CC,
My son, never tested but surely gifted - every SAT and IOWA is always 99%, has been attending private school since age 4 (preschool).The school has never approached us with any suggestions as to what we should do with this smart boy. He has always been anxious and unable to sit still but never a problem in the classroom. He never had to put any effert into his homework or assignments, unless they were research papers, but even then the effort was minimal. I quess he always knew he is going to get a 100% . Instead of listening to his math teacher, he was making truly elaborate paper planes and selling them to his classmates. When he was told to pay attention and show some respect , he started correcting her on the mistakes she was making - actually, one of them was a mistake in the textbook itself, and there is now a funny story in the school about the whole incident.Ever since grade 2 we approached his teachers asking for some more advance work for him. Even workbooks, which I hate, anything to make him learn ahead. Nothing worked. My son never liked school and wanted to be home schooled, a task that I did not believe in since we speak a different languae in our home plus I always believed that he will greatly benefit from having daily contact with other kids. Anyway, my son is now in grade 5 of a local Charter School. He is doing algebra and discussing narrative essays with his fabulous LA teacher. He loves his charter school, loves the fact that he is able to express himself and is able to speak his mind. He is free to be himself.
So I guess what I am trying to say, is that I do not believe in private schools based on my own experience. Private school never recognized my son for whom he is, never appreciated his "gifts". He was this little "foreign" boy, who played violin and was incredibly good at math. His curiosity was dangerous and inapropriate and the fact that he could read books in another language just plainly strange.
Ania
