
- Emergence Education Facebook
- Emergence Education Instagram
- James & Susie
Youtube Video
- “An allegory about what happens to smart kids who skate through elementary school, and don't get opportunities to develop persistence, grit, and the true self-confidence that comes from knowing how to tackle a genuine challenge.”
- Heather’s Podcast – what happens when you don’t learn how to learn - #033 [GTN Awareness Week] #ActuallyGifted Adult with Heather Cox
- State Gifted Associations – Australia (AAEGT) - USA
- GERRIC
Bio
Kintara Phillips worked as a Secondary English teacher for 21 years across government, independent and catholic schools. After a principal suggested that her ‘gut feeling’ about extending the gifted students in her class needed to be backed by some evidence – always the overachiever, she completed a Masters in Gifted Education at UNSW in 2016 and presented said evidence at the International Gifted Conference later the same year (and yes, her gut feeling was right). Leaving the classroom in 2021, frustrated by the restrictive system and desperate to find a way to shake things up, she now finds herself almost halfway through a Graduate Diploma in Psychology and plans to complete honours then a Masters in Educational Psychology sometime before she turns 50.
Earlier this year, Kintara was formally diagnosed with ADHD, confirming her place in the2e community and further strengthening her passion for supporting young people and their families, but also educating teachers to be able to provide better inclusions and educational outcomes for gifted and 2e learners. Longer term she hopes to blend her years of classroom experience and psychology training to bridge the gap between schools, psychologists and gifted education and would love nothing more than to see her name mentioned when parents ask about for recommendations for a psychologist experienced with giftedness in the future.
Kintara currently teaches in the Masters of Teaching at two Victorian Universities, and hopes that by employing the butterfly effect and mentioning gifted learners frequently, even if it’s not in the course outline, to the future teacher’s she works with, that perhaps a little shake up may occur in schools sooner than later.
In all her spare time, Kintara and her teacher bestie, have started to build and nurture a small business specifically positioned to support gifted students navigate school, help families plan and advocate and work in schools with teachers providing professional learning opportunities that build understanding of gifted learning needs.
Hit play and let’s get started!