At what point do you say enough is enough?
I�m a little frustrated with my DD10. She�s gorgeous, spirited and highly gifted. Her LOG is under a cloud of doubt, as she�s been tested using the WISC IV twice with differing results but that�s another story. My frustration is a result of seeing my gorgeous girl in continuous cruise mode. She attends to all things, subjects, hobbies� superficially, just skimming across the surface. She�s not engaging, attending, really getting involved in the detail of ANYTHING � just skipping merrily through school with minimal effort (although achieving reasonable grades in the main, with excellent grades for maths).
We met with her teacher yesterday who shares our frustration. She�s already offering extension spelling, subject-acceleration in maths, a dedicated gifted unit in applied higher order thinking skills and some really lovely, rich, juicy activities. The school has offered a number of extension maths competitions and tests this semester, and a whole host of writing competitions, art exhibitions, etc. I�m confident that the teacher is presenting work that is meaningful, purposeful and considered � although I�m sure my DD would say that editing skills, a necessary evil, is monotonous, boring, etc. The only thing that�s also worth mentioning here is that she�s in a class of 15 students in years 5-6-7. While there are other grade-skipped and gifted kids in the class, she doesn�t have a huge peer group.
At home, she has a rich extra-curricular program � choosing piano, one-to-one art tuition, music composition/theory, maths club (which she does with her bestfriend), calligraphy and netball. She has the opportunity to go as far high, wide and deep with maths and writing through online programs that are available at school and at home. Thankfully, she�s an avid reader currently reading Anne Frank�s diary, but normally reading complex fantasy stuff.
Yet� she�s just not tuning in and turning on. She�s happy at school, loving the social interaction. And I believe the school are doing a great job at providing a solid program. It aint perfect, but I don�t know what else to ask for. And damn it, I reckon hb and I are also doing a good job at providing her with some fabulous afterschool learning opportunities. But at what point do you say � enough is enough? Have you ever gotten to that point of thinking��heck, you can lead a horse to water but you just can�t make them drink!!� Surely I�m not slipping into gifted-denial again??? But the big cloud looming over me is that feeling like I�m failing her. I�m doing the best I can, but it just doesn�t seem to be enough. It just doesn�t seem to be working (and my measure for that is engagement, interest, attention, critical thinking, etc.)
My hb reckons that he didn�t switch on until meeting his physics teacher in year 11, around 15. Am I being too impatient? What do you do when you feel like taking your bat and ball and going home? (a very Aussie way of saying = giving up in frustration".
jojo
