From the editor's desk.

Welcome to the final issue of volume 25 of the Roeper Review. This issue continues the celebration of the journal completing its 25th year. As part of the recognition of this accomplishment, an homage to Ruthan Brodsky--the journal's founding (and 16 year) editor is presented. Ruthan's work on behalf of the journal cannot be overvalued. The homage is an attempt to show appreciation and recognition of her many contributions. To that end, past members of the Roeper Review Editorial Advisory Board wrote letters on her behalf. Portions of the letters have been included.

A second part of the celebration is the republishing of an important article on gifted girls appearing in the very first issue of the journal (1978 1(1)). The article was written by Annemarie Roeper and was entitled "The Young Gifted Girl: A Contemporary View." A significant claim of Annemarie's that still has profound implications for today's gifted girls and women is that "they have to break into the men's world in order to fulfill themselves and often to support themselves. Therefore, in a realistic way at this point the only definable model for the gifted girl is still the man." Similar notions exist in the writings of critical theorists who claim that the numerous marginalized groups of society are expected to live their lives being accountable to the standards and characteristics of the dominant groups of society. How have 25 years of cultural evolution and scholarship in gifted education affected the veracity of this notion?

In "Gifted Girls, Twenty-Five Years Later: Hopes Realized and New Challenges Found" Sally M. Reis responds to Annemarie's piece. Her article addresses the question "Why has the realization of talent in women cost so dearly and why does it remain difficult for the talents and gifts of women with high potential to be realized today?" Sally attends to specific issue identified by Annemarie, while at the same time reframing how the experiences and behaviors of gifted girls and adults should be treated.

Next in this special issue of the journal is an interview with Mary Frasier--a long-term leader in the field. The interview was conducted by Darlene Martin with assistance by Jaime Garcia, both former students of Mary's. The interview is part of an ongoing series of interviews of significant figures in the field. As always, Mary is insightful and thoughtful.

A new section of the journal being (re)introduced in this issue is called Point-Counterpoint. The section will attempt to encourage authors to write on topics of interest in the field. The inaugural question being addressed is "Is There a Gifted-Child Pedagogy?" Laurence J. Coleman is up first with his response entitled "Gifted-Child Pedagogy: Meaningful Chimera?" The Counterpoint to this question was provided by Sandra Kaplan in her piece "Is There a Gifted Pedagogy?" These two giants in the field provide good insight for others to consider. Comments on these pieces are welcome.

This special issue also contains four thoughtful articles. In the first piece, Sherry K. Bain, Shawn J. Bourgeois and Danielle N. Pappas follow with their article entitled "Linking Theoretical Models to Actual Practices: A Survey of Teachers in Gifted Education." They conducted a regional survey of teachers of gifted and talented (G/T) programs, grades kindergarten through nine, in a southeastern state. The authors found that teachers claimed awareness of several models of intervention but varied in the use of these models. This study reveals a lack of the application of formal theories in the classroom and illustrates the ramifications for how this fact might adversely affect teaching practices in gifted education.

In the next article "Evaluating State Funding for Gifted Education Programs," Bruce D. Baker and Jay McIntire offer a follow-up to a previous article by Baker and Friedman-Nimz (2002). The Baker and McIntire article provides an overview of state school finance policies for gifted education and offers a framework for evaluating those policies. According to a framework they created and applied for evaluating state school finance policies as of 1998-99, only Florida provided sufficient and equitable support for gifted education. Their research makes a strong case that there is much underfunding of gifted education throughout the United States.

From New Zealand comes an article by Deborah F. G. Fraser entitled "From the Playful to the Profound: What Metaphors Tell Us About Gifted Children." Fraser reports on a study in which she presented a series of metaphors created by children. She found that metaphors can play a cathartic role for their authors and provide a vehicle for creativity in the world of language and ideas. From the late 1970's we have known that metaphors profoundly affect how we experience and sort out the world. This article brings it home to gifted children.

In the final article "Literary Precocity: An Exceptional Case Among Exceptional Cases," Alan L. Edmunds and Kathryn A. Noel present the case of a prolific 5-year-old writer named Geoffrey. They studied his writing and how his "intrapersonal factors and propitious environment contribute to his prodigious output." In this case study, Geoffrey comes to life, illustrating the need for gifted education that mirrors the needs of the individual.

In this issue of the Roeper Review Joyce VanTassel-Baska's newest book, Curriculum Planning and Instructional Design For Gifted Learners, is reviewed. Heather Ferguson, a graduate student in gifted education at the University of South Florida, provides a thoughtful review.

I hope you agree that this is a special issue indeed. Should you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to forward them to me at the address below. Additional fascinating works are on the horizon, so stay tuned to the Roeper Review.

Dr. Tracy L. Cross, Editor

Roeper Review

Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana 47306

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