Indeed, most of the recent scholarship in this area advocates for moving away from punishment “in favor of positive behavior support,” says Sandra Chafouleas, professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut — methods that focus on preventing misbehavior without resorting to punitive measures.

The most straightforward definition of “giftedness” is one outlined by Joseph Renzulli, distinguished professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. Renzulli’s concept is that genuine giftedness in any sphere of activity requires three characteristics: Above-average abilities, creativity (which includes fluency, flexibility and originality of thought) and, probably most importantly, task commitment that can be observed as perseverance, endurance and sometimes a special fascination with a particular subject or topic.

George Sugai says it’s important to note that seclusion and restraint shouldn’t be used as the sole intervention for students with challenging behavior. Instead, he encourages teachers to seek more therapeutic responses to students, such as having conversations about why they behaved in certain ways.

As social scientists who study coaching and leadership in sport, we’re starting to see a double standard at play – one that holds female coaches to a different standard than their male counterparts.

“You’re going to end up with these [less diverse] enclaves,” reflects University of Connecticut professor of educational leadership and law Preston Green on what happens when parents choose. “Because with people, like will always go to like.”

“We can absolutely teach the majority of children—something like 96% or 97%—to read with the right instruction. But we can’t end the sentence there. It’s really ‘with the right instruction for them,’” says Rachael Gabriel, associate professor of literacy education.

James Kaufman said studies do suggest some kind of link between mental illness and “genius-level” creativity. He said that is balanced by many studies that show there is no cause and effect relationship: “Creativity doesn’t lead to mental illness, and mental illness doesn’t lead to creativity,” he said.

But he worries that perception may too often be accepted as fact, which might lead someone to put off treatment, or stop taking medication, for example, out of the mistaken belief that it could stifle creativity.

As social scientists who study coaching and leadership in sport, we’re starting to see a double standard at play – one that holds female coaches to a different standard than their male counterparts.

“We really need to think systematically about how to permit charter schools to exist in a way that won’t deleteriously impact school districts,” Preston Green says. “So understand that when I’m calling for a moratorium, I’m not calling for a backdoor closure but, rather, really thinking deliberately about how they can exist and be situated in a way that their inefficiencies are lessened.”

CSCH Steering Committee member Lisa Sanetti interviews CSCH affiliates Xiaomei Cong and Angela Starkweather about their work in the UConn Center for Advancement in Managing Pain.