Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Brick wall? Bang head here!

ok...I do have to admit that talking to the HIGH SCHOOL English teacher about how we could keep her language arts/reading levels high. SHE didn't think that was strange to ask what I should be doing...an she was very helpful.

I have decided that I'm going to do what I want and they can't really stop me. At worst, she will get to the point where she can graduate HS in 2 years or I will let her GED out, if I have to and she can move on to college...I've decided we WILL go as fast as we please and if we finish everything, we WILL get some additional 4th grade cirriculum from other homeschooling friends and I will either turn in no work or turn in the 4th grade work. Maybe that would also help the teacher see that she should have a skip...

I'm catching up on my thread reading, and hoping that things have improved for your little one this past month.

May I suggest a route we took? I went to the superintendent and when that didn't get us anywhere, I filed a formal complaint with the state TAG coordinator. I realize this is somewhat drastic but we were at our wits end. And it did have a benefit for all gifted kids in our district.

It's not all roses but things have improved - slightly. And we did get accommodations and a grade skip for ds (had already sent dd to private).

Sometimes you just have to give them a kick in the rear.

I'm sorry your dealing with this, and the ignorant psych...( there are TONS of them out there...I often wonder if the person they label the school counselor here even WENT to school )

I've heard it all about DS8 too, and finally after beating my head for the last several years after leaving a fabulous school ( no choice - military ) we are leaving the B&M schools for virtual school, and I think once we get our feet wet in that after a year will probably go to completely homeschooling without aid, or the private option in the virtual world. My son helped us decide that he would suffer through the rest of this year (4th gr) to make it easier for planning and then close that chapter of B&M schooling where they refuse to make accomodations just because hes " sort of smart " as they put it. Its not optimal to deal with for a few more months but it lets us start in the fall with a clean slate after a few months of freedom in the summer. Then he will be able to learn at any pace he wants without them stepping on him every step of the way to do it " their way or no way ".

Deep breaths. Fighting for what your DD deserves isn't easy but its the right thing to do. I too will never understand why they are so threatened by grade skips, possible social issues etc...what does it matter to them if the parents and child are ready to deal with it...Seems more like a control issue to me!

You need the book From Emotions To Advocacy.

Do you have the Iowa Acceleration Scale? It seems like that would be a place to start too.

well, like I said...I'm going to do what I want...if that leaves us with no work to turn in for June and maybe even May, too bad for the school. Maybe it will force their hand.

I'm so busy with the day to day of life that I haven't even gotten to the place where I can find out who to talk to next, at the District level. Our cuts are so bad that you can't even get someone from the GT program to call or email you back

Also, the school keeps saying "You can enrich her at home" like that is helpful, because it's totally NOT. I don't see the point of going "deeper" in math when you are at the basic additon/multiplication stage, how does one even enrich that? That might work in areas she enjoys, like reading, but she isn't much of a "mathy" kid so far...

She enjoys the school and doesn't seem bothered right now...and we're finally in to Developmental Behavior with our personal insurance, so we might get somewhere with that...and multiple instruments (violin and guitar) as well as multimedia and 3 hours of art on Friday keep her occupied...but really, by my calculations, she is spending about 1/3, maybe even only 1/4 of the time an "average" kid in traditional school spends on classwork...WHAT am I supposed to do with that? lol!

At this point, I don't think Iowa would help us at the school level. I don't think this particular school "gets it" as far as acceleration goes. I just want access to that next up cirriculum that MY tax dollars paid for! ugh!

2giftgirls: I just started a similar thread. There has to be a quantifiable way to show that my ds is past their precious benchmarks. His academic testing shows he is at college level at most subjects, so why do they think he can't do high school level english and social studies? Makes me crazy.

Any who: We had the same problem with a gifted blocker teacher. As you said, there is no "deeper" at that mathematical level. She just needs to progress. I'm not sure if you mentioned this or maybe I missed it, do you have insurance that will pay for academic testing? Also, perhaps there is a website that has placement tests to show her true level?

I don't know if this dd is your first or second, but we learned the hard way through our first. Teachers will lie to your face because they don't believe you know what's best for your child. We've encountered teachers who believe that advanced math is harmful to children.

I wish you luck and patience and success for your little sweeties.

rrrgh!!!! I totally made a post and it got eaten
Butter is #1 and we did have her privately tested. We are also beginning our journey with Developmental Behavior (which is covered by insurance) to rule out (or dx) any other issues like ADHD or whatever.
The worst part is that the current school psychologist wouldn't even LOOK at the testing and basically doesn't seem to understand why I am so concerned, since Butter is meeting the standards. If you look back, you will also see where she said that a child CANNOT be both gifted and LD. I almost stabbed my own eyes out with a pencil! ARGH!!!! lol!

I remember that post! Makes you wonder how these people get hired. I'm still boggling at that comment. Is this psychologist an older person or younger? I can see a 30 year veteran of the school district saying this. Maybe they really don't know better. Appalling but possible.

It pains me so find so many educators, well, uneducated.
The standard is all most schools care about. As long as they "meet" the basics, the rest of the child's development is ignored.

Like I said, get the book. Pete Wright is brilliant (also 2e for whatever it is worth).

I second this so hard I am in danger of breaking my keyboard...