Introduction: The Cost of Not Focusing on Talent Development

The competitive pressures brought about by the changing global economy and continual technological development have highlighted the need to identify, promote, and develop the talents of each child. Consequently, the educational necessity for and the role of talent development have never been greater.

Almost 20 years ago I had the opportunity to do a “career day” presentation for one of my sons’ 5th-grade class. I began my talk by listing all of the jobs in which I had served up to that time. As I moved through the list, I pointed out that all but the role of teacher had not existed when I was in high school. Each of the roles, from school-based tech support to school district technology director, webmaster, data systems designer, and Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education, had been created to fill new requirements brought about by the wide adoption of technology and the internet.