Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994                   TAG: 9410060023
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

GIFTED KIDS NEED MORE CHALLENGES, AUTHOR TELLS TEACHERS

In her opening presentation, Winebrenner gave an example of a boy in one of her previous classes who had written an exceptional story for his class. She raved about the piece, and gave the boy an A+ with lots of smiley faces and exclamation points. Later, the boy's mother complained that her son was bored. She told Winebrenner that her son had written the story as an afterthought, in only 12 minutes, on the morning the assignment was due.

Winebrenner called that the "12-minute A."

"The kid who gets high praise for something that has taken him little effort, does not learn," she said to the group of kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers. "We need to provide meaningful choices that will make even the most unmotivated gifted child respond."

Winebrenner also tried to dispel the myths many people have about gifted children and special-needs children, saying that all children are labeled from an early age.

"These kids have been taught differently the moment they became labeled as special [education] or gifted," she said. "I'm in favor of eliminating all labels."

Winebrenner's book helps teachers devise daily assignments that allow children of all capabilities to work on the same assignments but at their own paces, rather than singling out the gifted students.

"We must use strategies that allow gifted kids to identify themselves," Winebrenner said. "Let them set their own goals and learn from them."

Winebrenner, who has lived most of her life in Milwaukee, has become a well-known speaker on gifted education throughout the country. She is married with five grown children and three grandchildren.