Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Do I fix something that "ain't" broken? MG boys

This is my first post (see me waving?) The information I have read so far has been so incredibly helpful! I apologize in advance for the length of this email.

We have twin boys who are 8 yrs old, in 2nd grade at a public school. Based on initial (group) testing through the school�s GT identification process it appears as though they are mildly to moderately gifted. We will be doing individual testing on our own later this month, but the initial results (mild to moderate) seems about right to us. We�d be surprised if that was far off (either higher or lower).

They currently attend our local public STEM elementary school (newly STEM as of this year). Their �academic� school work has yet to stretch their brain. On the plus side the STEM features provide interesting enrichment by way of Lego Robotics, Science experiments, lots of technology integrated. We have sort of just lived with the fact that they are not challenged in the core subjects. We have worked with them at home, particularly in math. We also pull them out 3-4 weeks a year to travel and our principal/teacher is completely supportive. Our principal is wonderful, open and forward thinking, doing the best he can with the resources available. I should add, he is willing to work with any ideas that we have to bolster things up next year, but there are no resources available for that and none of the teachers have any sort of training in working with GT kids or implementing differention/acceleration. Despite that, I have many ideas for next year�.many of which I have learned from this forum. We are meeting again with the principal next month once he knows who their teacher will be, which could affect what options may work next year. Considering�.on-line math programs, keep them home a couple half-days a week and I can work with them, hire a college student to go over to their school a few times a week to pull them out to do challenging math, etc. Again, the principal is open to ALL of these ideas. We are luck in that area.

BUT, my question really is not about how we can keep them challenged����my question is��is that important or is it ok to just let them �be�. They are VERY happy, never complain about school or being bored, love their friends and all sports, love gym and recess the best, haven�t had any emotional or behavioral challenges. Their teachers rave about their citizenship and behavior. In a nutshell�.they are very �mainstream� type of kids in their personalities and interests. They like the days with no homework. They actually seem pleased that they can tackle the material in school with ease and (of course) are feeling good in terms of self-confidence (but not out of control). When I have after-schooled them in math it brings groans and moans and they would much rather be outside playing �can we skip today�?. They love to converse and learn about new things through conversations with dad and I (many many questions about life, people, events etc), but NOTHING academic or �formal� is exciting to them. So, again, my question is��what are the �risks� of just letting them �be� 8 year olds who are bright, feel confident, yet are coasting. The one thing that comes to mind is�..when they DO need to step it up (in middle school) will they be able to? Will they be able to develop study skills needed? Will they have the focus to spend 15 minutes on a math problem? On the other hand, they ARE �high drive�/�want to succeed� kind of boys so perhaps they WILL transition nicely to the more challenging work.

Any advice is much appreciated!
Amber


SIDENOTE about the GT PROGRAM (not at our elementary school):
Our school district has bare bones programming/identification methods for gifted/high ability students. We have 8 elementary schools and the only programming the gifted ONE 3rd/4th combined class of 20 students and ONE 5th/6th combined class. So a total of 40 kids across 8 elementary schools are receiving any sort of 'services' for GT/High Ability. The classes are self-contained within one of the elementary schools (not the one we currently attend) and have a really poor reputation for quality of teachers (not trained in GT), excessive homework, etc. The large majority of families offered a spot decline it. The two families I know with a child currently enrolled are not happy with the program. If one or both of the boys is invited to join the classrooms it is highly unlikely we would move them there. Outside of these two classrooms there is close to zero differentiation, and zero acceleration across the elementary schools. They are adequate, basic.

Welcome, AmberK!


Given what you have said otherwise, I'd back off of the formal afterschooling and just keep doing what you've been doing.

It seems very likely that your kids, while not particularly challenged, are also not at all unhappy about the level of instruction at school, and find the enrichment offered there to be an equitable trade.

I'd probably leave it alone for now.

Recognize that if certain meta-skills are being specifically taught in elementary where you are, you WILL need to after-school those things (note-taking, organizational skills, etc.) because GT kids only seem to learn those things once they NEED to learn them, often middle school (or later with higher LOG).

But other than that, no, I wouldn't worry. Sounds like your boys are really engaged and happy!

I also agree with HK and mon - and will add that it sounds like you have a wonderful situation at your current school, not just that your children are happy but you have a good working relationship as a parent with the staff - and that's a HUGE plus, no matter what the school situation is.

I think it's often easy to fall into the mindset that high ability means we must push (as parents) our children to achieve more and sooner simply because they *can*. Personally I think what is the largest "gift" our high ability kids have is often their ability to think differently, outside the box, etc - and they, as well as all children - nurture those creative imaginations by having, simply, *time*. That free time after school when they can play and just be without having to push in extra academics is extremely important imo.

Welcome to the forum!

polarbear

ps - fwiw, most schools will have at least a few MG kids per grade... one thing you might think about doing if you want to provide more differentiation etc at school (during the school day) is to volunteer to work with a group of higher-ability kids (that would include your own) on a subject that you enjoy - could be math, could be language arts, could be whatever.... but the idea is, you'd provide the enrichment (with guidance/approval from the classroom teacher).

Not sure how accurate this is, but here's a list of prevalence by IQ, using both the Wechsler and Stanford Binet scales. It's interesting to look at, anyway

http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx

Thanks for the link! Seeing the numbers made me realize that it's no wonder how great I felt in grades 5-8 in a Math / Science middle school when they put together a class of about 26 kids from some 3000 (from 24 elementary schools) in that grade level. Aside from about 5 kids who were true high achievers the rest of us most likely really were 99+% (we took IQ tests twice in those years I think and pretty much all of us scored between 135-150)

As for the original question ... I've always said the main goal for us is for our boys to be HAPPY. If that means being in regular classes and exploring their interests outside of school, or if that means at some point accelerating or asking for more work, we will leave it up to them (unless we see them slacking of course:))

Wow, each of you has provided me great insight and food for thought.

HowlerKarma � great food for thought about skills such as note-taking/organizational. I will keep that on my radar to work on over the next few years if that is not something worked on in their classrooms as they get into the upper elementary grades.

MasterofNone- although you probably didn�t know your statement would be profound (to me), it is. �if school were about maximizing academics, they might need to work harder.� Re-framing all of my concerns under the context that school is NOT about maximizing academics takes a huge load off of my �mom heart�. Also, you are absolutely correct that they are learning. They are actually learning a lot in the non-core areas.

Polarbear- You said � I think it's often easy to fall into the mindset that high ability means we must push (as parents) our children to achieve more and sooner simply because they *can*.� I am/was falling into this mindset and frankly, I�m starting to realize that (for the most part) it is NOT time and energy well spent. I need to step back and relax  I love the idea of working with a group of kids from their class during the school. I love math so that would be a great fit.


MK13- I love your idea about driving decisions and placements based on what makes them happy (seems simple now that I hear it from you).

Thank to each of you for taking the time to post.

Please note that mostly those things ARE taught in elementary and middle school, and at the time, they are skills that gifted children find that they simply do not NEED. They seem ridiculous and slow. Why bother, right? They can remember everything and keep it all straight without any of those clunky tools...

until they can't, and at that point everyone expects that after four years of exposure, they'll have it down.

That's when we as parents sometimes have to step in and say "oh yeahhhhhhh... remember that stuff that they showed you back in 5th grade? The stuff that you didn't need then? About writing down the main idea? About recording the reading in your planner?"

You definitely need them working world, but I don't think that you need note taking and skills to get through undergrad or law school, because those two things generally involve tests and you can just cram for them two days before the exam.