Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums High School GT programs and high school

It actually does not blur as much as you would think. The gifted kids still look at the subject matter in a different way than the non-gifted, and their need for more is still there. In some respects it actually makes the difference more pronounced in various ways, whether it be because the gifted kids can keep up with the usually fast pace of the APs and others struggle or have to work really hard to do so, or in the opposite side, gifted kids have never had to work before getting to AP classes and now don't know how to do the volume of work that is sometimes required.

It is interesting to hear what you all have said here. I am still looking for a program I can do while working and having 2 young kids, so this may have to wait a couple more years.

While I agree that APs can satisfy a gifted kid's academic interests, I'm not convinced they give them what they need. I have had many gifted kids take lots of APs and breeze through most of them, while their non-gifted peers struggle like crazy to keep up.

Right now one of my gifted teens is in band camp every day. I will be very sad when he and his equally hormonal and gifted twin sister (who has been enjoying the quiet house) are together again ALL DARN DAY.

Our county has gifted magnet programs through middle school, and has been playing with the idea of opening a high school for gifted kids. Since thus far their idea of what constitutes appropriate gifted ed and mine don't mesh, we won't be availing ourselves. Dd is applying to the STEM magnet, and ds is taking a lot of online classes so he can take every music elective available. He's a walking illustration for the math/music connection.

One of the things that homeschooling really illustrated for me was the fact that I can't let the schools have complete responsibility for their education. In fact, sometimes school just gets in the way of it. So what we've ended up doing is letting them take the classes that they have to have but which are not the least bit interesting in the most painless way possible (mostly the public school honors classes, which are weighted the same as the gifted classes but require a tenth of the homework), so they have time to do more in-depth study of other things-- like ds with his music, and dd with her current obsession with genetics. Of course, when I said this to one of the gifted magnet parents her head exploded, so I suspect it's not an approach that works for everybody.

"I have a curiosity question for those of you with high schoolers. How many of your children's schools have actual gifted certified/endorsed teachers in high school?"

We eventually had our two teenagers tested and placed them in an all-gifted High School. We found it makes a world of difference when all the staff and admin. are on the same page, as far as understanding these students. The more gifted-trained/certified teachers we have the better! I would cheer you on to become certified.
Originally we had our children in a traditional High School and it was hit or miss every year whether any given teacher in any given class would understand the differences in how they learn - or process or respond. Some teachers were fantastic, but more often than not, there would be a blank stare when issues arose and we had to visit the "academic counselor" again to try to explain....