That is an interesting concept. As I look back, I loved those "kids" and the years I spent with them. I'm sure that I would have a wonderful time with "their" kids.
I went to the Indiana G/T conference yesterday and got an entirely new perspective on the ID requirement. The net will have to be fairly broad to meet the guidelines of the new law. This is going to be a bigger challenge than I even thought. I can't wait to pass this on to the administration. (Although I like how it is going to direct us.)
Hopefully, in 2009, there will be some grant money that can be used in the classrooms. This year, the money has been used to allow teachers to embark on individual initiatives. The good thing is that the teachers involved want to be doing what they are. The bad part is that it is actually not impacting very many kids. In my building we have a first grade activity in writing, a sixth grade robotics program, an intermediate grade "space" study, and then I will take a group of intermediate students to the Indiana Dunes Learning Center for 3 days and 2 nights this summer. (I took a group up there last year and it was fabulous.) I am not sure that I would have done the same thing, but my principal made that request. The feedback from the kids and parents was very positive.
I am just not sure that our teachers are in the right mindset yet to realize that this is not just another attempt at a program. This is a law that is finally giving support to a group of kids that has been ignored. It is very likely that we are going to have several argue that we don't have that many kids that "fit the bill." We often are so focused on the state test for all that we do and the fact that was brought out at yesterday's conference on ID was that 66% of the high ability kids do not get a PASS+( the highest level) on the Language Arts section and 33% do not have that achievement on the math portion of the ISTEP+. (It might have been the reverse with those two subjects; I will have to check my notes. However, the impact is the same.)
I would like to say that my community is all willing to pay for additional programming, but I don't know that most can afford that. Our free and reduced lunch rate has climbed to well over 30%, so immediately we would leave out several kids with needs.
You have given me things to think about again, though. I do know that there will be many more questions as this program takes hold. I really appreciate the parental aspect of what all of you have shared. Too many times we lose sight of the parents in the role of education.
