The North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented is pleased to host a screening of the new documentary film,

2e: Twice Exceptional. A conversation with the film’s director,

Tom Ropelewski, will follow the screening.

Thursday, March 5 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Grand Pavilion Ballroom Embassy Suites 460 N Cherry St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

This event is FREE and open to the public.

2e: Twice Exceptional Director’s Statement

As the parent of a “twice-exceptional” teenager (he’s intellectually gifted – that’s the first exception – but with a learning difference – ADHD – that’s the second), I know first-hand about the challenges of trying to understand and nurture a child who at one moment seems wise beyond his years and the next can throw a tantrum suitable to a nine-year-old. I know the heartache of speaking with school officials who acknowledged that my son was brilliant but unmanageable.

But I also know the thrill of being in the presence a unique and lively mind, one that has little patience for a three-minute pop song but can sit through the entirety of Wagner’s Ring cycle and discuss it excitedly afterward. To this day, he’s never seen the Star Wars trilogy; at age seven he got through about ten minutes of Episode 4 before turning off the TV and running to his room to start building his own Imperial Fleet.

I admit my son’s a challenge, but why can’t everyone see the same brilliant kid I see? Why do they always focus on the problems instead of the gifts? And why can’t my son just go with the flow once in a while? Why does he always have to make everything so hard on himself by insisting on doing things his own way?

The simple answer is that that his brain is “wired” differently. Basic executive skills (like remembering to turn in his homework on time) that so come easily to other children are impossible for him. But studying graduate-level molecular genetics is a piece of cake.

Although the concept of twice-exceptionality has evolved over the past half-century, I hadn’t heard of it until I discovered Bridges Academy. I had no idea that there was a small but passionate network of educators around the country who were developing curricula that focused on the strengths of these unique students while also helping them address their challenges. Most importantly, they were helping these students identify and hone their talents and passions. They were defining them by their strengths – what they can do, often brilliantly – instead of by their weaknesses, which was the pre-dominant approach of the American public school system.

No federal agency or organization currently gathers statistics about giftedness, but the National Association of Gifted Children estimates that there are approximately three million school children – about 5-7% of the student population -- “capable of high performance” and “in need of services or activities not normally provided by the school.“ Almost all funding decisions regarding gifted education are generated at the state and local level. While “No Child Left Behind” was designed to address students performing below proficient levels, gifted children – and especially the twice-gifted – are usually left out in the cold.

It is my hope that 2e: Twice Exceptional will expand the national dialogue about twice exceptional education and shed light on educators who are developing insightful, effective programs to engage these idiosyncratic kids in a system that has often failed them.

Tom Ropelewski, Producer/Director

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