I guess it all boils down to the fact that we're fighting human nature as much as anything else. It's hard to believe in something you've never learned about, experienced, or seen. The rarity of these kids means that most individual teachers haven't encountered a HG+ child. Plus, as far as I know, schools of education don't focus a lot on giftedness.
It's possible that entire faculty at a small school may have no experience with even one child like this, much less multiple kids, which of course you need to understand individual variation. And even if someone does, how does one teacher know which colleague is familiar with high LOGs in the absence of a list somewhere?
People rely on experience to inform their opinions. So when you say "My preschooler can read at a second grade level," the likely response is skepticism. Especially from someone who's been in the business for many years, who has a ton of experience in general, but maybe no experience with someone who's ~3+ SDs above the norm.
Now don't ask me why they don't just give the kid a book and let her read it to see if the parents are making stuff up. This must hit some other area of human nature that I prefer to not consider just now.
Val
(Guess I ate too much philosophical syrup this morning.)
Last edited by Val; 05/12/09 04:58 PM. Reason: clarity
