Myth:
*That a child who is dramatically ahead in K, must be hothoused.
*That a kid who reads encyclopedias, must be forced to do so.
*That is doesn't hurt a kid to coast year after year in school.
*There's something EVERY kid needs to learn in K (or 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
*Gifted classes are too stressful for kids, even if they're GT.
*Don't put your kid in the HGT class because those kids are weird. (OK, it's not a myth that many of them are unusual, but they would be anyway.)
Truth:
*Some kids don't want to skip, even when they're years ahead of their peers. (Like my son, who is 4 years ahead in math and 5 years ahead in LA. He likes to be around kids his own age.)
*Most kids would rather be challenged than coast.
*Even PG kids need and want to be taught. (My son's teacher gave him a math book in 4th grade and told him if he needed help, to ask. My son never asked, but he HATED math that year.)
*Not all gifted kids are able to advocate for themselves, and therefore they seem like they don't care about schoolwork, when they actually do.
