Yes, really. And I've heard it already. I guess I don't take things so personally. I also fully believe that we all have to find the right path for our own child and unless that person has walked a mile in my shoes they really don't understand it. Now if they ask me why and really care to understand then I will take the time to explain it. I do believe it is important for us to educate when we can. I have a group of friends that all have MG kids and we get together a lot and the conversation always circles back to the kids. I was hesitant to say anything at first but they knew quickly that DD was different from their girls (all the same age). Through our lengthy conversations they have accepted and even encouraged us. We live in a highly acclaimed school district with lots of gifted children, yet they were the first to comment on how DD would never be challenged if we put her in our local school. And we haven't. She goes to an academic school which is 2 years ahead of public school but even this isn't enough for DD, yet her personality is the type where she will patiently wait for the teacher to introduce something. When she entered the school she had already mastered all of the curriculum up through the 4 year old class which equates to 1st grade but she had the cushion of learning it all new in Spanish. We no longer have that cushion and now we are back to what now? We don't want to move her out of the program because we have already invested in foreign language and don't want her to lose it. So we have a few options: push to accelerate her which we might have to but we will see during this next year or provide enrichment at home. We are doing the later and she is excited to come home and do her 'homework'. She is now asking to do more math, but only at home and only with us. I don't know if she will ever be the type to ask her teacher or even show her teacher her full potential but I do hope she does at some point.
I love hearing about kids, like your son, where he wouldn't be happy just sitting in a class being bored and needed the acceleration to survive. I'm not saying it is easier by any means but from my perspective it would be a lot easier for me if DD was more like that. It would really help me gauge what she needs. Hmmm... I'm getting longwinded here but I guess what I'm trying to say is there is a gray area with these kids. The idea that if a child isn't acting out or isn't screaming about boredom than they clearly aren't in need of acceleration isn't one I agree with. My DD is the type that won't but she is still PG and way out of the box, but because of her personality I don't see us accelerating her anytime soon.
