Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Talking to the principal

Thanks! Yes, I think it went pretty well. He offered things like partial homeschooling, whole-grade acceleration, and further testing before I could even mention them. Basically, he's fully aware that both my kids need a different kind of learning, and he is thoroughly enthusiastic about the extra projects we sometimes do (kept talking about the video presentation my son made in first grade after our trip to Hawaii, LOL.) He seemed sympathetic to my concerns about DD, peer acceptance, and fear of failure.

But...in the end it feels like it's all back on me. They're flexible, but they're not really going to be the ones taking the initiative on this. So I need to come up with a solution that works for our family, and then bring it to them for them to help me implement it. So that's tough, it is going to take some good conversations with my husband and kids to hash out just where exactly we DO want to go at this point.

I think it was a nice, positive meeting (nearly 45 minutes) and it was good to hear his anecdotes about other bright kiddos and know that we're not the only ones who've raised outlier kids in a sleepy town with a small public school district.

This is what it boils down to eventually - you cannot expect 100% custom fit from a public school - but, you are lucky in that they will work with you. Not every school district and administrator can (e.g. lawsuits in our district). So, think of this as an opportunity to come up with a solution that will give your kids the best of both worlds. One word of caution - be careful about suggesting pullouts or custom work packages from home etc - in my school district, this provoked the Tiger Parents to demand the same. Partial homeschooling might work out great if you can pull it off That way no one needs to know what acceleration your kids are getting! And no jealousy issues from other kids and angry parents and hassled administrators.

Yep, the principal was very candid about how one can't ever get a 100% personalized education, but especially not from a public school -- and I agreed with him wholeheartedly. It's not what I expect. But he *was* fairly proud that he thinks they can get almost as close on individualization as a private school, because they *are* so small a district and can really accommodate each child in some fashion, all the way down the line.

We seriously have no tiger parents here. I'm almost positive. But I do need to remember to keep appearances in mind. Among other things, I don't want people to think *I* am being the tiger parent! It's just...something does have to change. I hope we can figure out how to handle it.

That would be fine with me. I am hoping to do maths that way for ds10s year 7 and 8.

It is. This is why we decided to homeschool, and why I would still be homeschooling if my son (age 15) was amenable.