Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Does your local school have a gifted program?

Hi Delbows,
Sounds like 6th grade is a wonderful year of school. My son just finished 6th grade that had a similar Ancient Studies focus in history, literature and they learned some Latin also. He found it very engaging and learned many study skills. I wonder if they can allow him to skip Math and do a tutor, or on-line class as a substitute. Although my son scored very high on the Hanna-Orleans Algebra Readiness test, which he took last October, as a 5th grader as part of the grade skip evaluation, when they moved him to 7th grade honors pre-algebra he had a very challenging time. If he had stayed in 5th and taken the 7th grade math, if would have been "just right" because he could have poured 99% of his energy and time into the Math, but as it was with needing 50% of his time and energy for the rest of school, he just didn't have enought hours in the day to get the 7th grade math into his mind. After about three months, we decided to bring him back to 6th grade math, with pull-out tutoring for 1/3 of the time. Personally, I feel like Math they can always do over the summer or on their own via computer, while History and Literature at their readiness level is something that is much more difficult to provide - but that may just reflect my own child's temperment. good luck whatever happenes!
Trin

Cym -
I think it's amazing that there is a self contained full time program for 145 and up. I wonder how much extra it cost to provide this? School are always moaning about how much extra gifted costs.

I agree that the pull out programs should be "fun and games." They should be work, that NT kids wouldn't want to do! I wonder why this happens?

Trinity

I agree with the comments above that if school gifted programs were less �fun� and more �academic� there may be fewer sore feelings about not being included. I would not cry if the whole �pull-out system� were replaced with early entrance, ability grouping (not tracking), subject acceleration and grade skips. Separate schools for 145+ would be ideal also. Of course, there will always be those who assert that individuals should not be moved forward academically because others may feel bad if another student is stronger in a subject and think it is social suicide for a gifted child to stand out (or away) from the group in any way.

Dottie, you are right that administrators should recognize that parents have evaluated their child�s situation far more extensively than anyone else. I also think there is something qualitatively different about parents who are willing to risk being socially ostracized to advocate for their children�s needs. They are probably far less concerned about �appearances� than those who allege a motive of prestige.

Hi Trin,
In think the difference in opinion as to which subject is easiest to pursue as self study has to do with the child�s greatest areas of interest. I would hate for DS to miss the instruction in literature class, but he could probably already fill out a family tree of the Greek gods, including corresponding tales and Roman counterparts. He would benefit more from classroom instruction in math. Some subjects such as vocabulary and spelling would be very easy to accomplish with self-study.

As far as the �pre� in the algebra, they get plenty of it in regular sixth grade math, and I would assume regular seventh grade math. The only ability group they provide at the school is for math beginning in seventh. The higher level for 7th is called pre-algebra, followed by algebra in 8th (if they pass). If the child takes regular grade math in 7th, they take pre-algebra in 8th grade. It may be counter to the school culture to refer to any class as �honors�.

I wouldn't cry either. I'd cheer. I would also cheer cross-grade ability grouping, multiage classrooms, and chances for children to "prove themselves in" to all the gifted offerings, if they are self-motivated and can do the work. I would cheer widely availible pre-testing so that no child has to spend time pretending to learn what they already know, or skills they already have, and compacting the curriula based on the pretesting. I would also cheer US children being expected to learn material that is percieved to be "too difficult" here, but is commonly learned by children in other countries, particularly 2nd language studies in the elementary schools.

Most of all, I would cheer schools allowing kids to try things that are difficult enough that they have to work to learn them well, and have the have the thrill of achievement after struggle.

When my DS was 3, and crying about me having to go to work and leave him in daycare, I developed this answer to his question of why?

"People work for 4 reasons -
1- to make money
2- to help other people
3- to use their special gifts
4- to grow inside"
I added that in my case, I was helping to change the world because I had trained for a job that was unthinkable for women while I was growing up.
"Grow inside" was my shorthand for developing areas of weakness of all kinds and building character.

I think that children go to school to:
1- grow their friendships
2- to have a larger circle outside the family
3- to use their special gifts
4- to grow inside

I think any successful school will have to address all these needs.

Smiles,
Trin

Oh I just love that Trin! Perfectly put!

I once heard Michael Shaunessey speak to a group of parents of gifted kids and he was terrific. He said that in the olden days there was the one-room school house. The modern K-12 education system was developed as a framework for public education. Shaunessey said that clearly that box doesn't fit all (or even many) and should be just be adjusted to suit the child. It shouldn't be so hard to adjust up or down and it shouldn't feel so set in stone. I try to remind myself of this when planning for each kid. Unfortunately the K-12 box is so ingrained in our society that skipping one grade is somewhat scandalous, and two or more would be downright child abuse (in others' minds). Even my childrenare against further acceleration because of the social stigma, even though they're happy to work a few grade levels above their "grade".

When you read the histories of great men and women, most of them finished college and/or medical or law school by age 20. Granted their lifespans were shorter and more information is available for study now, but the best education is doing, so I still don't see why we're determined to hold them back.

Our school district is huge, with a variety of G&T programs and schools. DC goes to the zone, neighborhood elementary school, which emphasizes project-based work and an individualized approach to teaching. Reading is based on kids picking their own books to read. Math emphasizes problem solving.

The school website and administration giving tours emphasize the "individualized" approach and parents touring the school can see all the amazing work on display.

I think that parents who think their kids are more than just a little gifted took a look at the city's gifted programs, which in our district appear to run maybe one year above grade level, but with a lot more homework, and opted instead to go to a school that provided "individualized" instruction and opportunity for fun.

I think this promise has drawn in parents of a number of students who would fall in the 98-99 gifted range, I suspect. I think the school administration doesn't really recognize the difference between privileged, coached, gifted and more gifted. And now that these fast learners are here, it isn't quite sure what to do with these kids. In DC's class of approximately 20 last year, three kids were reading at least five years above grade level. Several kids were above grade level in math and at least one was probably three years above grade level in math. And that's just in DC's class, in an urban school that doesn't do ability grouping, with a huge socio-economic range, including about half of kids getting reduced or free lunch.

A group of parents met with admin last year to discuss math enrichment for all students, including providing accelerated or enriched math for highly able students. We were told that
there's a big gap in math understanding in the early grades because some kids' parents have taught them more out of school and it pretty much all evens out as the slower kids catch up to the pushed kids.

They declined to commit to any enrichment that didn't reinforce state standards and curriculum (i.e., wouldn't help out with the standardized tests for the child's grade level) and insisted that the new version of Chicago math (TERC?) that they will be getting next year provides enrichment for able students in its supplementary computer disks, so that should take care of enrichment. When parents attested to the large numbers of students they had observed who exhibited some signs of being capable of accelerated or higher-grade-level math, admin stated that such children didn't have a "thorough" understanding of the concepts and would miss out if they didn't stick with the curriculum and limit enrichment to whatever enrichment TERC offered for their grade.

At any rate, I am reading the ditd.org guidebook on advocating for highly gifted children, with a goal of advocating for the many gifted, and (I suspect) several highly gifted children at the school. On the plus side, the admin was welcoming of parents' general ideas about providing math enrichment for the general school population, through family math days and math games days.