Gifted Children & Intelligence: Croydon DeMello interviews Dona Matthews (Ph.D.)
A collaborative partnership between Seeking Veritas and The Focal Thought Podcast to share original audio interviews with thought leaders as part of our commitment to viewpoint diversity
Hosted by Croydon DeMello and shared with Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions.
“All it takes is one focal thought to drastically alter the trajectory of your life for the better." - Croydon DeMello
In this episode Croydon DeMello sits down with Dona Matthews (Ph.D.) who works with children, families, and schools with a focus on giftedness and other special needs.
She was Executive Director, Millennium Dialogue on Early Child Development at the University of Toronto, and founding Director, Hunter College Center for Gifted Studies and Education at City University of New York.
Matthews has published several articles and co-authored four books:
'Being Smart about Gifted Education' (with Joanne Foster);
'The Development of Giftedness and Talent across the Life Span' (with Frances Degen Horowitz and Rena Subotnik);
'The Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education' (with Tom Balchin and Barry Hymer);
'Beyond Intelligence: Secrets for Raising Happily Productive Kids' (with Joanne Foster).
Listen to the interview below:
The Focal Thought' podcast is reproduced by SG Productions with permission as part of a collaborative partnership.
Bio: Croydon DeMello is the founder and host of the podcast The Focal Thought. The show features interviews with people who have attained mastery in various field - In his spare time he is a practicing Jazz musician and describes himself an aficionado of the culinary arts.
Croydon is the author of the book ‘All The Best In Your Life: Practical Principles Toward An Effective Life’ | Available on Amazon
This was a joy to listen to. Really appreciate how intelligence was discussed as being contextual; and loved how the relationship between environment and intelligence was explored.
Great conclusions from Dona when she discussed the need for parents to "be present in a loving, patient, dependable, warm way." I'm glad Croydon noted this is hard when parents are worried about paying bills; and I appreciated the discussion of intelligence being a by-product when several factors are being managed well. When you consider all the environmental aspects discussed, it provides enormous insight into why certain kids (and communities) may be underperforming.
Love how the discussion between Croydon and Dona flowed and all the ground it covered. And much respect to Croydon for his humility and thoughtfulness in his own parenting.