Gifted Education International

This article describes the characteristics and accomplishments of Maria Helena Novaes, one of the most creative school psychologists of Brazil. It identifies the people who influenced her and some of the factors that may have contributed to her achievements and rise to eminence. It highlights the numerous opportunities she received during her life for learning and personal growth, her enjoyment of reading and writing, as well as her leadership qualities and personal values. This article also illustrates the diversity of elements that led to the development of her talents throughout her life.

This article explores the inner world of Sylvia Ashton-Warner, a gifted woman whose writing and teaching pedagogy earned her national and international acclaim. However, the acknowledged genius of her work is not explored herein. Rather, the inner world of a creatively gifted adult is examined, with particular reference to Dabrowski’s ‘overexcitabilities’ or intensities. Through this examination we may better understand highly creative geniuses, and, as lesser mortals, perhaps learn how to better nurture their sensitive souls and foster their self-understanding and resilience so that society can reap the benefits of their creative genius.

This article chronicles the creative life of Ken McCluskey, the Dean of Education at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. He looks beyond the ivory tower and, indeed, reshapes the tower. Fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration are evident throughout the life and work of Dean McCluskey. He creates an innovative environment and uses humor in all aspects of his life. McCluskey recognizes the importance of “idea time” and guards against “group think.” His creative life can be described as a spirit of service, engaged in leveling the playing field for unengaged students and marginalized children. His work with aboriginal peoples is highlighted. For McCluskey, success will be measured in the quality of the society left behind for our grandchildren. He models a life lived through creativity.

This article unfolds the personal creative characteristics of an educator in the field of gifted education, and examines creativity as expressed in childhood and its transformation into adulthood. Dr. Erika Landau is a pioneer of gifted education in Israel, an internationally renowned scholar and educator, and the founder of the Young Persons’ Institute for the Promotion of Creativity and Excellence. The Personal Creative Characteristics Model of Treffinger and colleagues was used as a framework to analyze her creativity. The creative characteristics of openness and courage to explore ideas and listening to one’s inner voice were detected in her in childhood from her descriptions of the hardship she faced surviving in concentration camps during the Second World War. A full range of categories of creative characteristics, including generating ideas and digging into ideas, were detected in her in adulthood. Her creative characteristics in childhood were transformed in adulthood, making meaning of suffering and focusing on giving back to society, especially teaching gifted and talented children how to be creative and productive.

Transforming education or business starts with transforming one’s mind, and that inner transformation starts with opening up to—indeed welcoming—the inevitable bursts of creativity available to everyone. Sidney J Parnes, one of the world’s leading experts on creative problem-solving (CPSI), innovation and creativity, said, “I dream a dream, a vision great…my world will appreciate” (Parnes, 2004). Parnes’s life is the theme for this issue of Gifted International: Creativity Through Life. He is a lifelong researcher, author, and world-class educator who has presented thousands of seminars and courses on creativity and CPS for leaders in business, education, and government on five continents. For over 50 years, Parnes has worked in the “living laboratory” of the Creative Problem-solving Institutes sponsored by the Creative Education Foundation (CEF), which was established in Buffalo, New York.

Annemarie Roeper is a luminary in the field of gifted education. Her many contributions provide a window into the depth and breadth of her curious and creative nature. Along with her husband George, she envisioned and developed a child-centered and holistic approach to education which resulted in The Roeper School, a legendary school for gifted children. The parent letters they would send home eventually led to a premier research journal, The Roeper Review. Annemarie Roeper’s life journey was represented by her publications, which included a myriad of articles as well as several books. She was a founding member of the global awareness committees for the National Association for Gifted Children and the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. The legacy she leaves is her life story and the manner by which she transformed the challenges in her life and created opportunities for growth—she modeled wisdom in action.

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first Prime Minister of Israel, is included in Pasternak’s (2001) list of the nine most memorable leaders of the twentieth century. All of them are remembered for the reforms they initiated. Roosevelt (USA), Stalin (Russia), Castro (Cuba), and Thatcher (England) focused on social–economical changes, whereas Gandhi (India), Abdullah (Jordan), Ben-Gurion, Begin and Rabin (Israel), Nasser (Egypt), and DeGaulle (France) achieved political changes. Moreover, Ben-Gurion was assigned two titles: “one of the greatest politicians” as well as “one of the greatest Jewish leaders” (Sheffer, 1997: 583).

Eminent individuals have made significant contributions to their fields that have impacted on fundamental knowledge and practices around the world, a description that aptly describes the world-known South African paleoanthropologist and scientist, Professor Phillip Tobias. This article presents evidence from his early childhood and schooling that demonstrated his creative writing, extensive independent study, advanced achievement, autonomous research and leadership positions that characterized his range of gifted abilities. It also describes characteristics typical of the family backgrounds of research on eminent individuals and core aspects of his personality, including his humor and humility. As a core scientist who sought to uncover fossil evidence for human evolution, he was instrumental in early studies of Khoisan and Tonga ethnic communities, investigations and documentation of Australopithecus africanus and early hominids. His academic and cultural legacies are depicted in his wide interests: his love of creative writing, teaching, and research and the search for truth and social justice.