Hi Kcab,
I taxied you over here so we can respond more easily.
You posted:
Hi, I'm kcab and have been surfing around here w/out registering. Saw the intro post thread and thought it was a good excuse to register & come out of anonymity. Also, maybe I can search effectively now!
I have two kids and three problems:
DD (who I'm more likely to call A) 10, 5th grade - was well served in our former (Ruf Type III) school district. She was generally in the top ranks of her class there but the differential between her and average was not as large as it is in her current school (public, good reputation & attended by many children w parents in academia, so we thought it would be good!). Also, classroom behavior & social issues were addressed well at former school. She's the source of my more pressing school-related problems, which I may end up posting about elsewhere but in a nutshell are 1) how to keep her challenged & keep her from hiding intelligence and 2) how to deal with difficulties that are coming up at least partly due to her being ahead of age group peers.
DS (also known as B) 5, in K - v. bright, & we all love his current placement in a terrific private K. He's able to delve into things as he chooses there, has a wonderful teacher who supports his interests and is able to provide additional challenges. He taught himself to read, I guess I'd nominally say last year, at 4. Likes playing around with mathematical concepts & with numbers, very dextrous and likes to see how things work. His visual-spatial skills are more obvious than my daughter's, though I've begun to think that she is oriented more that way than auditory too. Only problem with B is that we've been planning on public school starting next year, but there are no additional services available until 5th grade in this district. I'm debating whether to start talking to the principal about him now or not. It would be nicer just to enjoy B & not borrow trouble, but I'm wondering if starting now might help in the long run. I'm also hoping that the school's awareness of his sister's academic ability will help smooth the way for him. (She is in the GT program that they offer.)
For myself, I was identified as gifted long ago. My parents (both public school educators) worked hard to get my first school to add GT services. I have some scars from that fight and some biases borrowed from my parents as well. And I'm a prickly sort of person. I'm an engineer, have a Ph.D., and am currently underachieving big-time. My husband is also v. intelligent, I don't know if he was ever formally identified as anything. He's also an engineer, Ph.D., and currently achieving rather more than I am.
Anyway, off now to see if I can find old threads relevant to my daughter's situation. I have found it interesting to read some of the discussions that are currently going on, good luck to all!
