ColinsMum, Thanks for sharing the link to the article which offers a great counter-point.
I especially enjoyed the author's views on gifted children: "Your child will not learn as much or be as challenged as she could be. Don’t let anyone tell you to “live with that.” Especially if she is gifted"
hee - i know i've said this before, but this whole subject cracks me up whenever i think of it. we only even
looked at private schools for DD on the recommendation of her Montessori teachers, who were sure she would need more than the public system could offer. so when we found The One School To Rule Them All, we
only applied there. all their talk was SO close to how we operate at home - the biggest draw being (apparently) NO academic ceiling.
i was totally open with this school about DD's personality and (odd) interests during the GRUELLING application process, and in our final interview, they literally told me DD was their top pick
based on these peculiarities. i never once said the word "gifted" to them (mostly because in my head she was just weird and fun!)
and i thought we were in heaven until DD's depression set in. and in the end, no matter what i said to the school, they would not, and could not accommodate her needs. i felt like i had gone insane, and it took all of you sage folks to explain to me that private actually can buy you
less flexibility, and if they don't want to help a kid who is cruising comfortably 4 years ahead (and frankly accelerating)... they really don't have to. at least in the public system, you can get an IEP and overtly advocate. in the private school, if they want to shut you down, they can.
i don't think we were bad people for trying the carefully-selected, yet completely disastrous private school... as has been said up-thread, our first duty is to our kid - she's an individual and should not be sacrificed to a belief in what education, public or otherwise,
should be.with gifted kids, (who are all different!) what you really need is a flexible environment not steeped in dogma or the whims of fashion. frankly, it needs to be able to keep up.
but man, am i ever happy to be shot of that school. i drove past it today and literally laughed instead of welling up. that has to be progress!
