Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Blah (oh, just venting AGAIN)

I like this. Reminds me of one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes...es...what's the plural of Calvin and Hobbes? Anyway, Calvin's doing show and tell and says to everyone, "I've brought a tiny marvel of nature: a snowflake. I think we might all learn a lesson from how this utterly unique and exquisite crystal turns into an ordinary, boring molecule of water, just like every other one, when you bring it in the classroom. And now, while the analogy sinks in, I'll be leaving you drips and going outside."

Thanks for the link Dottie - that is going on my fridge!

This and some of Calvin's other wonderful observations about school sometimes find their way onto the walls of my classroom. Makes for interesting reactions from the other teachers.

Ok, I had to print that out and put it on my fridge before I could even take a moment to reply to this thread.

I think a Calvin and Hobbes book is in order this holiday season.

Now to the question regarding the beanstalk....I asked DD4 to imagine that she were Jack and the beanstalk was too short. I prompted her with...what would you do to finish the story? She responded without hesitation..."I would jump" I too asked what if it was too far to the Giant's home in the clouds, and her response was, "so what, giant beanstalks, giants, and homes in the clouds are not real, so in my story jumping would just work".

I did not think there could be a wrong answer, so what exactly was the teacher looking for?

LOL - DH printed that out too. So there's DS5 innocently colouring it in, with a view to taking it to school for show and tell. Thank heavens I was still here to veto the idea! If I'd left for work five minutes earlier we could have had a complete disaster in us-school relations.

So hard to know... My impression was that a proper gifted child would become very absorbed in the task at hand and produce a complex creative work oozing with good spelling (no danger of that here - imagine dogmatically phoenetic spelling based on the worst possible sort of Australian accent - why would a person write "now" when they could write "nyeow"? Mysteriously, he doesn't talk that way).

Zhian - you must be a very spicy teacher. I hope you're more appreciated than looked at askance?

Back in January, I was fired for trying to help enthusiastic students succeed in a failing school (mostly because the headmistress wasn't interested in anyone admitting there were problems in the place, despite the 18% "acceptable" rate on exams). Tell you enough? But I'm undeterred. And in a couple years I'll have my masters in G&T and hopefully be in a position to fight back a little more effectively against the Vogons who run the whole setup.

"In my story, jumping would just work." I LOVE IT!! That's showing an understanding of fantasy that few four-year-olds have. Much more important than writing X number of words about how to get to a place where there's an angry giant waiting for you.

Actually, I'm waiting to hear about the kid who says "I'd give up, go home, and trade the beans back 'cause they're obviously defective."

By the way, I LOVE that your daughter almost took that C&H strip into school. Would've been almost as good as the day I was subbing at a Catholic school and accidentally converted a kid to agnosticism.

Thank you Zhian! Your C&H strip is hanging now and my son is just waiting for the teacher to say 'in you own words'. He had a very evil Calvin look about him. LOL! Actually, Calvin is how we found out he could read. I found the little guy laughing hysterically in his room. They've been favorites for years!

This is almost the same answer I got from DS8. He said he would jump and when I asked what if it was still too high he said since it was a fairy tale he would sprinkle fairy dust on the beanstalk until it was high enough.

This reminds me of my DS then 6 in second grade doing what they call functional reading - reading directions, signs, menus etc.

They were give this ad that said

Purple bike for sale.
Like new condition.
If interested call Sally at 555-5555.

Then the questions went something like this

1. Was this a girl's or a boys bike? DS answer - could be a boys or a girl's bike. Both like purple. - WRONG answer
Girls bike because you have to call Sally - DS replied that Sally would probably be the mom since kids don't handle their own bike sales all the time. STILL WRONG

2. How could you find out more information about this bike? DS answer - Take it for a test ride. WRONG - call Sally DS replied - Sally might lie since she wants to sell her bike, I would rather test ride it. STILL WRONG

The teacher actually used these examples to show me how he was NOT gifted. Not to say these are brilliant answers but they show that he did read the ad and did think about the answers he just hadn't learned the trick yet of knowing the "expected" answer.

BTW - I adore C and H! That and the Far Side.

I asked ds6 the beanstalk queston - he said he would climb back down. What answer DID the teacher want ??

I love the cartoon, it will be on my fridge too.

My DD6 said she'd plant another bean...