Eva Vondráková Association for Talent and Giftedness, (Společnost pro talent a nadání – STaN) Prague, Czech Republic

 One of aims of STaN is to bring fresh wind into standing waters of our state system of education. We started 22 years before – in the 1988/89 school year.  At that time the ECHA branch was founded in previous Czechoslovakia. It happened thanks to Hana Drábková, psychologist interested in hereditability of giftedness.  Our effort consisted in improving awareness of the care of gifted children and their education. Since the very beginning we aspired to „be in the picture“ as far as the current state and new trends in GC education around the world.

 At the very beginning of our existence (1989) STaN offered its help to Ministry of Education.  We prepared several projects – namely System of the care of gifted pupils in the CR (1. in 1993, the last one in the 2001).  1990 Eva Vondrakova developed project of the Centre for Development of Giftedness.  1995, created according the Centre for Development of Giftedness the Talentcentrum was open as institution subordinated to our Ministry of Education.

There have been realized 60 STaN workdays for psychologists, teachers and parents, since September We introduce there actualities from research and practice in GC education.

We realized more than 150 Club of Parents´ meetings. Every meeting has its topic and invited guest. One of them was AFS organization: High school foreign students become members of families in host state for 1 schoolyear we invited host family from Prague and students from Germany and USA actually living in Prague.

 STaN is garant of program for gifted children in Small Owls Class realized by teacher Sonia Novotna in the Rosemarine Kindergarten, Prague 13, since 2005 year.  We cooperate on teacher training on GC education with schools and universities in the Czech Republic.  Together with the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children we organize 19.WCGTC conference, 8 – 12.August 2011 in Prague

Children in Small Owls class work on many „scientific“projects: Optical illusions, experiments in physics and chemistry Majda´s (3.5) „atlas of animals“. She is highly gifted and was unhappy at previous Kindergarten. After looking into several other Kindergartens she choosed the „Small Owls.“

Newton Course STaN in cooperation with Newton Center organizes teachers´ training in GC education. 48 hours course is accredited by Ministry of Education.

Thank you for your attention and see you soon in Prague „Up-to-date teaching“ journal in cooperation with successful enterpreneurs invited us to discussion on needed changes in education as consequences of changes in society. Hopefully this is the way how to realize changes in education more quickly and with high effectivity.