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    #138895 09/25/12 07:03 AM
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    thx1138 Offline OP
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    I put my DS5 on ALEKS math and he finished 3rd grade after 2 months. I asked my school if they could put him on EPGY or something. We had the meeting with the principal and here's what he said.

    "That is so wonderful that your child may be GT! Just as we have a special program to support the lower 10% we have another special program for the upper 10%. Its always thrilling for teachers and administrators to find another tall poppy. We can barely imagine where his unlimited potential might lead him. Please accept our profuse apology that we hadn't noticed him sooner. We'll be able to devote some resources to him, and a self-guided maths curriculum is ideal because the sky is the limit."

    EDIT: That's actually the dream I had, what happened was the diametrical opposite...

    "We've suddenly discovered some problems your child has. We didnt' tell you about them last spring but they're very apparent now. There are 100 things we want kids to accomplish up to this stage, and looking at last year, he's lagging on 5 of them. All these things have to be sorted out before we would even consider it. Come to think of it, we only let 1 5th-grader a year do EPGY for 1 year, that is about the limit. Yes indeed, we now feel he has a speech impediment, you'd better find someone to fix that. If you keep pushing to accelerate him in math we can certainly keep finding new problems with him. Remember that of course we can't custom teach every child in the school, maybe your child doesn't belong here."

    Yes, its agent orange for the tall poppies again. I may have to ask the principal:

    What would you do if Usain Bolt were in your Kindergarten?
    a. Make a rule that nobody is allowed to run
    b. Don't let him run until 5th grade
    c. Hobble his feet together for several years
    d. Ask his parents not to let him run too
    e. Tell him he's not allowed to run until he improves his writing
    f. All of the above

    Maybe the principal is right. I'll let all those gifted researchers know that they can relax now, because this one principal, and their teachers, know better. Someone please alert Stanford to remove the K-2 and 3-5 level from EPGY. I was going to read the International Handbook on Giftedness, but just think of all the time I'll save not having to read those 1500 pages, I can just use it for kindling since, after all, my school knows, just knows better than all those researchers and their decades of painstaking labor.

    I despair. Another gifted denier. I guess I'll keep my DS5 in ALEKS, even though I was asked not to. I can probably get him through 5th grade math by the time he finishes kindergarten. I also noticed other programs: IXL, EPGY, and Mathletics. I almost wonder if ALEKS is too easy, but it does seem to cover lots of topics. I should look at EPGY but it just seems awkward the way its tied to a schedule, plus its rather more expensive than the alternatives.

    Last edited by thx1138; 09/25/12 08:14 AM.
    thx1138 #138902 09/25/12 08:10 AM
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    Oh, I just want to cut and paste your post and email it to my son's principal. It's so hard not to feel deflated when the experience of dealing with school and the matter of acceleration is treated with "Stop. We know best. We are the arbiters of what is best for students. Acceleration could be damaging. It should only be considered when all the stars are in alignment. Better to keep the kids plodding at the same glacial pace. Why mix it up when we're still clearly ranked 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading worldwide?" Sigh.

    thx1138 #138905 09/25/12 08:20 AM
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    Oh my goodness! What a horrible response! First of all, if the school feels that he has a speech impediment, why didn't they mention it earlier? And 95 out of 100 goals is pretty good for five years old, having just started school. How many "normal" kids reach every single milestone by the end of the year? I know for a fact that my son's school has kids who are in third grade, and still performing at a second grade level. Of course they can not develop a specific curriculum for every single child in the school - but they can, and should, differentiate the curriculum as much as possible. It's like I told my son's teacher last year: I am well aware that with 20 kids in the class, he is not going to get as much individual instruction as he would with a private tutor. Some classroom assignments are going to be easy for him. My point is that I expect him to get SOME challenge at SOME point during the day. If he is not learning anything at school, why is he there at all?
    It infuriates me that schools jump at the chance to help a child who is struggling, but do nothing for a child who is bored to tears because he needs something more challenging. I have found, however, that it depends heavily on the teacher. Last year I had all but given up hope - this year, DS has a wonderful teacher who manages to juggle at least five different groups in math and language arts. He could handle a little more, I think, but the point is that he is learning something. That is what matters. Is it possible to talk to other parents and find out if there are any teachers who may be more accomodating? A request to change teachers may be met with less of a struggle than a grade skip. (Don't get me wrong, if you think he needs the skip, keep fighting for it. But this could be a small step).
    Wish I could help more. I'm sure the accelerated math at home is helpful, but extremely time consuming. Unfortunately, it may be the only option until you can convince them that gifted kids are just as important as the rest. frown

    thx1138 #138952 09/25/12 06:11 PM
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    thx1138 Offline OP
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    Thanks for your replies. The meeting was like a bad mushroom trip. Left me with the gut feeling that my child was in a hostage situation and that I should start home schooling immediately. Left me kicking myself that I should have seen the signs earlier.

    I really don't understand the willful ignorance. A GT child doesn't have any choice to not be GT, no more than a LD child has any choice to be LD. Papering it over is not going to help. One has to go through it, not around it. And there is abundant research into how to go about this. http://foi.deewr.gov.au/collections/gifted-education-professional-development-package

    thx1138 #138955 09/25/12 06:20 PM
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    Not much to add here but a related story. In 1st grade, I was pushing the school for subject acceleration in math (my guy was doing negative numbers and division at home). I was shocked when the GIFTED teacher said "well, if we accelerate him in math now, what would we teach him in sixth grade?". Uh, duh, well, maybe we could teach him something now and worry about sixth grade later?

    Just commiserating and hoping you find something. FWIW, we did Aleks at age 7 (third grade), took a break from it, then started it again and there were things he couldn't remember. He redid 3rd before he went on to 4th. So, it *might* be worth trying that.


    What I am is good enough, if I would only be it openly. ~Carl Rogers
    thx1138 #138958 09/25/12 07:28 PM
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    Thx (I'm so proud, I actually placed your username, and I'm awful with random collections of letters and numbers), I think I thought people were either exaggerating or hadn't made themselves clear when they came back with such crazy stories, until I experienced it myself. I wonder if they ever lie awake at night, replay what they've said or done and kick themselves when they realise how illogical it is.

    But yes, commiserations, it's crazy.


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