Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 591 guests, and 14 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    streble, DeliciousPizza, prominentdigitiz, parentologyco, Smartlady60
    11,413 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 2 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posts: 2,007
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posts: 2,007
    Originally Posted by 22B
    Originally Posted by MegMeg
    It sounds like thx1138 is thinking about someone to take over the full-time management of the homeschooling, not just tutor for an hour here or there.
    And people are advising against this in favor of outsourcing on a per course basis.

    I think the entire outsourcing idea is a good one.

    I would have personally loved a private tutor. And I had what amounted to de facto control over my school.

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 615
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 615
    thx1138 may have their own reasons for wanting to turn the whole operation over. People can suggest alternatives, but ultimately it is probably more helpful to answer the question that was asked.

    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posts: 115
    T
    thx1138 Offline OP
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    T
    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posts: 115
    I'm lucky that the grandparents are willing to foot the bill. (Maybe they feel guilty about screwing up my gifted education ;-) )

    This would be in California. There is a gifted homeschool group in the Bay Area. They might be a resource. Also to ask about home school laws in California.

    Offhand I thought that a teacher who was gifted, might have the ability to span across both language arts and math and science. But such teachers might be rarer. Where might I look for one. I guess starting local is the best idea.

    Offhand I had thought to just have one teacher, rather than cobble together a curriculum. But I wonder if a teacher would be excited about this. Or how much they would cost. To some degree I am asking though, why pay for private school where the ratio is 7 or 10 to 1, when I could get a ratio of 2 to 1.

    And how do people learn best. I was thinking the teacher could start one child on a task, then work with the other, and alternate back and forth. It would also allow for, asking the child what they are excited about learning today. Such options are beyond even the wildest dreams of a public school, where you stick to a rigid curriculum, and the teacher is tied down by the students who can't read.

    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    Originally Posted by thx1138
    I have 2 gifted children. Is it possible to just find a tutor to manage their entire education? That is, rather than spend $27,550 x 2 on private school, just put that money towards a salary for a personal tutor.

    There may be some complications, of certification, or home schooling regulations. But I have to believe they can be surmounted and may be no more problematic than other solutions.

    It may not be easy to find the right person, but I would think this would be an interesting and desirable job for the right teacher. We’re talking about a 2:1 ratio here, which seems beneficial for student, teacher, and parent alike. I suppose though the teacher might also have to be gifted, particularly for higher grades, and need to span from literature to math to science.

    I am okay with home schooling, but find it hard to wear both parent and teacher hat. And like home school, with tutor, we may need to go outside for socializing and for science labs.

    Anyone else doing this, or think it could work?

    Yes, I totally think that this could work.

    The key is the right person. Probably a person with some teaching experience/equivalent training who also has some experience with curricular design, your state's intended scope/sequence (for testing requirements, as needed), and experience HOME educating children. Parents who have educated their own gifted children, basically.

    Honestly-- while that might sound like a rare skill set, I know several people (myself included) that meet those criteria and are sort of leaning toward workforce reentry, but not really. KWIM?



    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
    Joined: Dec 2012
    Posts: 2,035
    P
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    P
    Joined: Dec 2012
    Posts: 2,035
    I think in California home school is designated as a private school so legally it may be ok. You could have 2 teachers - one maths/science and one language/arts and have them do half days each or 2 full days each. Or you could hire someone full time and have them supervise on line classes in areas the can't do - if you could find someone who could cover language/history etc it is easy to find good on line maths. This assumes the kids are old enough to need specialists.

    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    Originally Posted by Dude
    Originally Posted by Portia
    Our state rules you cannot hire a tutor full time like that. The parent is responsible for the education. That being said, "enrichment" from any source is allowed. Enter co-ops, subject tutors, groups, and classes.

    I wonder how film companies get around this, or whether they avoid your state altogether, because full-time, on-set tutoring is how they fulfill the educational needs of child actors, per union contract and child labor laws.
    There are two private schools here in Southern California that teacher junior high through high school one-on-one. (I have talked to one of them to see if they could do just one class.) These are accredited schools and they set the students up with a tutor for each class. If you go full time they are AS expensive or more as private school. And while most kids go to one of their "campuses" they will send tutors out for more money. One of the types of students they attract are those who work in the entertainment industry. California also has quite strict rules as to the number of hours a youth can work on set. Until they are 18 or graduated from high school they can only work part time.

    I realize that only affect kids 12+ and don't know how tutors for younger kids work. And this doesn't help the poster on her original question.

    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    Originally Posted by thx1138
    And how do people learn best. I was thinking the teacher could start one child on a task, then work with the other, and alternate back and forth. It would also allow for, asking the child what they are excited about learning today. Such options are beyond even the wildest dreams of a public school, where you stick to a rigid curriculum, and the teacher is tied down by the students who can't read.
    Perhaps you could look for a retired teacher or one who has just had a baby and wants more flexibility. Not sure where you would find such a person.

    Joined: May 2009
    Posts: 647
    K
    Kai Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    K
    Joined: May 2009
    Posts: 647
    I wouldn't hire just one person, particularly in the upper grades. We are using a tutor this year for a foreign language course and its working amazingly well. She comes twice per week for lessons and then gives homework for the days she's not there. My son is moving through the material quickly because of this, which he prefers.

    Joined: Nov 2012
    Posts: 2,513
    A
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Nov 2012
    Posts: 2,513
    Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
    Honestly-- while that might sound like a rare skill set, I know several people (myself included) that meet those criteria and are sort of leaning toward workforce reentry, but not really. KWIM?

    Just commenting because I'm setting up a private school and am becoming increasingly acquainted with incentive compensation in education: is this even an attainable skill set in a single educator for ~$55K/year full-time? Perhaps such a person could be hired on a part-time basis at that rate (is this what you had in mind, HK?), but that rate of pay is well below the market rate I'm facing here in an urban area.

    My gut instinct is that retired teachers could be hired in subject blocks (e.g. humanities/LA, STEM), with your children supervised outside of part-time tutoring by a university student or yourself, for that budget.


    What is to give light must endure burning.
    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posts: 115
    T
    thx1138 Offline OP
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    T
    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posts: 115
    Wanted to thank everyone for the helpful comments. I would add that meeting state standards is something many gifted kids can do for breakfast. Partly that the standards are not all that high, at least in CA, and partly that the kid is gifted. So I am not fussed about nor would emphasize for the teacher or the home school curriculum. Curriculum could be devised working with the teacher, drawing from existing ones popular in home school, like royal fireworks press in the humanities, and art of problem solving in math. I mostly see this going through 8th grade. Gifted kids seem to have more options once they make it to high school. Of course at high school level, specialized teachers, with higher salaries, become part of the mix. Don't people generally start mainstreaming their home schooled kids by grade 9? It would sure tax my memory or skills in calculus or chemistry. The goal really would be to assume (or pre-test) that the child would get a good ISEE or SSAT score, but the focus could really be on social and emotional needs, following their interest, and just giving them as much customized learning and attention as possible. I suppose I'm assuming that a college educated educator could handle most things a gifted kid up through 8th (6th?) grade would throw at them. Then again though, gifted kids could probably get up through high school by then, so maybe separate specialist teachers become needed. Another angle could simply be that it doesn't have to be a model where the teacher is omniscient and dispenses knowledge down to the student, but instead that the teacher is just a mature adult with strong teaching skills who could at times simply say "I don't know either, but let's learn how to learn and research the answer together on the internet". As far as the cost of teachers, I need to investigate. Maybe this only works if you have 3 kids. Still one wonders that if a private school has an 8:1 ratio, what they spend the other 5 x $27,500 on. It seems there is some inefficiency in there.

    Last edited by thx1138; 10/01/14 08:14 PM.
    Page 2 of 5 1 2 3 4 5

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    California Tries to Close the Gap in Math
    by thx1138 - 03/22/24 03:43 AM
    Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?
    by indigo - 03/20/24 05:41 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5