2.  Children should spend at least part of their time with others of similar ability and interests.  This promotes healthy social and emotional development.

Cartoon:
Although some might question whose interests are represented in the many activities listed in this cartoon, the parent's or the children's, there is still the hopeful glimpse of two children noting their friendship and common interests and choosing to be together.

Reality:
In real life, I knew a preschooler who was a whiz at puzzles and loved to be with people of any age.  His parents wisely encouraged his interest in playing complicated thinking games with unwary adults.  He now is competent in organic chemistry and looks upon both age-mates and elders as non-threatening "peers".  Arranging safe potential interactions and watching from a supporting and unsuffocating distance helps healthy contacts to develop.  Donna Ford-Harris (1996) has documented that the lack of appropriate peer support explains some minority students' ambivalence about programs for gifted students.  In a lighter vein, the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes© shows the fictional, but reflective-of-reality struggle of both Calvin and Susie to find peers of like interests.

ED 419 Parallel:

This is the one point in this course that is radically different for those taking the course completely on line and those taking the course on campus.  Those on campus form into teams based on mutual interests.  Those online will be viewing a film (or a suitable substitute) and discussing the film in the online forum. The experience of viewing the same (or similar) film begins to activate the sense of shared interest and experiences that are explored in more depth in live interactions.  These team projects and forum interactions activate the rule of spending part of your time with others of similar ability and/or interest in order to promote growth.