Review
Cross writes this book for a broad audience including counselors and parents of gifted kids. The value of the book is not limited to the insights of one with tremendous experience on the topic but also includes the subtle suggestion that rather than chase the elusive list of characteristics and needs that distinguish gifted students, our field should spend more time studying the lived experiences of the gifted and ask how can we work together to help these children develop into healthy and happy adults. --Dona J. Matthews,
Roeper ReviewIn
The Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Kids, Tracy Cross offers a collection of essays drawn from his columns appearing in
Gifted Child Today. With this collection, Cross shares ideas that are helpful for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted students. Additionally, Cross hopes to provide examples of how teachers, counselors, and parents can work together for the development of gifted kids. This book is a great read for teachers and counselors, but it seems particularly well-suited for parents as well. I recently recommended it to several parents in our local gifted parent organization, and they have found it to provide interesting useful insights into the daily challenges of parenting gifted kids. --Todd Kettler,
Roeper Review, Vol. 29, No. 3, March 2007
Many parents of gifted children are realizing that the social and emotional needs of their children are not being recognized or addressed in today's classrooms. Dr. Tracy Cross, one of the nation's leading experts on the psychology of gifted children, tackles this issue head-on in the completely updated and revised edition of his book. Combining personal insights and experiences with timely research, Dr. Cross presents practical suggestions and ideas for guiding and supporting the development of gifted children. Parents and teachers alike will find this to be a valuable resource as they strive to help gifted kids cope with the social and emotional challenges they face in today's changing world. --
Gifted Child Today, Vol. 29, No. 1, Winter, 2006
In
The Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Kids, Tracy Cross offers a collection of essays drawn from his columns appearing in
Gifted Child Today. With this collection, Cross shares ideas that are helpful for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted students. Additionally, Cross hopes to provide examples of how teachers, counselors, and parents can work together for the development of gifted kids. This book is a great read for teachers and counselors, but it seems particularly well-suited for parents as well. I recently recommended it to several parents in our local gifted parent organization, and they have found it to provide interesting useful insights into the daily challenges of parenting gifted kids. --Todd Kettler,
Roeper Review, Vol. 29, No. 3, March 2007
Many parents of gifted children are realizing that the social and emotional needs of their children are not being recognized or addressed in today’s classrooms. Dr. Tracy Cross, one of the nation’s leading experts on the psychology of gifted children, tackles this issue head-on in the completely updated and revised edition of his book. Combining personal insights and experiences with timely research, Dr. Cross presents practical suggestions and ideas for guiding and supporting the development of gifted children. Parents and teachers alike will find this to be a valuable resource as they strive to help gifted kids cope with the social and emotional challenges they face in today's changing world. --
Gifted Child Today, Vol. 29, No. 1, Winter, 2006
About the Author
Even as a child, Tracy L. Cross was a psychologist. When not worrying about things psychological, he was a philosopher. His earliest philosophical writings were published (Cross Publishing Company) when he was 8 years old. His fierce competitiveness and lack of talent ended his sporting days in time for college. These combinations of qualities and interests led him to value the work of Erik Erikson, Albert Bandura, and later Edmund Husserl. The not fitting in, identity formation, human agency, and lived experience of gifted students are issues that consume him four decades later.
As a consequence of these background variables, a confluence of events has led to his appointment as the Executive Director of The Indiana Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, a state-supported residential school for academically gifted adolescents, and Professor of Educational Psycholgy in Teachers College at Ball State University.
In addition to his work at the Academy, some of the other hats Dr. Cross wears today are father of four young children, husband of 20-plus years, editor of the
Gifted Child Quarterly, and soccer dad. Although his research interests have not changed significantly since he was a child, the nature of his intellectual hand-wringing has become increasingly nuanced over the years. His Ph.D. and other degrees are from the University of Tennessee where he met Larry Coleman, his friend and mentor.
