I told him not to worry...continue out of level practice at home like he was doing because the first level pullout is just slight horizontal enrichment and his DS really wasn't missing anything.
It is wonderful that you could leverage your experience and reassure another parent. Keep in touch with them, they may be wonderful allies.
I need to look into more ways to do that!
Lots o' resources... this is just a start...
1)
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10291.aspx2)
http://print.ditd.org/young_scholars/Guidebooks/Davidson_Guidebook_Advocating.pdf3)
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/advocacy.htm4)
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tea_terrorist.htmBasically: be calm, research policies, gather facts, listen attentively (rephrasing with questions for clarity), and when faced with a piece of information which may be a discrepancy, or which you were unprepared for, or an opinion (such as his current placement is good), ask a question to learn another layer of information (if indeed there is another level available). This is sometimes called "peeling the onion". One begins to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness of various things and the constraints which others may face... and often find ways to work around them or work through them.
I did ask initially... made me want to ask more questions...
Sounds like a good advocacy plan.
There is no sense of failure in letting something go gracefully, taking time to re-group, reading up on advocacy strategies, and planning for next time: If I knew then what I know now...!
