Are there any (preferably public) Gifted programs that aren't geared towards high-achieving self-disciplined kids who *want* (or think they want) to spend all evening and some of their weekends on academic pursuits?
We're a few years away from high school age. I can conceivably retire and move anywhere prior to my first child entering H.S. I probably can't afford high-cost private tuition as well.
It's hard to produce quantifiable data about gifted programs without encouraging them to become test-driven number-maximizing systems.
I don't think my son will be interested in studying the prescribed coursework for 5-7 hours everyday after school. (He absolutely would love to chase down his own learning for that time). I don't think any of us will care much what he does immediately after high school, so long has he's more or less happily working towards independence.
I do think he'd love to rub elbows with other bright, intellectually curious kids who like science and space and video games.
How do you find a place that has a critical mass of brights that hasn't been taken over by the strivers? Where the joy of learning, exploration, and fellowship is prioritized over class rank, number of AP credits, or which undergraduate program to plan on attending.
