Hi everyone,
I'm so glad I found a place where everyone is so experienced in navigating these murky waters. You just assume that everyone would want to help your child achieve and be as challenged as possible...but I guess in reality its easier to just sweep it all under the rug.

So I have a meeting with the GT Coordinator at the local middle school that my ds10 will probably be attending next year. He will be in sixth grade. He can easily do high school level work. One thing about my son: he doesn't complain. He is perfectly happy in any situation...boring/stimulating, etc. He has pretty good social skills and loves sports and in general is a very easy going kid. However, I know that he has never been truly challenged. He's never had to study for a test in his life. As he says "I know it so I don't need to study" and the long list of A+'s are the evidence for him. I'd like him to be challenged and learn how to study and work hard to prepare him for the future. On the other hand- he loves to learn about everything and anything. His eyes light up whenever there is something new to learn- especially science.

I'm worried about what to say because if he's not 'complaining or frustrated' then how do I approach it? The teacher this year said to me "It's not like he already knows everything I teach and he doesn't always get every single question right." Well of course! Why would he know something that he's never been taught? It was a ridiculous argument. What I tried to explain to her was that it was too basic and he learns at 10X the rate as everyone else so he needs more of a challenge. She replied that I should be so thankful to have such a bright and behaved son...that many parents come in and have real problems where their kids are getting D's.

So basically I don't know what to talk about. Should I start off by asking how they treat gifted children? Should I ask about differentiation and how many grade levels above this would be? I think he could handle the higher grade subjects but wouldn't that mean he would skip some of the 6th grade material? I wish there was a way he could complete that over the summer and then go onto something more challenging.

Acceleration/differentiation/enrichment...how do these all differ?

I know that I will have to supplement outside of school but I want them to give him all that he deserves.

We are going to go ahead and get a formal IQ test too and are also registering for the ACT's (he did EXPLORE in January and did very well across all subjects (21-25's).

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

Nadia (nkh)