I would get the Iowa Acceleration Manual and From Emotions to Advocacy.
I had actually planned to ask them if they'd evaluated her using the Iowa Acceleration Manual during the meeting (knowing the answer would be "No", but planting the idea of doing so), but I was ambushed when the principal dismissed the idea of acceleration out of hand.
Meanwhile, I was sitting there listening to them filling the bingo board of misunderstandings about the nature of gifted kids:
- "We have kids like her in every classroom."
- "We can meet every child's individual needs through differentiation."
- "It's important for her socially to stay with kids her own age."
- "We know how children develop normally." (Guess what... she's not normal)
I passed on the executive summary of "A Nation Deceived," and the principal looked at it like I'd just handed her a used tissue.
I'll have to look at From Emotions to Advocacy, because what I'm doing right now is just the opposite. I kept my cool in the meeting, but the more I think about the result, the more angry I become.
