Potential Plus UK was saddened to hear of the death of Dr. George Betts on August 3rd 2019. George served on the Board of Directors for NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) in the USA for 21 years and was a Past President. In 2003 he was named by NAGC as one of the 50 Most Influential Leaders in the History of Gifted Education.
Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado, he was the founder and former director of the Center for the Education and Study of the Gifted, Talented, and Creative. He was responsible for the development of the Autonomous Learner Model (ALM) for the development of lifelong learners and promulgated “six essential qualities that gifted educators can instill in their students to benefit the whole gifted child.” (http://www.nagc.org/blog/whole-gifted-child).
George Betts created the Whole Gifted Child Task Force, which in 2018 issued a report on the “multi-dimensional nature of gifted individuals” and its effect on their development. https://www.nagc.org/sites/default/files/key%20reports/4.1%20WGC%20Task%20Force%20Report.pdf . His research, together with Maureen Neihart, on the Profiles of the Gifted has proven to be hugely important for Potential Plus UK’s work on how parents and schools understand and support young people with high learning potential.
To discover more about George Betts, his life and work see this YouTube interview by Brenna Larsen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asBvOw9uoxM
(Potential Plus UK is the working name of the National Association for Gifted Children in the UK)
