We are having a hard time trying to explain on behalf of the gifted kids. It almost helps to try to explain it here.
Yes, this bulletin board is widely read, by registered users and others.
Say, a school makes classes easier and more people get straight As.
Or say a school "
differentiates in task demands" so that
other students get straight As than those who previously experienced straight As. This has been discussed in
previous posts, so here I will simply provide an analogy to sports:
The
task demand is to run a mile.
Those believed to be strong athletes may be given more difficult assignments, for example: running uphill, running in extreme heat, running without hydration, running across or through traffic, running on rough or uneven surfaces. Note that several of these conditions may increase the likelihood of accident/injury.
Meanwhile those believed to be less athletic may be given a different set of conditions under which to run a mile: resilient bamboo wood flooring in a gym or field house, level footing, controlled temperature, ample hydration, music to set a lively tempo.
Under these conditions those previously deemed less athletic may now outperform those previously deemed to be strong athletes. In this example, they may run the mile in shorter time. Students' permanent records, as seen by colleges/universities and others may therefore reflect a skewed impression of ability, endurance, and performance. This may be reflected in both absolute performance as compared with the standard or task demand, and relative performance as compared with peers (percentile, class rank, etc). Some districts are incubators for new policy/practice for social change, including common core; Some families with gifted children may have already experienced skewed grading based on differentiated academic task demands. This is not to be shrugged off; Student grades are stored in a permanent
longitudinal database.
... sets other students up for a big surprise when they are out of school that, "Hey, wait a minute. I thought I was a straight A student."... school was too easy... on the job, for example, they are average or cannot keep up or are not that successful or don't have an unbelievable memory or cannot speed read, can't absorb instantly and it is confusing to people and can leave them very unhappy.
The social changes implemented in schools may also be readily implemented on the job by simply adjusting a position description, changing the delegation of task assignments, altering the division of labor among employees, changing the pay scale, establishing hiring quotas for various demographic groups (by gender, age, ethnicity, level of education attained, type of institution attended, etc), and/or changing a position's performance evaluation criteria.
While the gifted person might find everything easy, does everything very quickly, makes fewer ( if any ) mistakes and now people (if the other people even can perceive the difference) might be wondering how they are doing that.
Social change on the job may find these individuals largely employed in positions for which others are credited/promoted for the work accomplished by them.
Well, we tried to explain that gifted people are different, just no one wants to hear it.
Possibly they already know, possibly the powers-that-be have
absorbed decades of information on how to best educate and support the gifted and have utilized a strategy to apply the opposite techniques in attempt to stymy the development of the gifted, with a goal of creating uniformity in achievement. Some examples
here.
uniform achievement could be a real obstacle for gifted families
Anecdotally, the experience of some families bears this out.
everyone thinks their child is gifted or non-gifted people want to have their opinion on the topic.
With the public schools being funded with taxes from all people, and with the majority of people not being gifted, it is true that they have a larger voice. However within "gifted education" and other related industries such as psychology, it would be ideal to employ persons who've experienced giftedness firsthand. Helping to create a required bachelor level college course in giftedness for students seeking a teaching degree may prove helpful. How many colleges/universities have this? In many businesses, "filling the pipeline" with talent and having succession plans is key. Based on parent input on the forum, one topic on a syllabus may be understanding IQ and achievement tests and test scores. This would prepare teachers for meaningful discussions with parents and other support professionals as may be needed.
It is challenging and borderline offensive to have to say to a principal, a special education employee, a gifted support employee, a friend, etc. - "Hey, we are going through something here. This runs in our families. We need to figure this out for our child. Could we please stop pretending that you know what we're going through?"
To the degree that some find giftedness something to be grasped at, dissuading giftedness may be effective. However it harms the gifted outliers. As families with gifted children, we need to accept that some find it offensive that giftedness may be hereditary as they may take this as a signal that the die is cast and individual effort is all for naught; This thought may have given rise to the push-back against gifted education (including claims of gifted education being elitist).
To return to the thread topic, the lack of advanced academics in schools (to the degree of matching the interests/ability/readiness of many gifted kiddos) leads to afterschooling/enrichment in order to keep those gifted minds happy, productive, and challenged in a positive way. This also applies to AP courses for middle school students, and is the current state of the educational system, as experienced by many families with gifted children.
Some parents find their children enjoy taking college courses early. Some options are: dual enrollment, in-person classes (including evening courses, Winterim, and Summer offerings), online courses, and hybrids (partially taught online, with several in-person class meeting dates). For in-person classes, parents may need to be on campus.
