Hi Zia's Mom,
So many ideas in one little post. I'll try to take them all in, but you may want to repost several smaller ideas, ok?
Need advice on combatting the socialization argument for radical grade acceleration!!
***Is anyone making the socialization argument at this time? It�s pretty clear from M. Gross�s work that for kids who need radicle acceleration, that RA is their only hope of normal, for the individual child, socialization. PG kids have an �alternate path of development� � normal, but different from the norm. ((That�s a Trinity-ism!)) They are many ages at the same time.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, we went ahead and gave our soon to be 5 year old a second achievement test (the first was 6 months ago)- we gave him the WIAT II - (the psychologist's suggestion)
The test results more than supported our intuition that our child needs to be in at least second grade to be academically challenged.
***What a relief to have the numbers and your experience of your child, �line up.� I hope you are going ahead with your application to YSP.
We feel comfortable making most all arguments accept the social ones although he is a social animal and is comfortable in most all social situations.
***I think that the best position to take is that you are the parents, and will continue to monitor his social growth, and be responsible for that part of his life. Really, for many, many, PG children, if their educational needs aren�t being met, then they are going to be too unhappy to do much social growth. So it�s not that you are sacrificing one for the other, it�s that you are trying to ensure that your son�s educational needs are met in school so that he can �be himself� and play after school. Really we are all humans, trying to make decisions that will have outcomes that none of us will be in control of. All we can do is deal with the matters at hand, and be willing to change if corrections are needed. Still you are the parents, and have to be the ones to be responsible for his Character Development.
We hear so much about bullying. Is this a real concern?
***Bullying can happen anywhere, with any group of people. I have no reason to think that it would be better or worse with his agemates, age+1 year kids, age+2 year kids, teachers, parents, sibling� What makes the difference is how the other humans deal with it. Bullying doesn�t have to be tolerated, and I would look for a school with a clear and successful bullying policy.
As an aside � My DS complains that his school is full of �goody2shoes� who won�t let kids get away with playing games during class, or anything else, and that they hand out detention for stupid stuff, like wearing white socks on �Formal Dress Friday� when they are supposed to wear dark socks. I was so happy to hear this. I hope it continues. We cheered last year when he came home with his first detention notification, and it was for wearing white socks on Friday. My kid needs to understand that no shenanigans will be tolerated, and he needs clear guidance on what the rules are. I hope this helps create an atmosphere were Bullying is going to be discouraged. The best way to know is to ask a few kids who attend the school.
Our son has been playing on the chess circuit for the past 6 months and spends lots of time with older children. They are all so respectful and kind to him. Is this just chess kids? Am I naive on this one?
***Yes, It would be Na�ve to judge one group of kids based on another group.
Has anyone had their child accelerated academically but taken out of the classroom when doing sports, music, etc with other children?
***Certainly it�s a good idea to do afterschool sports and/or religious or scouts with agemates. Many kids have their �specials� with agemates, or whatever group best fits their schedule and their skills. Karen Roger�s Re-forming Gifted Education is the must read for the nuts and bolts of acceleration. Think �dual-citizenship� or �multiple radical subject accelerations.�
What are some practical ways to address the handwriting issue? Has anyone successfully convinced the school to let the child type?
***This is a wonderful topic, and deserves it�s own thread. I�ll start one, ok?
I�m so excited for you. I agree with Dottie, that it doesn�t have to be right now, or all at once. The best is to have a school community that is willing to �get it right� for your child. In the end, homeschooling, or partial homeschooling may still be the best alternative.
Love and More Love,
Trinity
