But soooo happy to have found this board! I have been searching for so long today that my eyes are blurry but I am so grateful to be new here
I have 1 DS that will be 6 this summer. He is finishing K next month and is entering 1st grade in the fall because I am overriding the teacher's opinion to have him repeat K. I am feeling a lot like an idiot because I didn't know I had a gifted ds! I tested very high on the SB way back in the dark ages and my son acts just like me - what's to notice???
His K teacher has told me at every meeting with her that he is so smart and gifted. Then she always hands me his test reports that he has failed knowing his alphabet, numbers, phonics, etc... and that she is sending him to different 1-on-1 sessions to learn these things. She never tells me beforehand and is never specific with details. Okay, I was taught that teachers love children and figured she was trying to help him.
Then our last meeting in Feb. she reports she is recommending he repeat K? And simultaneously is showing me a Cogat test (The K teacher administers herself) where is doing so well and is easily in the gifted category? She goes on to tell me that if I have my DS repeat K, then when he does start 1st G, he can go straight into the gifted program full-time? I have never heard of holding a kid back so you can promote them?
My decision is that he will go to 1st grade and I will catch him up at home. But, in my head, I'm still trying to figure out why my kid isn't learning at school? Here's where the gifted part smacked me in the face - my child sat down with me for appx. 10-20 minutes a day and in about 30 days is now reading in a mid 1st grade range & jumping further each day! I realized when I sat down with him, he had already learned to just say "I don't know" and to not even try to every question! I have no idea what that teacher is doing in her class?
On top of that, we get his report card and he is doing well in just about everything (reading is his thing, not numbers but we're working on it). Stuck inside the report card is his Cogat test scores. According to the teacher, who has praised him for being so advanced, he is barely able to speak normally and is well below average expressing his needs non-verbally! (I'm sorry, I'm trying to condense this) The test is scored so low that when I show the results to his pediatrician, she laughed because she thought we were playing a joke on her! The ped. wants me to demand he be retested by the school or pay privately to have it done.
From what I've read online today, it doesn't look like new test scores would make a difference. Today in the mail I received the recommendation for summer school for my ds. I can't imagine sending him to cover material he already knows at a slower pace that what he gets at school now?
I'm a mom who let him have a "free range chicken" childhood. I raised him at home and the 1st day of school was his first time away from family since conception. I made sure he had love and security but pushed him forward to play with other children and learn things about his world outside of any educational environment. If he had questions, they were answered. He is eccentric but I didn't notice because so am I
He was great the first day of school and couldn't wait for his new adventure! This year, he has followed directions, plays well with others, sits in his seat, etc... He is also precocious enough to have received 2 time-outs that I am aware of - my favorite was for screaming with some buddies and trying to start a "riot" because the room light was off.
So far I feel like a deer in headlights because I am just now noticing and exploring my child's amazing gifts! Long ago I became accustomed to strangers coming up to us and telling us how they overheard our son and how smart or gifted or etc... he is. When DS was just 2, I had a lady (who said she had a masters in ed.) come up to me in produce and ask if I was going to have him tested because he was so smart? The funny part - DS wasn't even talking yet! What did she see that I wasn't seeing? The talking thing? My son's ped. was amazed because he went from speech delayed to speech advanced during the 3 months inbetween visits. I just figured he finally decided he had something to say, lol!
But am I also already relegated to teaching him at home and traditional school just becomes his playgroup? I really tried to condense this and left a lot out. I am really hoping someone can relate to this overwhelming feeling - how do I jump in? How do I advocate without marking him for punishment from misguided educators? Do I need to? I tried to speak to his K teacher about his rapid achievements at home. Her answer? "I know, each child blossoms in their own time" and walked away before I could comment. But she's still recommended summer school? I hate to sound petty but is it possible I am dealing with a teacher who isn't all there? Would she tank test results on purpose? Why?
Opinions and advice would be soooo greatly appreciated! Please chastise me for all that I overlooked and haven't mentally added up until now too!
Thank you so much!
Teresa & the best gift I have ever received, my ds!
