Psychologist Explains how to Sniff Out a Genius

Hello, friends.

Is your child an idiot? If your answer is "yes", then maybe you aren't that bright yourself (plus, you might be a jerk). Take a closer look at your kid. No really, look at him/her. He or she may be have a stellar intellect that surpasses even yours. James T. Webb is a clinical psychologist and author of Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults.* And he believes that, these days, searching for a "gifted" child can be difficult. The New York Times did an interview with him. Do you want a sample of it? Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway:

Q. Why would gifted children be tagged as having psychological disorders?

A. Behaviors of many gifted children can resemble those of, say, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Most teachers, pediatricians and psychologists aren't trained to distinguish between the two. Most gifted kids are very intense, pursuing interests excessively. This often leads to power struggles, perfectionism, impatience, fierce emotions and trouble with peers. Many gifted kids have varied interests, skipping from one to the other - a trait often misinterpreted as A.D.H.D.

*Note: Link is in PDF format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to see it.

Governor's plot to take over schools foiled

Moonman is back!

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wants power over 11 failing baltimore schools, but he can't have it. State senators overrided a veto-made by the Maryland governor-that snatches the schools away from city government and hands it to state legislators. The Baltimore Sun said " a Democrat-dominated push" the veto-and several other vetos made by the governor-last week.


Here's the play-by-play, courtesy of the Sun:

The schools issue dominated much of the final day, however, and lobbying was frantic on both sides until just minutes before the vote.

Mayor Martin O'Malley stood at the top of the State House steps, approaching senators as they entered the building to make their decisions.

"Thank you for defending our kids' progress," he told Sen. Ralph M. Hughes, a Baltimore Democrat.

Then, as senators filed into the chamber, O'Malley, schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland and other Baltimore officials took seats front and center in the balcony to watch as lawmakers, with little discussion, voted 30-17 to override Ehrlich's veto - one vote more than required to restore the moratorium.

Ehrlich's response? "I've never seen people celebrate so much over complete dysfunction," he said.

My question would be "what now?" I'm not entirely sure whether or not giving state or federal government complete power over dilapidated schools is a good thing. There's a reason why Ehrlich try to seize power of the Baltimore schools. If he won, would Maryland's state legislators do any better than the city government? After winning the battle-but not the war- Copeland said, "We already know what to do, and we're delighted the override gave us the opportunity to do it." Can they do it? Let's hope so. Thousands of children's futures are at stake.

Sorry for the absense, folks

The past two weeks have been a pain in the you-know-what.

I had a lot of grad school work to attend to.

But fear not, ladies and gentlemen.

Moon Man will be back very soon.