I think as a whole, it's not feasible to expect it to serve every child efficiently and effectively. Children are not factory-farmed creatures and yet it seems that design is what our public schools mirror. Add to that the very real problem of poverty and the culture of disengagement and despair that poverty can sometimes create, and the ridiculous expectation that public education and specifically, teachers, make that all go away by the time it's time to test them, well, it's a wonder anything gets done.
I have to say, though, I have been very happy with the education my ds11 and ds24 received. I'll talk about ds11 for brevity's sake, though both were identified as gifted in the same school system. Ds's kindergarten teacher was the one to identify him for the gifted program despite the fact he was/is such a good kid that often his behavior is the foremost thing a person notices about him. He's had excellent teachers most of whom did a fair job of offering challenge and encouragement. When, last year, I went to the school system with more information from the Explore test, they were supportive and proactive, offering to test him further. They were also supportive regarding acceleration. They are also proactive in trying to identify as many gifted kids as they can and they recognize that it may be harder to identify kids from low SES, but they're still there. The teachers in our system are highly educated and dedicated and if the state doesn't chase them all away, my child has a good chance of continuing on in a successful way.
Is is perfect? No. It's not Davidson, which seems to be a dream for the gifted population. However, I don't expect it to be and I'm trying to supplement at home whenever and however I can.
One thing I would love to see is administrators allowing teachers to teach, less trying to teach to 24 levels in a class of 24, and less lowering of expectations.
Last edited by KADmom; 10/24/13 01:34 PM.
